Format-preserving encryption
Format-preserving encryption is like a secret code that keeps information safe from people who shouldn't have it.
Imagine you have a secret message you want to keep hidden from people who might see it. You could write the message in code, like replacing each letter with a different letter or symbol. But what if you still want the message to look like it did before you wrote it in code– you want it to be in the same format or shape. That's where format-preserving encryption comes in.
It works by taking the message and turning it into a new message in a different code that's still the same length and shape as the original message. So if the original message was "Hello", the encrypted message would still be 5 letters long and look like "Sqxxa".
The code used to encrypt the message is a secret key that only a special person (like a super secret spy) knows. And if someone else were to try to decode the message without the key, they would just see gibberish.
So format-preserving encryption is like turning your secret message into a jumbled-up version of itself, but one that still looks the same on the outside. Only the person with the secret key can turn it back into the original message.
Imagine you have a secret message you want to keep hidden from people who might see it. You could write the message in code, like replacing each letter with a different letter or symbol. But what if you still want the message to look like it did before you wrote it in code– you want it to be in the same format or shape. That's where format-preserving encryption comes in.
It works by taking the message and turning it into a new message in a different code that's still the same length and shape as the original message. So if the original message was "Hello", the encrypted message would still be 5 letters long and look like "Sqxxa".
The code used to encrypt the message is a secret key that only a special person (like a super secret spy) knows. And if someone else were to try to decode the message without the key, they would just see gibberish.
So format-preserving encryption is like turning your secret message into a jumbled-up version of itself, but one that still looks the same on the outside. Only the person with the secret key can turn it back into the original message.