Certified Bitcoin Professional Practice Exam

What is the definition of cryptography?

1. The study of financial transactions.

2. The art of writing in code.

3. The science of secure communication in the presence of untrusted third parties.

4. A method for secure online shopping.

The correct answer is: The science of secure communication in the presence of untrusted third parties.

Cryptography is fundamentally the science that ensures secure communication, particularly when there are potential threats from untrusted third parties. This includes creating methods to encrypt and decrypt messages, making them unreadable to anyone who does not possess the correct decryption key. This security is essential in digital communications, where data may traverse networks exposed to various vulnerabilities. The definition encapsulates the key purposes of cryptography, which include ensuring confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity of information transmitted over potentially insecure channels. By employing cryptographic techniques, sensitive information such as financial data, personal messages, and secure logins can be protected from eavesdroppers and unauthorized access. In contrast, while the other choices touch upon related aspects, they don't align with the comprehensive understanding of cryptography's role in communication security. The study of financial transactions does not inherently involve securing those transactions, writing in code refers more narrowly to encoding messages rather than the broader context of secure communication, and securing online shopping is just one application of cryptography, specifically within e-commerce rather than a definition of the discipline itself.