Encryption: Essential Questions

1. How is encryption accomplished to safeguard data exchange?

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According to us.norton.com, Encryption is the process of converting ordinary text, such as a typed email or message, into an unreadable format called “cipher text.” This helps protect the confidentiality of digital data either stored on computer systems or transmitted through a network like the internet.

When the intended recipient accesses the message, the information is translated back in the form of decryption.

To unlock the message, both the sender and the recipient have to use a “secret” encryption key — a collection of algorithms that scramble and unscramble data back to a readable format.

2. What methods are used to compress data?

There two methods used to compress data, lossy and lossless compression.

3. What is lossy and lossless data compression?

According to ukessays.com, Lossless data compression makes use of data compression algorithms that allows the exact original data to be reconstructed from the compressed data. This can be contrasted to lossy data compression, which does not allow the exact original data to be reconstructed from the compressed data.

4. What ethical dilemmas are created from access to data?

When one is give access to data, this means we have a plethora of information such as charts, recipes, art, records, music, etc. at our disposal. One major ethical dilemma that may arise from this is the means one of accessing data (and disclosed data), and the manner and usage of such.
Mary Ann Baily from nap.edu outlined positions at both extremes of the policy debate over data access, then made the case for pursuing a middle ground—striking a balance between the right to be left alone and the obligation to cooperate in the pursuit of communal goals.