Editing Ciphertext (section)

{{Short description|Encrypted information}}
{{About|encrypted information|an overview of cryptographic technology in general|Cryptography}}
[[File:Zimmermann Telegram.jpeg|thumb|right|250px|The [[Zimmermann Telegram]] (as it was sent from Washington to Mexico) encrypted as ciphertext.]]
[[File:Hollow Nickel Message.jpg|thumb|KGB ciphertext found in a [[Hollow Nickel Case|hollow nickel]] in Brooklyn in 1953]]

In [[cryptography]], '''ciphertext''' or '''cyphertext''' is the result of [[encryption]] performed on [[plaintext]] using an algorithm, called a [[cipher]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Berti, Hansche, Hare |title=Official (ISC)² Guide to the [[CISSP]] Exam |publisher=Auerbach Publications |year=2003 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/officialiscguide0000hans/page/379 379] |isbn=0-8493-1707-X }}</ref> Ciphertext is also known as encrypted or encoded information because it contains a form of the original plaintext that is unreadable by a human or computer without the proper cipher to decrypt it. This process prevents the loss of sensitive information via hacking. [[Decryption]], the inverse of encryption, is the process of turning ciphertext into readable plaintext. Ciphertext is not to be confused with [[codetext]] because the latter is a result of a code, not a cipher.