Protecting data by encryption from unauthorized prying is a high priority for organizations that store personal information. Cryptography is the process of hiding the true meaning of a message through a predetermined code that is only known to the person encrypting and decrypting a message. Different forms of cryptography can be seen in our daily lives, from hidden words in daily newspapers to secretaries writing in shorthand. Cryptography has been around since the days of the Egyptians and has made many advancements over the years. The first signs of cryptography were documented on Egyptian scribes where non-standard hieroglyphs were used on clay tablets. (Whitman, 2011, p. 351) The Egyptians were the first documented people to use cryptography in 1900 BC (Whitman, 2011, p. 351) With cryptography having survived for so many years, it is no wonder that it is still used today to hide the true meaning of messages. Much progress has been made since the days of the Egyptians, but the goal is still the same: to protect information from unauthorized people. With more personal data stored on information systems accessible via the World Wide Web, hackers' desire to decode encrypted data has increased. Given the increased interest in cipher decoding, cryptographers must continually develop ciphers that are more difficult for individuals to solve. Hackers harvest personal information from personal computers or databases storing personal information for organizations, then use that information to steal the identities of others. When personal information is sent over the Internet over a network that does not use cryptography to encrypt the data, it is very easy to view the data... middle of paper ...... or store it in a manner unauthorized. individuals to see the information they share with others. Cryptography, like technology, will always evolve to try to stay one step ahead of hackers. With many organizations losing sensitive information to hackers, it's important to continue to think outside the box to find new ways to secure data with cryptography. Works Cited Anthes, G. (2014). A French team invents a faster decryption algorithm. Communications of the ACM, 57(1), 21-23. doi:10.1145/2555807Mone, G. (2013). Scalable encryption. Communications of the ACM, 56(11), 12-14. doi:10.1145/2524713.2524718Savage, N. (2013). Stop leaks. Communications of the ACM, 56(1), 19-21. doi:10.1145/2398356.2398363Whitman, Michael E.; Mattord, Herbert J. (01/01/2011). Information Security Principles(Page 351). Cengages learning. Kindle Edition.