A cipher is a pair of keyed algorithms that maps a plaintext to a ciphertext and recovers the plaintext from the ciphertext when supplied with the appropriate key.
The term "cipher" can refer to different things depending on the context, primarily in the fields of cryptography and mathematics. Here are the main interpretations: 1. **Cryptography**: In cryptography, a cipher is an algorithm used for encryption or decryption. It transforms readable data (plaintext) into an unreadable format (ciphertext) to protect the information from unauthorized access.
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