salaus

salaus is the Finnish term for encryption, the process of transforming readable data into an unreadable form to protect its confidentiality from unauthorized parties. It relies on cryptographic algorithms to convert plaintext into ciphertext using one or more keys. When the intended recipient uses the correct key to decrypt, the original data is restored. Modern sala uses either symmetric encryption, where the same key encrypts and decrypts, or asymmetric encryption, which uses a public key for encryption and a private key for decryption. Combined approaches, such as authenticated encryption, provide both confidentiality and data integrity.

Applications include securing communications over networks (for example Transport Layer Security, HTTPS), protecting data at rest (disk or device encryption), and enabling secure email and file sharing. Widely used algorithms include symmetric options like AES and 3DES (though nowadays AES is standard), and asymmetric options such as RSA and elliptic-curve cryptography (ECC). In practice, implementations also rely on key management: generating, exchanging, storing, rotating, and revoking keys, and on secure protocol design to prevent side-channel and implementation vulnerabilities.

salaus is governed by standards and legal frameworks for privacy and data protection, and its strength depends on the chosen algorithm, key length, cryptographic mode, and proper implementation. It is complementary to authentication, integrity checks, and secure key exchange mechanisms.

Etymology: from the Finnish word sala, meaning concealment, with the suffix -us indicating the process.