Running head: COMPUTER SCIENCE 1

Importance of Cryptography to a Network Engineer

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Importance of Cryptography to a Network Engineer

Cryptography is necessary when it comes to matters of data and telecommunications

when information gets passed from one medium to another, usually over a network, and to be

more precise, the internet[ CITATION Maq17 \l 1033 ]. Information being transferred between

such interconnectivity requires a higher level of security measures which would ensure that the

information gets to the intended person with ease and also through a secured channel. This,

cryptography not only gets to protect the data in transit but also from possible theft or any other

malice alterations. Additionally, it helps in user authentication to ensure that information gets to

reach the required destination. Cryptography makes use of encryption and decryption science

technology to store data that otherwise might prove to be sensitive being channeled over a

network that might be possibly insecure and gets to be read-only by the intended recipient.

Armed with this information and skills in handling data in transit, a network engineer can

be in a position to monitor and ensure that data gets to leave its source to the intended

destination. Having these skills, the engineer would be able to know the loopholes which might

prove to be risky channels that could rather compromise the delivery of the information over an

unsecured network, and come up with possible solutions. Additionally, he or she can be able to

add additional security features over the network topology to instill and reinforce a further

security measure. Through this, there is a high possibility of security once the data is in transit

and is being delivered from one point to the other. Messaged being delivered over the network

becomes enhanced and reduces the possibility of any intruder or hacker decoding the

information.

Additionally, the network engineer can make use of this knowledge to provide user

authentication approaches that would only require the intended and target audience to accept the
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message and decipher the already received information. He is in a position to advise the user to

keep his or her details safe and well stored to avoid chances of personification where one could

steal the user’s identity to decode the information received. A well-trained network engineer has

to have the capacity to understand the different theories of cryptography so that they can be able

to troubleshoot any incidences of network interferences that would rather pose a threat to any

information being transmitted from one point to the other over a network. The network engineer,

being responsible for the interconnectivity of items within a given organization, is mandated to

ensure there is a smooth flow of information and it should be so that it does not spill out of the

organization’s private network.

In the modern contemporary world, there are advancements in cybercrimes and there are

possible cases that might emanate from such an activity. Cases that involve personification,

email, ransomware attacks, internet frauds among others, could bring down an organization once

one or more of such cases hit. As such, it is upon the duty of the network engineer to come up

with a tactical approach on how to handle such cases whenever they arise. He should be

responsible to apply the knowledge and skills he has to ensure that such cases do not emanate.

This can be done by coming up with drills to test the network’s security and to ensure that they

are working as required. He or she could incorporate cryptographic techniques such as hash

functions. symmetric-key and public-key cryptographical approaches[ CITATION Sha17 \l 1033

]. This would ensure a steady and stable network safety that would enable the smooth running of

the business. Practicing these approaches would not only enhance the security measurements

across the network but also provide a safe channel for information delivery.
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References

Maqsood, F., Ahmed, M., Ali, M., & Shah, M. (2017). Cryptography: A Comparative Analysis

for Modern Techniques. International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and

Applications, 442-446.

Sharma, S., & Gupta, Y. (2017). Study on Cryptography and Techniques. International Journal

of Scientific Research in Computer Science, Engineering and Information Technology,

249-250.