Question

read the excerpt from the code book. however, the success of the information age depends on the ability to protect information as it flows around the world, and this relies on the power of cryptography. encryption can be seen as providing the locks and keys of the information age. for two thousand years encryption has been of importance only to governments and the military, but today it also has a role to play in facilitating business, and tomorrow ordinary people will rely on cryptography in order to protect their privacy. fortunately, just as the information age is taking off, we have access to extraordinarily strong encryption. the development of public key cryptography, particularly the rsa cipher, has given todays cryptographers a clear advantage in their continual power struggle against cryptanalysts, and rsa encryption is therefore effectively unbreakable. most important of all, public key cryptography is not weakened by any key distribution. to improve understanding of the excerpt, which questions are best to ask? select 5 options. what does \encryption\ mean? what is \public key cryptography\? what kind of encryption was available a long time ago? what are \key distribution problems\? where can i buy an rsa cipher? what are \cryptanalysts\?

Explanation:

• "What does 'encryption' mean?" helps clarify a key term in the text.
• "What is 'public key cryptography'?" is relevant as it's mentioned in the excerpt.
• "What kind of encryption was available a long time ago?" ties into the text's mention of encryption's history.
• "What are 'key distribution problems'?" is relevant as the text says public - key cryptography isn't weakened by them.
• "What are 'cryptanalysts'?" is relevant as they are mentioned in the power struggle with cryptographers.
• "Where can I buy an RSA cipher?" is not relevant to understanding the text's main concepts about the importance and nature of cryptography (the text is more about the concept and history of cryptography, not about purchasing a specific cipher).

Answer:

• What does "encryption" mean?
• What is "public key cryptography"?
• What kind of encryption was available a long time ago?
• What are "key distribution problems"?
• What are "cryptanalysts"?