Crypto

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Crypto, from the Greek kryptos, is an English prefix that means "hidden" or "secret".

The term crypto is also employed as shorthand for the following:

• Cryptography, the practice of the use of encryption.
• Cryptology, the study of cryptography and cryptanalysis
• CRYPTO, an annual cryptography conference.
• Crypto is a book by Steven Levy about the evolution of cryptography since the turn of the century.
• Crypto AG, a Swiss information security company.
• Cryptosporidiosis, a disease affecting the intestines of mammals that is caused by Cryptosporidium, a protozoan parasite.
• Crypto is the nickname of the fictional aliens Cryptosporidium 136, 137 and 138 from the game Destroy All Humans and Destroy All Humans! 2
• the codeword CRYPTO is also used to designate cryptographic key material for securing US-government communications involving classified or sensitive information.
• The prefix crypto- is used to refer to many groups which secretly adhere to a doctrine (often religious or political) while attempting to disguise it. For example:
  • Crypto-anarchism
  • Crypto-Calvinism
  • Crypto-Christianity
  • Crypto-determinism
  • Crypto-fascism
  • Crypto-Judaism
  • Crypto-Muslims
  • Crypto-Paganism
  • Crypto-Nazism

It should be noted that crypto-anarchism does not refer to secret adherence to anarchism: it refers to a separate philosophy related to the use of cryptography, and is partially intended to be a pun on the prefix's more common usage.