Encryption is the encoding of plaintext into another format known as ciphertext. To encrypt a message (data), a key is needed, just like a lock needs a key to be opened. With data encryption, we use a key, also known as a secret, to encrypt (lock) and decrypt (unlock) a message; only the person/device with the correct key can unlock/decrypt the message and read its contents. Encryption helps keep our data safe, even if a malicious user obtains the ciphertext, they won't be able to read the contents of the message without having the key to decrypt it.