What process involves taking plain text and creating cipher text?

The process of taking plain text and transforming it into cipher text is known as encryption. This process is essential for securing data, as it ensures that the information can only be accessed by those who possess the appropriate decryption key. Encryption utilizes algorithms to convert the original readable text (plain text) into a formatted version that cannot be easily construed without the key, thus protecting the confidentiality of the information during storage or transmission.

In contrast, encoding is a different process that primarily focuses on data representation rather than security, making it easy to store and transmit data but not concealing it. Hashing is used to generate a fixed-size string of characters from input data, which is typically used for data integrity verification rather than for maintaining confidentiality, as it is not reversible. Decryption is the process that does the opposite of encryption: it converts cipher text back into its original plain text form using a key. Each of these processes plays a distinct role in data handling and security, but encryption is specifically designed for transforming plain text into an unreadable format to safeguard it from unauthorized access.