Encryption, or cryptography, is a method of converting information into unintelligible code. The process can then be reversed, returning the information into an understandable form. The information is encrypted (encoded) and decrypted (decoded) by what are commonly referred to as "cryptographic keys."  These keys are actually values, used by a mathematical algorithm to transform the data. The effectiveness of encryption technology is determined by the strength of the algorithm, the length of the key, and the appropriateness of the encryption system selected.