The study of codes, ciphers, and methods for writing and reading secret messages, including both creating and breaking them.
From Greek 'kryptos' (hidden) + 'logos' (study, word, reason). The term solidified in the 20th century to encompass both cryptography (writing secrets) and cryptanalysis (breaking secrets).
Cryptology is the umbrella science that includes both cryptography and cryptanalysis—it's like one twin encrypts messages while the other twin tries to decrypt them, and together they've shaped military and digital history.
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