Final answer:
Encryption is the process of converting information to a secure language format for electronic transmission, ensuring data privacy over public channels. This can be accomplished using various methods, including digital algorithms and modifying electromagnetic wave properties.
Step-by-step explanation:
The method of converting information to a secure language format for electronic transmission is called encryption. When data is encrypted, it is transformed from a readable form into a coded version that can only be decoded with the correct key. This process provides security for data as it allows for private communication over public channels.
For example, cell phone conversations and television voice and video images are digitally encrypted into a sequence of binary ones and zeros, which can also involve compression to transmit more data efficiently. Additionally, methods like the Transposition Cipher, as used in historical contexts like the Zimmerman Telegram, rearrange the plaintext into a cipher text. Modern digital encryption often uses advanced algorithms to secure the data transmission.
Electromagnetic waves such as those used in radio transmissions can be encrypted by varying the wave's amplitude, frequency, or phase. This ensures that only someone who knows how to decode, or 'decrypt', the signal can access the original message. The complexity and method of encryption can vary, depending on the sensitivity of the information and the means of transmission.