Plaintext vs Cleartext
Plaintext and cleartext are common cryptographic terms for unencrypted data. The corresponding term for encrypted data is ciphertext. Encryption is the process of converting plaintext into ciphertext and vice versa using a key. Cleartext is data that is never intended to be encrypted. For example, the name of an organization may be shown in cleartext in a digital certificate so that humans can read the certificate and understand who it belongs to.| Plaintext vs Cleartext | ||
Plaintext | Cleartext | |
Definition | Unencrypted data that is input for encryption or the output of decryption. | Unencrypted data that isn't intended for encryption. |
