Cryptography is the science of using mathematics to encrypt and decrypt information. The encryption process translates information into an encrypted format that seems random and has no meaning. Decryption translates the encrypted information back into its original format. A cryptographic algorithm is a mathematical function used for encryption and decryption that combines the information with a key. Symmetric algorithms encrypt and decrypt with the same key, providing fast and secure encryption, while asymmetric algorithms use different public and private keys, allowing information to be encrypted with a public key and decrypted with a private key.