Cryptography is the science of securing communication and information by transforming messages into an unreadable format. The document discusses the origins and evolution of cryptography from ancient hieroglyphs to modern ciphers like the Enigma machine. It outlines the main purposes of cryptography as authentication, data confidentiality, integrity and non-repudiation. The key types are described as secret key cryptography, public key cryptography and hash functions. Applications of cryptography include authentication, digital signatures, time stamping and secure network communications.