---

title: Ciphertext

slug: Glossary/Ciphertext

page-type: glossary-definition

---

{{GlossarySidebar}}

In {{glossary("cryptography")}}, **ciphertext** is a scrambled message that conveys information but is not legible unless {{glossary("decryption","decrypted")}} with the right {{glossary("cipher")}} and the right secret (usually a {{glossary("key")}}), reproducing the original {{glossary("Plaintext")}}. A ciphertext's security, and therefore the secrecy of the contained information, depends on using a secure cipher and keeping the key secret.

## See also

- [Ciphertext](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciphertext) on Wikipedia