Encryption

A beginner's guide to encryption

When iPhone encryption stymied the FBI, federal agents in two separate court cases tried to force Apple to help them access data. One phone belonged to a suspected drug dealer, and the other to Syed Rizwan Farook, the shooter in the San Bernardino, Calif., terror attack.

While the US government dropped the San Bernardino, Calif., case this week after finding an alternative way to access Mr. Farook’s data, the debate about encryption on consumer devices is far from over.

Encryption keeps some of your most vital data safe.

It protects your credit card information from being stolen by anyone eavesdropping on your Internet traffic when you make purchases online. It’s also used to keep medical information secure, protect free speech, anddefend against surveillance. Increasingly, encryption is becoming widely available by default on consumer devices like smartphones.