Encoding or scrambling data for transmission across a network is known as:

Concept

Encryption is a cryptographic transformation used to protect the confidentiality of information. It maps readable plaintext to an unreadable representation called ciphertext.

The transformation normally uses an algorithm and a key. Decryption is the inverse operation that recovers plaintext from ciphertext.

Application

The stem describes encoding or scrambling data before it travels across a network. That operation changes readable data into ciphertext, so the applicable process is encryption.

Contrast

• Protection is the broader security objective; it includes controls beyond cryptographic transformation.

• Detection identifies events, faults, or suspicious activity; it does not name the transformation of plaintext into ciphertext.

• Decryption reverses the transformation by recovering plaintext from ciphertext.

Cross-check

Reversing the stated operation confirms the terminology: ciphertext received across the network is converted back to readable plaintext by decryption. Therefore the forward scrambling operation is encryption.