Data encryption basics in Unity - Step-by-Step Execution

Concept Flow - Data encryption basics

Start with plain data

↓

Choose encryption key

↓

Apply encryption algorithm

↓

Get encrypted data

↓

Store or send encrypted data

↓

To decrypt: use same key

↓

Apply decryption algorithm

↓

Retrieve original plain data

This flow shows how plain data is encrypted using a key and algorithm, then decrypted back to original data using the same key.

Execution Sample

Unity

using System;
using System.Text;

string Encrypt(string text, string key) {
  // Simplified example
  return Convert.ToBase64String(Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(text));
}

This simple code converts text to bytes and encodes it as base64 to simulate encryption.

Execution Table

Step	Action	Input	Output	Notes
1	Start with plain text	"Hello"	"Hello"	Original data to encrypt
2	Choose key	"myKey123"	"myKey123"	Key used for encryption
3	Convert text to bytes	"Hello"	[72, 101, 108, 108, 111]	UTF8 bytes of text
4	Convert bytes to Base64 string	[72, 101, 108, 108, 111]	"SGVsbG8="	Simulated encrypted data
5	Output encrypted data	"SGVsbG8="	"SGVsbG8="	Encrypted text ready to store or send
6	Decrypt: Convert Base64 to bytes	"SGVsbG8="	[72, 101, 108, 108, 111]	Reverse conversion
7	Convert bytes to text	[72, 101, 108, 108, 111]	"Hello"	Original text recovered

💡 Decryption completes when original text is recovered from encrypted data.

Variable Tracker

Variable	Start	After Step 3	After Step 4	After Step 6	Final
plainText	"Hello"	"Hello"	"Hello"	"Hello"	"Hello"
key	null	"myKey123"	"myKey123"	"myKey123"	"myKey123"
byteData	null	[72, 101, 108, 108, 111]	[72, 101, 108, 108, 111]	[72, 101, 108, 108, 111]	[72, 101, 108, 108, 111]
encryptedText	null	null	"SGVsbG8="	"SGVsbG8="	"SGVsbG8="
decryptedText	null	null	null	"Hello"	"Hello"

Key Moments - 3 Insights

Why do we convert text to bytes before encryption?

Computers work with bytes, not text directly. Step 3 shows text converted to bytes so encryption algorithms can process it.

Is the base64 string the real encrypted data?

In this example, base64 is just encoding bytes to text for easy storage/transfer (Step 4). Real encryption would transform bytes securely.

Why do we need the same key to decrypt?

Encryption uses the key to scramble data. Decryption uses the same key to unscramble it.

Visual Quiz - 3 Questions

Look at the execution table, what is the output after Step 4?

A [72, 101, 108, 108, 111]

B "Hello"

C "SGVsbG8="

D null

💡 Hint

Check the Output column for Step 4 in the execution_table.

At which step do we convert the encrypted base64 string back to bytes?

A Step 3

B Step 6

C Step 2

D Step 7

💡 Hint

Look for the step where Base64 string is converted to bytes in the execution_table.

If we change the key, what will happen in the decryption steps?

A Decryption will fail to recover original text

B Decryption will still work fine

C Encryption will change but decryption stays same

D Key does not affect encryption or decryption

💡 Hint

Refer to key importance explained in key_moments.

Concept Snapshot

Data encryption basics:
- Convert plain text to bytes
- Use a secret key with an algorithm
- Encrypt bytes to secure data
- Store or send encrypted data
- Use same key to decrypt back
- Decryption recovers original text

Full Transcript

This visual trace shows how data encryption works step-by-step. We start with plain text, convert it to bytes because computers handle bytes, then apply an encryption process simulated here by base64 encoding. The encrypted data is stored or sent. To get the original text back, we decode the base64 string to bytes and convert bytes back to text. The key is essential to encrypt and decrypt correctly. Changing the key breaks decryption. This simple example helps understand the flow of encryption and decryption in programming.