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The word “decrypt” means “make (a coded or unclear message) intelligible”, which is more broad than the IT-specific jargon of using cipher algorithms. It’s perf
by orev 5y ago
The word “decrypt” means “make (a coded or unclear message) intelligible”, which is more broad than the IT-specific jargon of using cipher algorithms. It’s perfectly fine to use “decrypt” in the general sense in an article meant for general people to read.
- hn_throwaway_99 5y agoThe problem with this, then, is it confuses topics that are important for lay people to differentiate. Take the current idiocy coming from the governor of Missouri, trying to prosecute a journalist for "hacking" for the crime of ... reading HTML. While the governor used the word "decoding", not decrypting, he accused the journalist of going through some complicated intentional procedure to access private data, which is of course bullshit. Even in the general sense, "decrypting" something strongly implies the original author had the intention of keeping it private and secure. Was this the case with Tesla's data? It seems like not, because it would have been trivial for them to implement unbreakable encryption. Or was this just a case where someone else figured out their file format?
- 1970-01-01 5y agoNo, the wrong word was written, and that minor detail reveals how technically competent the editors are. They decoded the data.