Encrypting and Decrypting Data Questions

Understand how to apply an encryption algorithm end-to-end: plaintext → encryption algorithm (with key and possibly IV) → ciphertext, then ciphertext → decryption algorithm (with key) → plaintext. Practice with symmetric schemes: understand block modes like ECB vs CBC and why CBC is more secure. Understand initialization vectors (IVs) and why randomness matters. Be prepared to trace through encryption/decryption manually or pseudocode it.