How are bitwise operators used in cryptography with Python?

How are bitwise operators used in cryptography with Python?

Bitwise operators in Python, like AND, OR, XOR, and NOT, are crucial for tasks such as encryption and hashing.

Can you give me an example of using XOR in encryption?

Sure! XOR is often used in the one-time pad encryption method. For example, if you have a plaintext byte and a key byte, you can encrypt it by doing a bitwise XOR.

What about performance? Are bitwise operations faster?

Yes, bitwise operations are generally faster than arithmetic operations because they operate directly on the binary representation of numbers.

Are there any libraries in Python that simplify using bitwise operations?

Yes, libraries like cryptography and PyCryptodome provide higher-level abstractions for cryptographic operations, including bitwise manipulations.