Unauthenticated Encryption is a cryptographic process that involves encrypting data for confidentiality without providing any mechanism for verifying the integrity or authenticity of the data. In contrast to Authenticated Encryption, Unauthenticated Encryption does not include any additional information (such as an authentication tag or message authentication code) that allows the receiver to verify if the data has been tampered with during transmission or storage.
In Unauthenticated Encryption, the sender encrypts the plaintext message using a symmetric encryption algorithm and a secret encryption key. The encrypted ciphertext is then transmitted to the receiver.
Upon receiving the ciphertext, the receiver decrypts it using the same encryption key used by the sender. However, since there is no authentication mechanism, the receiver has no way to determine if the data has been modified or tampered with during transit.
The main limitation of Unauthenticated Encryption is that it only provides confidentiality but does not guarantee data integrity or authenticity. Therefore, it is vulnerable to various security attacks, such as data tampering or replay attacks, where an attacker can intercept and modify the encrypted data without being detected.