Why in news?
Recently, a cryptology firm associated with IACR have to cancel an election due to losing an encryption key essential for the process. 
 
About IACR

• It is a non-profit scientific organization headquartered in Bellevue, Washington was founded in 1982, dedicated to furthering research in cryptology and related fields.

Key Activities

• Organizes flagship annual conferences: CRYPTO, Eurocrypt, and Asiacrypt.
• Sponsors area-specific workshops and conferences such as: Fast Software Encryption (FSE), Public Key Cryptography (PKC), Cryptographic Hardware and Embedded Systems (CHES), and Theory of Cryptography Conference (TCC).
• Maintains the Cryptology ePrint Archive for swift sharing of research developments.
• Publishes the Journal of Cryptology and conference proceedings.
• Headquarters in Bellevue, Washington.

What is Cryptology?

• Cryptology is the scientific study of techniques for secure communication
• It encompassing both cryptography, which is the practice of encrypting messages to keep them secret, and cryptanalysis, the practice of analyzing and breaking encryption to recover the original message without the key.
• It broadly covers the theoretical, mathematical, and practical aspects involved in constructing and analyzing protocols to prevent unauthorized access to information
• Cryptology is foundational for secure digital communication, protecting data in applications like electronic commerce, military communications, and digital currencies.​

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