What is the best description of the process of decryption?

Decryption is the process of converting encoded or encrypted data back into its original form, making it readable and understandable for authorized users. When data is encrypted, it is transformed into a format that conceals its true meaning to prevent unauthorized access. Through decryption, the original content is restored, allowing individuals with the appropriate keys or access rights to read the information as it was intended.

This process is essential in data security because it ensures that while the information is protected from potential threats during transmission or storage, it can still be accessed by those who need to use it. For instance, in secure communications, a message is first encrypted before being sent. Upon receiving it, the designated recipient uses a decryption method to decode the message, thus retrieving the original text.

In contrast to this, encoding data for secure transmission primarily involves converting data into a different format, which is not necessarily meant to conceal its contents, while transforming encrypted data into a form that is unreadable focuses on protected data rather than the restoration process. Modifying data to hide its meaning denotes a different approach to data security, which does not involve returning the data to its original, readable state.