In cryptography, the term 'in ciphertext' refers to a message that has been ENCRYPTED or ENCODED. ENCRYPTED messages are scrambled using an algorithm and a key, making them unreadable without the key. ENCODED messages are also unreadable, but they are not scrambled; instead, they are converted into a different form, such as a code or a numerical representation. Both ENCRYPTED and ENCODED messages can only be read by the intended recipient.