Chaffing and winnowing is a
cryptographic technique to achieve
confidentiality without using
encryption when sending data over an insecure channel. The name is derived from agriculture: after grain has been harvested and
threshed, it remains mixed together with inedible fibrous
chaff. The chaff and grain are then separated by
winnowing, and the chaff is discarded. The technique was conceived by
Ron Rivest and published in an on-line article on 18 March 1998. Although it bears similarities to both traditional encryption and
steganography, it cannot be classified under either category.