What is a Public Key Encryption?
  • 09 Jan 2023
  • 1 Minute to read
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What is a Public Key Encryption?

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Article Summary

Public key encryption, also known as asymmetrical encryption, is a type of encryption algorithm that uses a pair of keys, a public key and a private key, for encryption and decryption. Public key algorithms are also known as asymmetrical key algorithms because the two keys used for encryption and decryption are not the same.

In public key encryption, the public key is used to encrypt the data, and the private key is used to decrypt it. This means that the private key must be kept secret and secure, while the public key can be shared with others. When a message is encrypted using the recipient's public key, it can only be decrypted using the corresponding private key.

Public key algorithms are often used for secure communication over the internet, because they allow users to exchange encrypted messages without the need to exchange a shared secret key beforehand. The public key can be used to encrypt the message, and the private key can be used to decrypt it.

Some examples of public key algorithms include RSA (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman), DSA (Digital Signature Algorithm), and ECC (Elliptic Curve Cryptography).


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