Also known as asymmetric key algorithms, public key cryptography is a class of cryptographic protocols based on algorithms. This method of cryptography requires two separate keys, one that is private or secret, and one that is public. Public key cryptography uses a pair of keys to encrypt and decrypt data to protect it against unauthorized access or use. Network users receive a public and private key pair from certification authorities. If other users want to encrypt data, they get the intended recipient’s public key from a public directory. This key is used to encrypt the message, and to send it to the recipient. When the message arrives, the recipient decrypts it using a private key, to which no one else has access.
So we’ll just go over two of the common algorithms Diffie-Hellman and RSA.
Diffie-Hellman
The Diffie-Hellman algorithm was one of the earliest known asymmetric key implementations. The Diffie-Hellman algorithm is mostly used for key exchange. Although symmetric key algorithms are fast and secure, key exchange is always a problem. You have to figure out a way to get the private key to all systems. The Diffie-Hellman algorithm helps with this. The Diffie-Hellman algorithm will be used to establish a secure communication channel. This channel is used by the systems to exchange a private key. This private key is then used to do symmetric encryption between the two systems.
RSA
It is the Rivest Shamir Adelman algorithm. RSA was developed in 1978. RSA was the first widely used asymmetric algorithms used for signing and encryption. It supports key lengths of 768 and 1,024 bits. The RSA algorithm uses a three-part process. The first part is key generation. The keys used in the RSA algorithm are generated using mathematical operations based on prime numbers. The second part of the process is encryption. This encryption is done using one of the keys in the key pair. The third part of the process is decryption. The decryption is done using the other key in the key pair.