Table of contents
1.
Introduction
2.
Key Components
3.
Working
4.
Implementation
5.
Features of Public Key Cryptography
6.
Applications of Public Key Cryptography
7.
Advantages of Public Key Cryptography
8.
Disadvantages of Public Key Cryptography
9.
FAQs
10.
Key Takeaways
Last Updated: Mar 27, 2024

Public Key Cryptography

Author Prachi Singh
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Introduction

Public key cryptography is also known as asymmetric-key cryptography. The basic model of asymmetric cipher involves six elements, namely :

  1. Plain Text
  2. Encryption Algorithm
  3. Private Key
  4. Public Key
  5. Cipher Text
  6. Decryption Algorithm

Key Components

  1. Plain text: Plain Text is the primary message/information fed into the algorithm in terms of input.
  2. Encryption Algorithm: It performs various modifications on the data interpreted as input.
  3. Public Key and Private Key: Pair of keys used for encrypting and decrypting the data/message.
  4. Cipher Text: This is the unrecognizable message displayed as output.
  5. Decryption Algorithm: It takes the ciphertext as input and gives the plain text as the output. It works in a reverse manner as that of the encryption algorithm.

Note: All the users have access to the public key, but only the specific users have access to the primary key.

Working

The main idea behind public-key cryptography is that it uses two different keys to encrypt and decrypt the data to prevent unauthorized users. Encryption and Decryption Algorithms convert plain text into ciphertext and cipher text into plain text, respectively.

Implementation

There are two different scenarios for cryptography:

  1. The private key encrypts the data, and the public key decrypts the data.
  2. The public key encrypts the data, and the private key decrypts the data.

Features of Public Key Cryptography

  1. Users can use either of the two keys to encrypt and decrypt the data/message.
  2. The most vital algorithm used as a public key cryptosystem is  RSA(Rivest-Shamir-Adleman).
  3. One of the widely used encryption techniques deals with cryptographic information,  encryption keys, and decryption keys.

Applications of Public Key Cryptography

The different applications of Public Key Cryptography are as follows:

  1. Encryption and Decryption of Data: Public Key encryption provides confidentiality and authenticity. Under this technique, the receiver’s public key encrypts the data.
  2. Authentication: This Curriculum uses the authentication process of the sender’s side. Under this scenario, the plain text of the sender encrypts using his primary key.
  3. Secure Transmission: Public Key Cryptography ensures fast data transmission through an insecure medium or corrupted channel.

Advantages of Public Key Cryptography

The various advantages for Public Key Cryptography are as follows:

  1. When data has been transmitted on the corrupted channel, keys cannot be distributed among sender and receiver.
  2. The two keys,i.e., private and public, are used for encryption and decryption techniques. So, even if the attacker hacks a message, no participants can decrypt the message.
  3. Easy to implement.

Disadvantages of Public Key Cryptography

The various disadvantages of public-key cryptography are as follows:

  1. Public key cryptography needs more resources as compared to symmetric key cryptography.
  2. The processing speed of public-key cryptography is slow compared to symmetric key cryptography.

FAQs

  1. What is the other name for Public Key Cryptography?
    Public Key Cryptography is also known as Asymmetric Key Cryptography.
     
  2. Which cryptosystem is used to solve the Knapsack problem?
    Public Key Cryptography is used to solve Knapsack Problem.
     
  3. What is the other name for Cryptosystem
    The other name for cryptosystem is cipher system.
     
  4. How many techniques are available for encryption-decryption in cryptosystems?
    There are two different techniques available for encryption-decryption in cryptosystems, i.e., Public Key Encryption and Private Key Encryption.
     
  5. What is keyspace?
    Group of all possible decryption keys is termed as Key Space.

Key Takeaways

Congratulations on finishing the blog!! After reading this blog, you will grasp the concept of public-key encryption.

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