What is asymmetric keys?

The encryption of the asymmetric key is the process of transforming the text to cover its meaning using a shared public key. The text can only be decrypted by a secret private key that differs from the public key, but mathematically related to the public key. The main use of asymmetric keys encryption is symmetrical key exchange, authentication based on certificates and digital signatures. The disadvantage is that encryption and decryption is slow and the dial can potentially be hacked with a cryptographer who has enough computing time and energy.

Asymmetric key cryptography or public key cryptography revolutionized cryptology. Martin Hellman and Whitfield Diffie, promoted in 1976, describe two key cryptographic system, where one key is used for encryption and a different but related key is used for decryption. Since then, this has become an essential part of ensuring communication over the Internet. Encryption of the asymmetric key is the basis for the tools too is a pretty good Privacy Program (PGP), SSL (Transport Layer Security Protocol (TLS)

Message confidentiality and sender's authenticity can be guaranteed using asymmetric keys. Imagine that Alice would like to tell Bob's confidential information. Bob has a published public key that made Alice accessible using unsecured channels. Alice uses a cryptographic algorithm and Bob's public key to transform her simple text message into an encryption text and guarantees the confidentiality of her message. Only Bob can decipher its message using an additional algorithm and a needle key. Bob can then respond with a message encrypted with its private key, and Alice can be sure that the message is authentic if its public key can decrypt it.

The power of encryption of asymmetric keys is associated with the length of the keys and the difficulty of mathematics connecting both keys. Ron Rivest, Adi ShaMir and Leonard Adleman developed the RSA algorithm in 1978, which is today the most common algorithm. Public and private keys share the product module of two large different prime numbers. In order to ensure that the message encryption can be ensured, the lengths of the keys had to be increased. This is in response to increasing the computing power of hackers who could break the weaker codes by calculations of gross force. The complexity of algorithms causes encryption of asymmetric keys very slowly and is best suited for smaller messages, such as sharing the keys used in digital signatures.