Public Key Cryptography (PKC) Algorithm
A Public Key Cryptography (PKC) Algorithm is a Data Cryptographic Algorithm that employs two keys (private and public)for encryption and decryption respectively.
- AKA: Asymmetric Encryption Algorithm.
- Context:
- It can be implemented by Public Key Cryptography (PKC) System to solve a Public Key Cryptography (PKC) Task.
- Example(s):
- Counter-Example(s):
- See: SSH, Data Transformation Algorithm, Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), Cryptosystem, Cold Boot Attack, Cyberspace Electronic Security Act, Geoblocking, Data Erasure, Information Security, Hash Function, Decentralized Online Social Network.
References
2021
- (Kessler, 2021) ⇒ Gary C. Kessler (2021)."3.2. Public Key Cryptography". In: "An Overview of Cryptography".
- QUOTE: Generic PKC employs two keys that are mathematically related although knowledge of one key does not allow someone to easily determine the other key. One key is used to encrypt the plaintext and the other key is used to decrypt the ciphertext. The important point here is that it does not matter which key is applied first, but that both keys are required for the process to work (...). Because a pair of keys are required, this approach is also called asymmetric cryptography.
In PKC, one of the keys is designated the public key and may be advertised as widely as the owner wants. The other key is designated the private key and is never revealed to another party. It is straight-forward to send messages under this scheme. Suppose Alice wants to send Bob a message. Alice encrypts some information using Bob's public key; Bob decrypts the ciphertext using his private key. This method could be also used to prove who sent a message; Alice, for example, could encrypt some plaintext with her private key; when Bob decrypts using Alice's public key, he knows that Alice sent the message (authentication) and Alice cannot deny having sent the message (non-repudiation).
- QUOTE: Generic PKC employs two keys that are mathematically related although knowledge of one key does not allow someone to easily determine the other key. One key is used to encrypt the plaintext and the other key is used to decrypt the ciphertext. The important point here is that it does not matter which key is applied first, but that both keys are required for the process to work (...). Because a pair of keys are required, this approach is also called asymmetric cryptography.