Asymmetric encryption (also known as asymmetric cryptography) allows users to encrypt information using shared keys.
You need to send a message across the internet, but you don't want anyone but the intended recipient to see what you've written. Asymmetric encryption can help you achieve that goal.
Asymmetric cryptography techniques allow for extremely secure communication between two parties. Chances are, you've encountered this technology before, even if you never knew what it was called. For example, each time you visit a website with an address starting with "https," you're dealing with asymmetric encryption.
What Is Asymmetric Encryption?
As government officials explain, non-sensitive web traffic just doesn't exist. We share almost every part of our lives online, and we conduct extremely sensitive transactions every day. Both individuals and companies need robust security measures in an environment like this. Asymmetric encryption is made to help.
Security in an asymmetric encryption environment comes from two keys.
- Public key encryption: Anyone can see this and access it.
- Private key encryption: Only the authenticated recipient has access to it.
These two keys are separate but equal, and they're both required to decode a message. If you have only one, decryption is impossible.
Symmetric encryption is asymmetric encryption's counterpart. If you use symmetric encryption, one key both encrypts and decrypts data. A hacker with access to that