.NET Security and Cryptography

Chapter Four. Asymmetric Cryptography

Modern computing has generated a tremendous need for convenient, manageable encryption technologies. Symmetric algorithms, such as Triple DES and Rijndael, provide efficient and powerful cryptographic solutions, especially for encrypting bulk data. However, under certain circumstances, symmetric algorithms can come up short in two important respects: key exchange and trust. In this chapter we consider these two shortcomings and learn how asymmetric algorithms solve them. We then look at how asymmetric algorithms work at a conceptual level in the general case, with emphasis on the concept of trapdoor one-way functions. This is followed by a more detailed analysis of RSA, which is currently the most popular ...