SECUR Exam Cram™ 2 (Exam 642-501)

Asymmetric Key Algorithms

Asymmetric algorithms, often called public-key algorithms, perform encryption and decryption in a completely different way than symmetric algorithms. Asymmetric algorithms do not rely on a randomly generated shared encryption key that changes per session; instead, they create two static keys. These static keys are completely different but mathematically bound to each other; what one key encrypts, the other key can decrypt. One key alone cannot encrypt and decrypt the same data.

We use this encryption method by keeping one key private and giving the other key to anyone in the public Internet. It doesn't matter who has our public key; it is useless without the private key.

For example, say Peer X generates a public/private ...