#20unit 1technology solutions

Public key encryption

Asymmetric encryption with key pairs.

3D Learning World

Interactive Visualizations

Topic Diagrams

Public key encryption — a simple case

Sender encrypts with recipient's public key; only the recipient's private key can decrypt.

encrypt with recipient's public keytransmitdecrypt with private keySenderRecipient's p…Widely disseminat…Cipher textRecipient's p…Kept secretRecipient

In a simple public key exchange, the sender encrypts the message using the recipient's public key (which is widely disseminated) to produce cipher text. The cipher text is transmitted over the Internet. Only the recipient, using his or her matching private key (kept secret), can decrypt the message. The same key cannot be used to both encrypt and decrypt; the underlying math is a one-way irreversible function.

Explanation: In a simple public key exchange, the sender encrypts the message using the recipient's public key (which is widely disseminated) to produce cipher text. The cipher text is transmitted over the Internet. Only the recipient, using his or her matching private key (kept secret), can decrypt the message. The same key cannot be used to both encrypt and decrypt; the underlying math is a one-way irreversible function.