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Ebenezer Enietan (Niza)
Ebenezer Enietan (Niza)

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Asymmetric encryption

Asymmetric encryption is a method of encrypting data so that the encryption and decryption keys are different. This means the key used to encrypt the data is not the same as the key used to decrypt it.

In asymmetric encryption, there are two keys: a public key and a private key. The public key is used to encrypt the data, while the private key is used to decrypt it. The public key can be shared with anyone, while the private key should be kept secret.

One of the main benefits of asymmetric encryption is that it allows for secure communication between two parties without needing to exchange a shared secret key beforehand. This makes it useful for secure communication over the internet and other untrusted networks.

There are many different algorithms that can be used for asymmetric encryption, including RSA, ElGamal, and Diffie-Hellman. These algorithms use complex mathematical operations to generate public and private keys, and they are designed to be challenging to crack even with advanced computing power.

JavaScript libraries that provide support for asymmetric encryption
node-rsa: https://www.npmjs.com/package/node-rsa
jsrsasign: https://kjur.github.io/jsrsasign/
jsencrypt: https://www.npmjs.com/package/jsencrypt

PHP libraries that provide support for asymmetric encryption
OpenSSL: https://www.php.net/manual/en/book.openssl.php
phpseclib: https://github.com/phpseclib/phpseclib
Sodium: https://www.php.net/manual/en/book.sodium.php

Python libraries that provide support for asymmetric encryption
pycryptodome: https://pycryptodome.readthedocs.io/en/latest/
pycrypto: https://pypi.org/project/pycrypto/
cryptography: https://cryptography.io/en/latest/

Asymmetric encryption has various applications, including secure communication between two parties, digital signatures to verify the authenticity of messages, secure login systems, secure key exchange, and secure file transfer, secure API. It is a powerful tool for protecting data and communication in many different contexts, such as online banking, e-commerce, and secure messaging. Asymmetric encryption uses a public key to encrypt data, which can only be decrypted using a private key, ensuring that only the intended recipient can access the data.

Top comments (2)

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mgiddens profile image
Mike Giddens • Edited

The public key is used to encrypt the data, while the private key decrypts it.

This is half correct. Either key can be used to decrypt data encrypted with the other. i.e. Data encrypted with the public key can be decrypted with the private key while data encrypted with the private key can be decrypted with the public key.

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niza profile image
Ebenezer Enietan (Niza) • Edited

Agreed

Although one then has to consider the use case and how the keys are exchanged if security is the objective