Symmetric and Asymmetric Encryption 6.1

Question 1

Symmetric Encryption

Answer 1

A single, shared key. Encrypt with the key, decrypt with the same key. If the key gets out, you’ll need a new key. It’s hard to distribute, and doesn’t scale will. It’s fast to use with less overhead than asymmetric encryption. It is often combined with asymmetric encryption.

Question 2

Asymmetric Encryption

Answer 2

“Public key cryptography”. There are two (or more) keys. One key is private, the other is public. Anyone can see the public key. The secret to asymmetric encryption is that nobody can decrypt the data unless they have the private key.

Question 3

The Key Pair

Answer 3

Uses public and private key merging between two parties, to create a symmetric key, exclusive the two parties. Each party sends each other their public keys. They combine their respective private keys, with the others public keys, and their keys will match to create the symmetric key.

Question 4

Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC)

Answer 4

Asymmetric encryption uses very large integers composed of two or more large prime factors. Mobile devices have less processing power or memory as desktop or laptops. Instead of using prime numbers, it uses curves to create asymmetric encryption. It’s a smaller key with the same level of security which makes it great for mobile devices.