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Cryptography - Symmetric versus Asymmetric.
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There are two basic types of cryptography systems: symmetric (also known as
conventional or secret key) and asymmetric (public key).
Symmetric ciphers require both the sender and the recipient to have the same
key. This key is used by the sender to encrypt the data, and again by the
recipient to decrypt the data. Bey Encryption includes Secure Key Transfer
which enables the keys to be securely transferred. This overcomes the problem of
getting the sender and recipient to share the key. Symmetric ciphers are much
faster and require smaller key sizes than than their asymmetic counterparts,
With Asymmetric ciphers each user has a pair of keys: a public key and a private
key. Messages encrypted with one key can only be decrypted by the other key.
The public key can be published widely while the private key is kept secret.
Failure to verify that the public key really does belong to the intended receiver
leaves open the possibility that the associated private key is in the hands of an
enemy or competitor. Asymmetric ciphers are much slower, and their key sizes must
be much larger than those used with symmetric ciphers.
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