Also known as asymmetric cryptography, public key cryptography is a scheme of encryption which uses a private key and public key which are not identical but are related mathematically. In contrast with the private key cryptography which depends on a single key to both decrypt and encrypts, each key has a unique role. The private key is used for decryption while the public key is used for encryption (Preneel, Paar & Pelzl, 2009). Public key cryptography is computationally infeasible with an aim of computing private key depending on the public key. The public key can, therefore, be shared freely to allow users to have a convenient and easy way for verification of digital signatures and encryption of content (Preneel, Paar & Pelzl, 2009). Private keys are secretly kept to ensure that only the owners can make digital signatures and decrypt the content. Because of the need to share public keys but are sometimes too big to be remembered, they are in most cases kept on digital certificates so that they can be shared and transported securely (Preneel, Paar & Pelzl, 2009). Because private keys are normally kept and not shared, they are safely stored in the operating system, hardware or software with drivers which enable it to be used with the operating system or software.
The public key is important for several reasons. First, it provides increased security for data. Public key cryptography is the more secure compared to the private key cryptography since its users do not need to reveal or transmit about the private key to people. This way, it reduces the chances of cybercriminals getting the secret key of an individual during transmissions.
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Another important benefit of the public key cryptography is the fact that it provides signatures that users cannot repudiate. For public cryptography, the users are required to protect the private key while the private key cryptography requires that the users share the secret keys and even sharing it with third parties.
With this kind of encryption, the sender can register claims of compromising the secret shared key by one of the users in the process. It is important to note that the public key cryptography is not meant to replace the private key cryptography. Instead, it is supposed to be used to supplement the private key cryptography. In some cases, the users may find the private key encryption not idea and thus they may resort to using the public key cryptography. This is usually done in cases where there are many users.
Ideally, public key encryption is the choice which allows for many user environments and for that reason it is often necessary to ensure that there is confidentiality through the distribution of key and the signatures for verification of the user identities. Public key cryptology circumvents the risks and logistics which are often gotten through key swapping (Preneel, Paar & Pelzl, 2009). Because of its heightened security and scalability, public key cryptography is widely used and popular in an enterprise environment. Even with these benefits, there are a few challenges connected with public key encryption. First, there is the issue of speed. Compared with the private key encryption, the private key encryption is faster than the public system (Preneel, Paar & Pelzl, 2009). To overcome this challenge, the user needs to combine the speed of the private key system with the public key encryption. Another challenge with the public key encryption is its susceptibility to attacks through authorities with compromised certification. The business application of public key encryption includes digital signatures and encryption. As already mentioned, digital content is signed using a private key and then the verification is done using the public key system. Encryption is done using the public key system and then the content can be decrypted using the private key of the user.
Reference
Preneel, B., Paar, C., & Pelzl, J. (2009). Understanding cryptography: a textbook for students and practitioners. J. Pelzl.–Springer .
