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A key in cryptography is a piece of information, usually a string of numbers or letters that are stored in a file, which, when processed through a cryptographic algorithm, can encode or decode cryptographic data. Based on the used method, the key can be different sizes and varieties, but in all cases, the strength of the encryption relies on ...
Security of public-key cryptography depends on keeping the private key secret; the public key can be openly distributed without compromising security. [3] There are many kinds of public-key cryptosystems, with different security goals, including digital signature , Diffie-Hellman key exchange , public-key key encapsulation , and public-key ...
Symmetric-key encryption: the same key is used for both encryption and decryption. Symmetric-key algorithms [a] are algorithms for cryptography that use the same cryptographic keys for both the encryption of plaintext and the decryption of ciphertext. The keys may be identical, or there may be a simple transformation to go between the two keys. [1]
Before the modern era, cryptography focused on message confidentiality (i.e., encryption)—conversion of messages from a comprehensible form into an incomprehensible one and back again at the other end, rendering it unreadable by interceptors or eavesdroppers without secret knowledge (namely the key needed for decryption of that message).
With Diffie–Hellman key exchange, two parties arrive at a common secret key, without passing the common secret key across the public channel. Diffie–Hellman ( DH ) key exchange [ nb 1 ] is a mathematical method of securely generating a symmetric cryptographic key over a public channel and was one of the first public-key protocols as ...
Distributed key generation: For some protocols, no party should be in the sole possession of the secret key. Rather, during distributed key generation , every party obtains a share of the key. A threshold of the participating parties need to cooperate to achieve a cryptographic task, such as decrypting a message.
poem key - Keys used by OSS agents in World War II in the form of a poem that was easy to remember. See Leo Marks. public/private key - in public key cryptography, separate keys are used to encrypt and decrypt a message. The encryption key (public key) need not be kept secret and can be published.
In cryptography, a shared secret is a piece of data, known only to the parties involved, in a secure communication. This usually refers to the key of a symmetric cryptosystem . The shared secret can be a PIN code , a password , a passphrase , a big number, or an array of randomly chosen bytes.