Common Asymmetric and Symmetric Encryption Algorithms
Comparison
Companies in every sector must comply with standards and regulations, and one of the best ways to do this is to utilizeencryption. Encryption takes data that can be clearly read, also known asplaintext, and runs it through anencryption algorithm. An encryption algorithm uses a key and mathematics to convert the plaintext into ciphertext, which is an undecipherable collection of letters and symbols. The process of encryption can be reversed using the same key, or the other key in a key pair, in a process calleddecryption. There are two different types of encryption: asymmetric and symmetric encryption.
Symmetric encryption involves the use of one key for both encryption and decryption. The plaintext is read into an encryption algorithm along with a key. The key works with the algorithm to turn the plaintext into ciphertext, thus encrypting the original sensitive data. This works well for data that is being stored and needs to be decrypted at a later date. The use of just one key for both encryption and decryption reveals an issue, as the compromise of the key would lead to a compromise of any data the key has encrypted. This also does not work fordata-in-motion, which is where asymmetric encryption comes in.
Asymmetric encryption works with a pair of keys. The beginning of asymmetric encryption involves the creation of a pair of keys, one of which is a public key, and the other which is a private key. The public key is accessible by anyone, while the private key must be kept a secret from everyone but the creator of the key. This is because encryption occurs with the public key, while decryption occurs with the private key. The recipient of the sensitive data will provide the sender with their public key, which will be used to encrypt the data. This ensures that only the recipient can decrypt the data, with their own private key.
Asymmetric and symmetric encryption are each better used for different situations. Symmetric encryption, with its use of a single key, is better used for data-at-rest. Data stored in databases needs to be encrypted to ensure it is not compromised or stolen. This data does not require two keys, just the one provided by symmetric encryption, as it only needs to be safe until it needs to be accessed in the future. Asymmetric encryption, on the other hand, should be used on data sent in emails to other people. If only symmetric encryption were used on data in emails, the attacker could take the key used for encryption and decryption and steal or compromise the data. With asymmetric encryption, the sender and recipient ensure only the recipient of the data can decrypt the data, because their public key was used to encrypt the data. Both types of encryption are used with other processes, like digital signing or compression, to provide even more security to the data.
Common Asymmetric and Symmetric Encryption Algorithms
Symmetric Encryption Algorithms:
Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)
Blowfish
Twofish
Rivest Cipher (RC4)
Data Encryption Standard (DES)
Asymmetric Encryption Algorithms:
Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA)
Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA)
Diffie-Hellman
Pretty Good Privacy (PGP)
Comparison
While asymmetric encryption is often recognized as being more advanced than symmetric encryption, organizations still use both cryptographic techniques in their security strategies. For example, symmetric encryption is ideal for maximizing the speed of bulk data encryption or to secure communication within closed systems. On the other hand, asymmetric encryption is more beneficial for open systems where the priority is securing key exchanges, digital signatures and authentication.
Here is a comparison table between symmetric and asymmetric encryption.
Asymmetric Encryption
Symmetric Encryption
Definition
A two-way function that takes in plaintext data, and turns it into undecipherable ciphertext. This process utilizes a public key for encryption and a private key for decryption.
A two-way function that takes in plaintext data, and turns it into undecipherable ciphertext. This process uses the same key for both encryption and decryption.
Use Cases
Digital Signing: Asymmetric encryption is much better for digital signing, compared to symmetric encryption. The use of both a public and private key means the identity of the signer of the data can easily be known. The signer uses their private key for encryption, while the recipient verifies their identity with their public key. As only the public key of the signer can decrypt data encrypted with the signer’s private key, the identity of the signer is verified when the data is decrypted.
Blockchain: Again, the identification of the user during cryptocurrency transactions is much easier done with asymmetric encryption.
Public Key Infrastructure (PKI): The identity of key owners is proven with certificates in PKI, and thus asymmetric encryption is the better choice in PKIs.
Banking: Encrypting sensitive customer data in banks is extremely important, as is decrypting that information as quickly as possible. For this reason, symmetric encryption is the preferred method of encryption in banks, as one key encryption is much swifter than two key encryption.
Data Storage: As with banking, data storage services and products tend to use symmetric encryption. This method is much swifter to encrypt and decrypt data needed in a timely manner.
Advantages
The loss of the public key does not result in the compromise of data
More secure than symmetric encryption
Only the owner of the private key can decrypt the data sent to them
Simpler to implement
Faster than asymmetric encryption
Protects data from compromise
Disadvantages
Slower than symmetric encryption
More complicated to implement than symmetric encryption
Loss of a key means any data encrypted with that key can be compromised
For example, symmetric encryption is ideal for maximizing the speed of bulk data encryption or to secure communication within closed systems. On the other hand, asymmetric encryption is more beneficial for open systems where the priority is securing key exchanges, digital signatures and authentication.
Security: Asymmetric encryption is considered more secure due to the use of two separate keys, making it harder for attackers to compromise the system. However, symmetric encryption can still provide strong security when implemented correctly with strong key management practices.
Symmetric data is observed when the values of variables appear at regular frequencies or intervals around the mean. Asymmetric data, on the other hand, may have skewness or noise such that the data appears at irregular or haphazard intervals.
Increased data security is the primary benefit of asymmetric cryptography. It is the most secure encryption process because users are never required to reveal or share their private keys, decreasing the chances of a cybercriminal discovering a user's private key during transmission.
Symmetric encryption uses the same key to encrypt and decrypt data. The key is a secret value that both the sender and the receiver of the encrypted data must know and keep safe. Symmetric encryption is fast, simple, and efficient, as it requires less computational power and memory than asymmetric encryption.
Symmetric encryption uses the same key to both encrypt and decrypt data, while asymmetric encryption uses two different keys for the same purpose. Symmetric encryption is faster and easier to use than asymmetric encryption, but it is less secure. If the key is compromised, the data can be easily decrypted.
With asymmetric encryption, the sender and recipient ensure only the recipient of the data can decrypt the data, because their public key was used to encrypt the data. Both types of encryption are used with other processes, like digital signing or compression, to provide even more security to the data.
Key management: The biggest drawback of symmetric key encryption is that both the sender and the receiver must have access to the same key, making key management a challenge. If the key is lost or compromised, all encrypted data is at risk.
When you look at someone's face and it's symmetrical, this means their face has the exact same qualities on either side. An asymmetrical face is one that might have one eye larger than the other, eyes at different heights, different sized ears, crooked teeth, and etc.
Symmetric encryption uses one key to encrypt and decrypt. If you encrypt a zip file, and then decrypt with the same key, you are using symmetric encryption. Symmetric encryption is also called “secret key” encryption, as the key must be kept secret from third parties.
Security: Asymmetric encryption is considered more secure than symmetric encryption because it eliminates the need to exchange secret keys, which can be a security risk. Additionally, the private key is kept secret, which makes it harder for attackers to intercept or tamper with the data.
In contrast, the slower speed of asymmetric cryptography not only makes the process of sharing messages far less efficient, but it can also create performance issues as network processes get bogged down trying to encrypt and/or decrypt messages with asymmetric cryptography.
Which is the largest disadvantage of symmetric Encryption? Explanation: As there is only one key in the symmetrical encryption, this must be known by both sender and recipient and this key is sufficient to decrypt the secret message.
Asymmetric Key Encryption: Asymmetric Key Encryption is based on public and private key encryption techniques. It uses two different key to encrypt and decrypt the message. It is more secure than the symmetric key encryption technique but is much slower. It only requires a single key for both encryption and decryption.
Advantages of Symmetric Encryption: Speed and Efficiency: Symmetric encryption is significantly faster than asymmetric encryption due to its simpler mathematical operations. This makes it ideal for encrypting large volumes of data in real-time or for resource-constrained environments.
Public key cryptography is generally considered to be more secure than symmetric encryption techniques because even though one key is publicly available, an encrypted message can only be decrypted with the intended recipient's private key.
This means that if the key is compromised, unauthorized parties can easily access the data. Additionally, managing and distributing the key can be challenging, especially if multiple parties need access to the encrypted data.
Asymmetric encryption is far slower than symmetric encryption, and is also weaker per bit of key length. The strength of asymmetric encryption is the ability to securely communicate without pre-sharing a key. Table 4.16 compares symmetric and asymmetric algorithms based on key length.
Introduction: My name is Terrell Hackett, I am a gleaming, brainy, courageous, helpful, healthy, cooperative, graceful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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