What is the difference between symmetric and asymmetric encryption?

Asked By heidie 0 points N/A Posted on - 11/05/2011

Anyone can give me the comparison between symmetric and asymmetric encryption and decryption technique scheme. Please discuss also if this can cause the beast in the data security,  when this will be distributed to the system and to the web server. Please discuss it thoroughly for I need to be clarified. Thank you.

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Answered By lee hung 75 points N/A #105424

What is the difference between symmetric and asymmetric encryption?

Hallo Heidie,

They are both encryption algorithms, but the following is how we can differentiate these two:

• Symmetric Encryption- both parties here, the sender and the receiver share the same key for the encryption and the decryption. The key should be kept secret so as to ensure privacy, otherwise if someone else gets access to the key then it is not safe anymore. It has the advantage of not needing too much computing power, and some its algorithms include DES and Blowfish.
• Asymmetric Encryption- this one uses a pair of keys, one key is used for encryption by the sender while the other key is used for decryption by the receiver. The decryption should be kept totally secret to ensure the safety of the information and thus called the private key. Some of its algorithms include Diffie and Hellman's encryption.

Hope this helps.

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Regards
Lee Hung

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Answered By Emmanuel Kobu 0 points N/A #105425

What is the difference between symmetric and asymmetric encryption?

 

Symmetric encryption means you only need one key to encrypt a message and the user  needs  the same key to decode a message. The only way  to decode the message, you only need one key or to find the pattern how they encrypt the message. To affirm sender identity is by knowing who can encrypt the message or decode or decrypt the message. Symmetric is faster than asymmetric but can do only one transaction at a time and once other people learn the key, you have to change the key at both sides. Asymmetric encryption on the other hand is a double encryption meaning public and private. Everyone can see the public y and only the person who has private key can decode the message. The user uses private key to encrypt  the message, then public the message with public key. Though everyone can see the message, only the person with his private key can decode the message. Cracking the system in asymmetric is hardly possible since the key is too big and you need to know how the private key was created and only the person with another private key can decode the message.

 

 

 

 

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