Symmetric key cryptography
Symmetric-key cryptography is an encryption system in which the sender and receiver of a message share a single, common key that is used to encrypt and decrypt the message. Contrast this with public-key cryptology, which utilizes two keys - a public key to encrypt messages and a private key to decrypt them.
Symmetric-key systems are simpler and faster, but their main drawback is that the two parties must somehow exchange the key in a secure way. Public-key encryption avoids this problem because the public key can be distributed in a non-secure way, and the private key is never transmitted.
Symmetric-key cryptography is sometimes called secret-key cryptography. The most popular symmetric-key system is the Data Encryption Standard (DES).
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The glossary contains 473 terms. The current section Encryption contains 16 terms.
Other "Encryption" Terms
- Cipher
- Cipher is the generic term used to describe a means of encrypting data. In addition, the term cipher can refer to the encrypted text itself... More about Cipher...
- RC5
- RC5 is a parameterized algorithm with a variable block size, a variable key size, and a variable number of rounds. Allowable choices for the block... More about RC5...
- Public-key encryption
- Public-key encryption is a special encryption method, employing two passwords instead of one. One is password is given out to public - it is used to... More about Public-key encryption...
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