Page 68 - Cyber Defense eMagazine September 2018

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Public key encryption, which is technically asymmetric key encryption, is the opposite of the single key
method. You have two keys, one public used to encrypt and the other one is private and is used to decrypt.
So only, the individual holding the private key is able to decrypt the messages. Mathematically, asymmetric
relies on large prime numbers and number theory. This is the most widely known and used public key
infrastructure.
The Key Roles in Asymmetric key cryptography

Public key encryption enables you to transfer and convey through any open channel with a great degree of
assurance and allows you to trust the process in various ways:
o Authentication- Messages sent to you will be from the appropriate source
o Integrity- Messages will arrive unmodified
o Privacy- Messages will only be able to be read by the intended target.

Given this, we know that the scheme of cryptography is a necessity for computer systems to implement
the security and privacy that users’ desire. The power of this process rests in the size and means applied
for the protection of the cryptographic keys.

In conclusion, Cryptography provides a range of security defenses. It can support the protection of
Confidentiality, Integrity, Authentication, and Non-repudiation. It is the practice of transforming plain text
data to an obfuscated text that cannot be revealed by unauthorized entities. It hides data, which is why it is
called Cryptography, a word that from its Greek roots means “hidden writing.”

About the Author

Joe Guerra, Cybersecurity Instructor, Hallmark University Joe Guerra
is a cybersecurity/computer programming instructor at Hallmark
University. He has 12 years of teaching/training experience in
software and information technology development. Joe has been
involved in teaching information systems security and secure
software development towards industry certifications. Initially, Joe
was a software developer working in Java, PHP, and Python projects.
Now, he is focused on training the new generation of cyber first
responders at Hallmark University. Joe can be reached online at
([email protected]) and at our company website
http://www.hallmarkuniversity.edu/