What are asymmetric algorithms?

• Asymmetric algorithms are based on the computational security that offers encryption made in polynomial time complexity and that require cryptanalysis with exponential time complexity. • Asymmetric algorithms are efficient at encrypting small volumes of data, which is why they are generally used for key exchange and digital signature.

What is a symmetric key algorithm?

A popular symmetric key algorithm is Data Encryption Standard (DES), there are also its modern variants such as Triple DES. In this type, there are two keys, public and private. As the name suggests the public key is openly distributed but the private key remains secret.

What is an example of asymmetric encryption?

The most well-known example of Asymmetric Encryption is the Digital Signature Algorithm (DSA). Developed by National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in 1991, DSA is used for digital signature and its verification. DSA is an example of asymmetric encryption based on modular exponentiation and discrete logarithm.

Why is asymmetric cryptography important?

Asymmetric algorithms are very important in cryptography and especially in digital signatures. The first asymmetric cryptography algorithms were introduced by Whitfield Diffie and Martin Hellman in the 1970s.