Symmetric and asymmetric cryptography

Cryptography is the science of securing information by transforming it into an unreadable format, ensuring confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity. Two fundamental encryption techniques are symmetric and asymmetric encryption. Let’s explore each in detail. One popular symmetric encryption algorithm is Data Encryption Standard (DES). It was developed by IBM in 1976 and later became a Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) in 1977. However, advances in computer processing power have made it possible for brute force attacks to crack the code. Therefore, modern versions of this algorithm were developed with larger keys to address this issue. Asymmetric cryptography, on the other hand, uses two different keys: a public key for encrypting messages and a private key for decrypting them. These keys are mathematically linked in such a way that only the public key can encrypt a message that can be decrypted by the private key—and vice versa. The most well-known asymmetric encryption algorithm is RSA (named after its creators).