Capterra Glossary
IT
Public-key Cryptography

Capterra Glossary

Public-key Cryptography

Public-key cryptography is a way of encrypting data. It’s also called asymmetric cryptography because two different encryption keys are used. A public key is used to encrypt the data. Any number of people could have this key. It can only be used to encrypt data, so it doesn’t matter if it’s shared. A different key is needed to decrypt the data—this is a private key and no one but the recipient of the data has access to this.

What Small and Midsize Businesses Need to Know About Public-key Cryptography

Public-key encryption helps eliminate some of the risks of electronic communication for businesses. Requiring a separate key to decrypt messages can prevent digital eavesdropping. This keeps business-critical information private. It also allows recipients to easily check if messages are authentic.

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