Public Key Cryptography

Public key cryptography is an essential concept in the world of digital communication and encryption. It provides a secure way for two parties to exchange valuable information over an insecure network.

In public key cryptography, each participant possesses a pair of cryptographic keys - a public key and a private key. These keys are mathematically related, but it is computationally infeasible to derive one key from the other.

The public key can be freely shared with anyone, while the private key must be kept secret. When a sender wants to encrypt a message for the receiver, they use the recipient's public key. Only the receiver, who possesses the corresponding private key, can decrypt the message successfully.

One significant advantage of public key cryptography is that it eliminates the need for a secure channel to exchange the encryption key. This means that even if an adversary intercepts the public key during transmission, they cannot determine the corresponding private key.