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Asymmetric Encryption

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Encyclopedia of Database Systems

Synonyms

Public-key encryption

Definition

Asymmetric encryption, also known as public-key encryption, is a form of data encryption where the encryption key (also called the public key) and the corresponding decryption key (also called the private key) are different. A message encrypted with the public key can be decrypted only with the corresponding private key. The public key and the private key are related mathematically, but it is computationally infeasible to derive the private key from the public key. Therefore, a recipient could distribute the public key widely. Anyone can use the public key to encrypt messages for the recipient and only the recipient can decrypt them.

Key Points

A public-key encryption algorithm requires a trapdoor one-way function, i.e., a function that is easy to compute but hard to invert unless one knows some secret trapdoor (i.e., the private key). Existing public-key encryption algorithms are based on computational problems in number theory.

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Recommended Reading

  1. Diffie W. and Hellman M.E. New directions in cryptography. IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory, 22:644–654, 1976.

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  2. El Gamal T. A public key cryptosystem and a signature scheme based on discrete logarithms. In Advances in Cryptology: Proc. CRYPTO ’84, LNCS, vol. 196, Springer, 1985, pp. 10–18

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  3. Rivest R.L., Shamir A., and Adleman L.M. A method for obtaining digital signatures and public-key cryptosystems. Commun. ACM, 21:120–126, 1978.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA

    Ninghui Li

Authors
  1. Ninghui Li
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology, 266 Ferst Drive, 30332-0765, Atlanta, GA, USA

    LING LIU (Professor) (Professor)

  2. Database Research Group David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, N2L 3G1, Waterloo, ON, Canada

    M. TAMER ÖZSU (Professor and Director, University Research Chair) (Professor and Director, University Research Chair)

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© 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

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Li, N. (2009). Asymmetric Encryption. In: LIU, L., ÖZSU, M.T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Database Systems. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-39940-9_1485

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