Difference between Private Key and Public Key
We must first know what a key is before we get to know the difference between a public and a private key. A cryptographical key is a component that converts plain text into a code type (ciphertext) or the other way around with a cryptographic algorithm. It is this private key that enables secure communication. The cryptographic key is the core component of any cryptographic operation. Some systems involve encryption and decryption pairs of activities. A key aspect of this type of operation involves providing variable data as input to a cryptographic algorithm. The protection of the scheme in a properly specified cryptographic framework depends on the protection of the key.
What is the private Key?
In symmetric key cryptography, the sender and recipient of authenticated confidential information share the private key, which they use for both encrypting and decrypting data. Its encryption is quicker than the method of public-key encryption.
What is Public Key?
Using the public key to encrypt and decrypt the data with a private key. The sender and receiver of the encrypted confidential information are exchanged with the private key. Asymmetric cryptography is often called a public key.
Comparison Between (Infographics)
Below are listed some of the most significant differences:-
Key Differences Between:
- To use public-key cryptography, one key encrypts a simple text message and transforms it to ciphertext, while the recipient employs the decryption key to read the original message. In short, the biggest difference between a private to a public key is that one encrypts and the other decrypts.
- Asymmetric encryption uses a lock with an encryption algorithm to convert a message into an unreadable format and a separate lock with a decryption algorithm to convert the received message back to its original form.
- The public key is distributed widely, while the private key is kept secret.
- Scalability, the system’s reliability, and speed are the main features of a private key, whereas Public key Load monitoring tracks system sustainability.
- AES 128, AES 192, and AES 256 use private keys in their algorithms, while RSA, DSA, and others use public keys.
Comparison Table
Now let’s draft the comparison in the table below
| Sr. no. | Private Key | Public Key |
| 1. | Only one key is used. | Two keys are used. |
| 2. | It is faster than the public key. | It is not Faster than the Private key. |
| 3 | Symmetric key cryptography uses the same algorithm and key for both encrypting and decrypting the message. | Public-key cryptography uses two keys, one for encryption and the other for decryption. |
| 4 | Private key encryption stores the key as a password. | Public-key cryptography hides both of the keys. |
| 5 | The personal key is symmetric since only one key is known as a private key. | Asymmetric is the public key, so two types of keys exist: private and public. |
| 6 | The sender and receiver will use the same key in this encryption. | The sender and recipient do not have to use the same key in this encryption. |
| 7 | The key is secret in this cryptography. | The private key is private, and Public Key is public in this cryptography |
| 8 | It provides Testing controls for the scalability, system reliability, and speed. | Public key Load monitoring tracks system sustainability. |
| 9 | Algorithms like AES 128, AES 192, and AES 256 use the private key. | Algorithms like RSA, DSA, and others use the public key. |
Conclusion
Digital keys are a vital component, enabling ownership features in many cryptographically secure systems. Storing digital keys separately from the token networks is crucial. Instead, digital token wallets, independent of the network, are stored and generated. Such keys are generated in pairs, which is a public and private keys, as discussed above. You can think of it like an individual’s bank account, where the private key serves as the bank’s hidden PIN. So in this article, we have seen what the public and private keys are and the differences between them.
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