What are some examples of asymmetric encryption algorithms

Question

I’m studying encryption methods and want to understand asymmetric encryption better. Can someone provide a few examples of these algorithms and briefly explain how they work?

Answer 1

Examples of Asymmetric Encryption Algorithms

1. RSA (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman)
   • Key Pair Generation: Based on the difficulty of factoring large composite numbers (product of two large prime numbers).
   • Encryption: Data is encrypted using the public key (n, e), where n is the modulus and e is the public exponent.
   • Decryption: Data is decrypted using the private key (n, d), where d is the private exponent.
2. Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) - Example: ECDSA (Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm)
   • Key Pair Generation: Based on the difficulty of the Elliptic Curve Discrete Logarithm Problem (ECDLP).
   • Encryption: Data is encrypted using the public key (a point on an elliptic curve).
   • Decryption: Data is decrypted using the private key (the corresponding private exponent).
3. Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange (DHKE)
   • Note: Not typically used for direct encryption, but rather for key exchange.
   • Key Pair Generation: Based on the difficulty of the Discrete Logarithm Problem (DLP) in a finite field.
   • Key Exchange: Two parties exchange public values to establish a shared secret key, which can then be used for symmetric encryption.
4. Ed25519 (Edwards-curve Digital Signature Algorithm)
   • Key Pair Generation: Similar to ECC, based on the ECDLP, but with a specific curve (Ed25519) and a more efficient signature scheme.
   • Encryption: Data is encrypted using the public key (a point on the Ed25519 curve).
   • Decryption: Data is decrypted using the private key (the corresponding private exponent).