pair of keys generated by each user o Usually the receiver provides the sender of the message with their public key to encrypt the plain text • Cipher Text o This is the scrambled message produced as output. It depends on the plain text and the key. For a given message, two different keys will produce two different cipher texts
or a message to attach a code that acts as a signature • Used in situations where there is not complete trust between sender and receiver and something more than regular authentication is needed
pair, consisting of a public key and a private key. The private key is able to generate signatures. A signature created using your private key cannot be forged by anybody who does not have that key; but anybody who has your public key can verify that a particular signature is genuine.
to the host server under a certain name. Then, when the server asks you to prove who you are, you can generate a signature using your private key. The server can verify that signature (since it has your public key) and allow you to log in. Now if the server is hacked or spoofed, the attacker does not gain your private key or password; they only gain one signature. And signatures cannot be re-used, so they have gained nothing.
o Relatively more vulnerable to brute force attacks when compared to other key cryptographies • Vulnerable to the Man in the Middle Attack o A malicious third party can intercept a public key on its way to one of the parties involved