👉 Public Key Cryptography (PKC), also known as Asymmetric Cryptography, is a method of secure communication that uses a pair of keys—a public key and a private key—for encryption and decryption processes. The public key is shared openly and used to encrypt messages, ensuring that only the intended recipient, who possesses the corresponding private key, can decrypt and read the message. This approach enhances security by eliminating the need for a shared secret key, as the private key remains confidential. PKC relies on complex mathematical problems, such as factoring large prime numbers or computing discrete logarithms, to ensure the security of these keys. It is widely used in digital signatures, secure web communications (HTTPS), and various other applications where confidentiality and authenticity are paramount.
