| .. hazmat:: |
| |
| Asymmetric algorithms |
| ===================== |
| |
| Asymmetric cryptography is a branch of cryptography where a secret key can be |
| divided into two parts, a :term:`public key` and a :term:`private key`. The |
| public key can be given to anyone, trusted or not, while the private key must |
| be kept secret (just like the key in symmetric cryptography). |
| |
| Asymmetric cryptography has two primary use cases: authentication and |
| confidentiality. Using asymmetric cryptography, messages can be signed with a |
| private key, and then anyone with the public key is able to verify that the |
| message was created by someone possessing the corresponding private key. This |
| can be combined with a `proof of identity`_ system to know what entity (person |
| or group) actually owns that private key, providing authentication. |
| |
| Encryption with asymmetric cryptography works in a slightly different way from |
| symmetric encryption. Someone with the public key is able to encrypt a message, |
| providing confidentiality, and then only the person in possession of the |
| private key is able to decrypt it. |
| |
| .. toctree:: |
| :maxdepth: 1 |
| |
| x25519 |
| x448 |
| ec |
| rsa |
| dh |
| dsa |
| serialization |
| utils |
| |
| |
| .. _`proof of identity`: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public-key_infrastructure |
