The article concludes with a review of how an asymmetric key algorithm can be used to exchange a shared private key. This enables the use of faster symmetric key algorithms to exchange bulk ...

Asymmetric-key algorithms use a combination of private and public keys while symmetric algorithms use only private ones, commonly referred to as secret keys.

Asymmetric algorithms use different keys — one public, one private — to validate two parties’ identities and then to securely establish the shared secret (symmetric) key between them.

As noted by Daniel J. Bernstein, the creation of quantum computers that can effectively execute Grover’s algorithm would necessitate at least the doubling of today’s symmetric key lengths.

For the last half century the principal encryption method was symmetric key, i.e., the use of the same algorithm to encrypt and decrypt by using the same key at the encryptor and decryptor.

Symmetric key encryption uses the same key on both sides of the communication channel to encrypt or decrypt data. Symmetric key encryption is implemented in algorithms such as AES or DES.

A large bit key provides an added layer of security. Increasing key size and using a symmetric key algorithm are but two of the approaches under consideration. Also, there is research exploring ideas ...

The file data is then encrypted with a symmetric algorithm called as DESX. Encrypting File System (EFS) The key used for these kinds of symmetric encryption is called as File Encryption Key (or FEK).