Keeping private information entirely private is something cytologists have been dealing with for centuries. In modern times, data encryption has become more involved and harder to decode. Public key encryption is a set of “keys” used to encode and decode information transmitted through different channels such as the Internet and email. The key pair is a set comprised of a public key and a private key.

Anyone who wants to use the key system to encode and decode messages must apply for the key set particular to that person. The person who applied for the keys then gives his public encryption key to the people who send him messages. The person who wants to send a message privately then uses that public key to encrypt the message and send it to the intended person with the private key. The initial person with the private key then decodes the information and reads it. While only one person may have a private key, many people can use the same public key.

The keys are created using special algorithms, called asymmetrical algorithms, to form a mathematical pair, the public and private key. The use of these keys allows a digital signature to be rendered within the information, usually at the end of the message, which can only be read with the proper key. Attempting to break the code can take literally hours.

An example of public key data encryption is the military grade PGP, or Pretty Good Privacy. This type of key uses a browser plug-in, which has the ability to encode outgoing information and encode incoming information in real time. The plug-ins keep a record of all email addresses using the different public keys and automatically uses the proper key associated with the reader’s email. However, for this browser method to work, all browsers involved with the sending and receiving of the information need the plug-in installed. You can also use this type of encryption to store personal information on the hard drive of a computer, or on any memory cards or flash drives using the same public and private key method.

This is the type of encryption used by many major corporations around the world. When a person receives security messages in their inbox, it will have this code at the end of the message instructing the reader to go to a link to receive the decoding key. This is how the security companies can send their sensitive information to readers while the readers of the information reliably know the information is from whom it says. If the message received by those with the proper key does not read properly, or does not decode the message, the message is a fake.

While key encryption has many different methods, the public and private key method is one of the most widely available and most popular. It is easy to obtain a key set, as many companies make them available to their users and readers of newsletters. This kind of data encryption is used by many companies around the world and has proven a safe and secure method.

British? Check here for your public liability insurance or employers liability insurance.
 

Copyright Devon Institute 2006 All Rights Reserved