Question

Explain symmetric key algorithm in cryptography.

Answer 1

____________ algorithms rely on a "shared secret" encryption key that is distributed to all members who participate in communications.

Sometimes called secret key or private key cryptography.

Answer 2

Explanation:

An encryption system in which the sender and receiver of a message share a single, common key that is used to encrypt and decrypt the message. Contrast this with public-key cryptology, which utilizes two keys - a public key to encrypt messages and a private key to decrypt them.

Symmetric-key systems are simpler and faster, but their main drawback is that the two parties must somehow exchange the key in a secure way. Public-key encryption avoids this problem because the public key can be distributed in a non-secure way, and the private key is never transmitted.

Symmetric-key cryptography is sometimes called secret-key cryptography. The most popular symmetric-key system is the Data Encryption Standard (DES).