Private Keys and Public Keys terms are used in encryption and decryption. These keys are used to encrypt/decrypt sensitive information.
Private Key
The private key is used to both encrypt and decrypt the data. This key is shared between the sender and receiver of the encrypted sensitive information. The private key is also called symmetric being common for both parties. Private key cryptography is faster than public-key cryptography mechanism.
Public Key
The public key is used to encrypt and a private key is used decrypt the data. The private key is shared between the sender and receiver of the encrypted sensitive information. The public key is also called asymmetric cryptography.
The following are some of the important differences between Private Key and Public Key.
| Sr. No. | Key | Private Key | Public Key |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Algorithm | Private Key is used to both encrypt and decrypt the data and is shared between the sender and receiver of encrypted data. | The public key is only used to encrypt data and to decrypt the data, the private key is used and is shared. |
| 2 | Performance | The private key mechanism is faster. | The public key mechanism is slower. |
| 3 | Secret | The private key is kept secret and not public to anyone apart from the sender and receiver. | The public key is free to use and the private key is kept secret only. |
| 4 | Type | The private key mechanism is called symmetric being a single key between two parties. | The public key mechanism is called asymmetric being two keys for different purposes. |
| 5 | Sharing | The private key is to be shared between two parties. | The public key can be used by anyone but the private key is to be shared between two parties only. |
| 6 | Targets | Performance testing checks the reliability, scalability, and speed of the system. | Load testing checks the sustainability of the system. |