What is RSA?
Q: What is RSA?
A: RSA (Rivest–Shamir–Adleman) is an algorithm used by modern computers to encrypt and decrypt messages. It is an asymmetric cryptographic algorithm.
Q: What does asymmetric mean?
A: Asymmetric means that there are two different keys - a public key and a private key.
Q: What is the basis of the RSA algorithm?
A: The algorithm is based on the fact that finding the factors of a large composite number is difficult - when the factors are prime numbers, this problem is called prime factorization.
Q: How does RSA work?
A: RSA involves a public key and private key. The public key can be known to everyone- it is used to encrypt messages. Messages encrypted using the public key can only be decrypted with the private key, which needs to be kept secret. Calculating the private key from the public key is very difficult.
Q: Is there any other name for this type of cryptography?
A: This type of cryptography is also called public-key cryptography because one of the keys can be given to anyone while keeping the other one private.
Q: Does RSA generate a pair of keys?
A: Yes, RSA generates a pair of keys - a public and private key - which are used for encryption and decryption respectively.
