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What is a public key SSL?
When performing authentication, SSL uses a technique called public-key cryptography. The owner of the key pair makes the public key available to anyone, but keeps the private key secret. A certificate verifies that an entity is the owner of a particular public key.
What is the purpose of public key cryptography in SSL?
Public key cryptography, in the context of SSL/TLS, is used for the actual communication portion of the connection. Each party derives the key during the handshake and then uses it to both encrypt and decrypt all data that’s transmitted between them.
How does SSL / TLS public key infrastructure work?
To make the story short, if you know the public key of some entity (a server, a human user…) then you can establish a secured data tunnel with that entity (e.g. with SSL/TLS in a connected context, or encrypting emails with S/MIME). The problem, now, is one of key distribution.
Why is public key infrastructure ( PKI ) so important?
Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is kind of a big deal. It underpins widespread web encryption and the entire system of privacy and data protection across the Internet and many other public networks. In short, it’s what makes your SSL certificate work and helps keep your private information private on a daily basis.
Which is part of PKI does SSL use?
In brief: SSL makes use of PKI in operations. This includes use of asymmetric cryptographic algorithms and public and private keys, contained and associated with X.509 certificates, which are one of the most important parts of PKI.
What do clients need to know about SSL / TLS?
The clients have to have confidence that they are interacting with the server they intended to. Just about all retail servers that use SSL/TLS have a certificate, which is a signed public key that advertises the signature authority. With PKI, the server also needs to know if the client has permission to access the server.