Analysis and Differences in Asymmetric and Symmetric Encryption
Asymmetric and symmetric encryptions are forms of concealing information using a code or cipher. It helps in that the data can’t be seen in its original form by an unauthorized person. Data is encrypted through the use of a cryptographic key in which the same key used to encrypt the data may or may not be used to decrypt it (Thakkar, 2020). This brings us to the two types of encryptions (asymmetric and symmetric) that differ in the following ways:
Symmetric encryption, also known as single-key encryption, uses a secret key to encode the data, and the same key is used to decode the data. This brings the difference with the asymmetric encryption since it uses two types of keys (public key and private key) hence also known as public-key encryption. The public key is used to encode while the private key is used to decode the data, unlike in symmetric, where the same key is used (Khillar, 2020).
Also, they differ with the types of algorithms used in each of them. In symmetric encryption, the widely used algorithms include AES-256, AES-192, and AES-128. It includes others that have been developed over the years: IDEA, CAST5, Blowfish, RC4, RC5, and RC6. In asymmetric, RSA is the standard algorithm developed by Len Adelman, Ran Rivest, and Adi Shamir. Other well-known include DSA, Elliptic Curve Cryptography, El Gamal, and YAK (Khillar, 2020).
They differ in their use in that symmetric encryption is in present days used widely in computer systems to improve security and also to ensure user privacy. On the contrary, asymmetric encryption is used to ensure safety in the transfer of information among organizations and to provide protection on online transactions and even in digital signatures. Other applications that use asymmetric encryption include encrypted data and digital cash (Khillar, 2020).
Both types of encryption differ in key lengths, which are measured in bits. The key range of each cryptographic algorithm is directly related to the level of security provided by it. In symmetric encryption, their keys are randomly chosen, and their lengths set to 128 or 256 depending on the level of protection needed. In asymmetric encryption, there is a mathematical relationship between the public key and the private key, which forms a pattern that can easily be exploited by attackers. Thus, the asymmetric keys need to be long enough to provide a high level of security (Binance Academy, 2020).
When it comes to speed, the symmetric encryption process is much faster than its counterparts in asymmetric because symmetric cryptography is specifically designed to perform efficiently in operations with large amounts of data. Thus it is widely used for speed and performance. Asymmetric encryption is massively inefficient, and they are also more complex, hence slow in performance (guest), 2019).
In terms of age, symmetric encryption was developed much earlier than asymmetric encryption. Asymmetric was designed to cover up one of the drawbacks of the symmetric encryption process: symmetric encryption would bring more damage if compromised, mainly when used in a two-way communication process. When someone gets the symmetric key, he would be able to decrypt everything which has been encrypted with that key (Lander, 2020).
I prefer asymmetric encryption to be more secure than symmetric encryption since it uses two keys. The private key is not disclosed to everyone hence making the technique more secure (Yedakula, 2019).
References
Binance Academy. (2020). Hybrid PoW/PoS Consensus Explained | Binance Academy. Retrieved 12 August 2020, from https://academy.binance.com/blockchain/hybrid-pow-pos-consensus-explained
(guest), T. (2019). The need to manage both symmetric and asymmetric keys. Retrieved 12 August 2020, from https://www.cryptomathic.com/news-events/blog/the-need-to-manage-both-symmetric-and-asymmetric-keys#:~:text=For%20standard%20encrypt%2Fdecrypt%20functions,of%20large%20volumes%20of%20data
Khillar, S. (2020). Difference Between Symmetric and Asymmetric Encryption | difference Between. Retrieved 12 August 2020, from http://www.differencebetween.net/technology/difference-between-symmetric-and-asymmetric-encryption/
.Lander, S. (2020). Advantages and Disadvantages of Symmetrical and Asymmetrical Encryption. Retrieved 12 August 2020, from https://itstillworks.com/advantages-disadvantages-symmetrical-asymmetrical-encryption-2143.html
Thakkar, J. (2020). Types of Encryption: What to Know About Symmetric vs Asymmetric Encryption | InfoSec Insights. Retrieved 12 August 2020, from https://sectigostore.com/blog/types-of-encryption-what-to-know-about-symmetric-vs-asymmetric-encryption/
Yedakula, K. (2019). Exploring the Differences Between Symmetric and Asymmetric Encryption | Cyware Hacker News. Retrieved 12 August 2020, from https://cyware.com/news/exploring-the-differences-between-symmetric-and-asymmetric-encryption-8de86e8a