This Newsletter is Encrypted🔑

The Missing Chapter...

Asymmetric Encryption! ExplainLikeImFive

This was initially intended to be a chapter in my eBook, TechOneTwenty.

However, I couldn't find the right spot for it in the book where it truly made sense. So instead, I’ve adapted it into a newsletter. Enjoy!

Heads up, this read won’t all fit in your inbox.

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What is Asymmetric Encryption!?

Asymmetric encryption is a method of securing information using two keys: one for encrypting (called the public key) and another for decrypting (called the private key).

How does it work?

You:

You have a friend:

You write a message:

You want to send that friend a message:

People might intercept and see your message:

You create an encryption key:

You lock your message and send it to your friend:

Your friend gets the locked message but can’t unlock it:

So you send them the key:

But wait, what about those people who want to read the message, they might steal the key and unlock the message:

Okay, so we can’t do that:

What do we do then?

You create a Two Keys and your friend does the same: A Public and A Private

You both lock up your Private Keys:

You exchange Public Keys:

You lock the message with your Friends Public Key

You send the message:

Now they use their Private key to unlock the message (The keys are mathematically linked)

Congrats!

You could call this a slight oversimplification, we’re ignoring the extremely complex mathematical calculations that go into creating GPG Keys.
However, are we expected to understand that when starting out? Not at all…

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As I said up top, this was originally intended for my eBook - You can get it here: TechOneTwenty

Thank you for reading: Keep it secure, keep it light-hearted!

WJPearce - CyberBrew

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Enjoyed this? Why not check out my other reads…

Micro Security Project 🐷

Weekend Project: LLM 🖥

Cyber Careers: The Guide You Need 💼

Cyber attacks you need to know 🚀

Linux Cheat Sheet 🐧