Chapter 15. Asymmetric Encryption

In the previous chapter, we discussed symmetric encryption and the support available in the .NET Framework. The word "symmetric" is an appropriate description because both Alice and Bob must know the secret key used to encrypt data in order to read it, leading to the problem of agreeing on the key in such a way that Eve is unable to eavesdrop. In this chapter, we discuss an alternative approach to message confidentiality known as "asymmetric encryption." We'll explain what it is, how it works, and how it overcomes the problem of exchanging secret keys.