Rivest-Shamir-Adleman Encryption (RSA) is an asymmetric cryptography algorithm. This method uses a pair of keys: a public key, which is shared openly, and a private key, which must be kept secret.
Data encrypted with the public key can only be decrypted using the private key to ensure secure communication over open networks, such as the Internet. The reverse process, where data is encrypted with the private key, is typically used for digital signatures, allowing anyone with the public key to verify the origin and authenticity of the message.
RSA encryption is used in the SSL/TLS protocol for the secure exchange of symmetric encryption keys, and it plays a critical role in securing internet file transfers and virtual private networks (VPNs). RSA is a robust encryption method because it is extremely difficult to decrypt messages without the corresponding key. It takes too much time and immense computational power to factor in the product of the large prime numbers used in the encryption process.
