Symmetric Vs. Asymmetric Cryptography - HP Sa3110 - VPN Server Appliance Manual

Cryptographic Systems and Encryption Terminology
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Symmetric Vs. Asymmetric Cryptography

Symmetric Vs. Asymmetric Cryptography

Symmetric Vs. Asymmetric Cryptography Symmetric Vs. Asymmetric Cryptography
Symmetric and asymmetric cryptography have some significant
differences. Symmetric cryptography tends to be fast compared
to asymmetric cryptography. Therefore, symmetric algorithms
are often used when large quantities of data need to be
exchanged and the 2 parties are known to each other.
Conversely, asymmetric algorithms are used when small
quantities of data need to be exchanged or the 2 parties are not
known to each other.
Asymmetric cryptography is often used during authentication
processes. Another significant difference between the 2 types of
cryptographic systems is the length of the keys required by the
algorithms. The keys used in symmetric algorithms are usually
much smaller than those used in asymmetric algorithms, as
described in the following table.
Speed
Key size
Key usage
Usual usage
Examples
Asymmetric Cryptographic Systems (page 2-9)
Symmetric Cryptographic Systems (page 2-3)
Key Space and Brute Force Attacks (page 2-13)
Hewlett-Packard Company Virtual Private Networking Concepts Guide
Symmetric Symmetric Symmetric Symmetric
Fast
Relatively small
Shared secret
Bulk data transfer
DES, Triple Pass
DES, 3DES, rc4
Asymmetric Asymmetric Asymmetric Asymmetric
Slow
Extremely large
Public/private
Authentication
RSA, PGP