How does public-key cryptography work?
To use public-key cryptography, you need a “key pair,” made up of a “public key” and a “private key.” The public key should be made publicly available, but only you ever need to know your private key. The two keys in this key pair are related so if one key encrypts a message, only the other key from that unique key pair can decrypt it. This means that a message encrypted with your public key can’t be decrypted with that same public key. It’s also next to impossible to use your public key to figure out your private key. It would take a supercomputer decades to compute a private key from a public key. Private keys can be kept on a computer’s hard drive, encrypted with a password or stored on cards used with a special reader connected to a computer. • What information should be encrypted? Many messages crossing the Internet don’t need to be encrypted. For example, L.L Bean and one of its customers wouldn’t need to conceal from “snoopers” the number and size of socks you’re ordering, but t
