What is the point of a private blockchain

How do public and private keys work?

The sender sends the encrypted information to a recipient.

The recipient uses your private key to decrypt the information.

Build a token bridge He knows Maria's public key and uses it to encrypt the transaction. She receives the transaction and decrypts Alejandro's transfer of 1 BTC with her own private key. Maria should be the only person who can authorize the transaction since no one else knows her private key.

When we talk about cryptocurrencies, a private key is what you physically own. It gives you the right to manage your digital assets and to authorize any transaction.

The differences between public keys and private keys:

The objective of public keys and private keys is to verify that a certain transaction is carried out by the party that signs it and that it was not forged. Although both types of encryption serve a similar purpose, they have several differences.

Algorithm and mechanism

In public key encryption, there must be two different keys for encryption and decryption. The private key is only for the owner and the public key is available to the public. A key is needed for transmission between the two parties involved in symmetric key cryptography. It is shared between the sender and recipient of an encrypted message.

Performance

The private key is kept secret and should not be known by anyone except the owner of the wallet. If lost, the private key is impossible to recover and the encrypted file becomes unusable. Typically, these keys are hard to remember as they involve complex numbers. The security of private keys depends exclusively on their owner or owner. That's why the best method to keep your private key safe is an offline storage device. On the other hand, the public key is available to all users and should be found when searched for. It is unlikely that the public key will be lost.

Digital signature

Web content can be digitally signed with the user's private key and verified with the user's public key. That makes it easy to identify the sender of the message on the network and confirm that a trusted identity sent a message.

The digital signature provides certain benefits in terms of security:

Authentication: Tests if the message or user is legitimate since forgery is impossible.

Undeniable: The sender of the message cannot deny the signature once it is sent.

Integrity: The signature serves as a guarantee that the received message was not altered.

Encryption and decryption

The content is encrypted with the user's public key and can only be decrypted with their private key.

Encryption provides the following security benefits:

Privacy: Unauthorized access is not possible. Confidentiality is achieved by using the private key that only the owner knows and no one else.

Integrity: The encryption process with a secure public key guarantees that the received message was not altered.

Public key cryptography is used in a large number of protocols and information formats, which are implemented in a wide range of applications and software systems. These include SSL protocol, SSH, digitally signed PDF files, Open PGP, S/MIME, etc. It is widely applied to software programs, such as browsers, to ensure secure connections on unsecured networks. Asymmetric cryptography forms the basis of the blockchain algorithm, which forms the basis for all cryptocurrencies.

Benefits and limits of encryption with public and private keys

There is no perfection to any encryption methodology, and this applies to public and private keys.

Here are some advantages and disadvantages:

Advantage

Implementing encryption technology with private keys is an excellent way to protect important information for any business. Regardless of whether you choose a symmetric or asymmetric encryption method, both have advantages and disadvantages, just like any technology. However, symmetric encryption is faster and easier to implement. The system performs a single reversible mathematical equation to encrypt or decrypt a file. This is why this method needs less computational resources than asymmetric encryption.

At the same time, although private key encryption provides a much higher level of security, it still has some downsides. The main problem associated with this method is the key transfer problem. Passing on the key involves insecure forms of communication. It is risky to allow third parties to have access to the key that allows access to the information. This method cannot guarantee the origin and authenticity of messages and may cause some problems if there is a dispute or doubt.

If a user wants to segregate information or data between groups, Build a cross chain bridge it is necessary to generate and manage multiple private keys. Having too many keys is not very convenient and a new and different key shared with each party involved can lead to greater insecurity.

Disadvantages

The disadvantages of this method are associated with some serious weaknesses. First, the loss of the private key can have catastrophic consequences. For example, no one can decrypt the information received anymore. In cryptocurrency terms, the wallet owner will not be able to access his wallet if he loses the private key.