AP® Cybersecurity glossary

Asymmetric encryption

Also called: public key encryption

Course: AP® Cybersecurity Shows up in: Unit 5: Securing Applications and Data

Encryption that uses two different keys, one to encrypt and the other to decrypt.

Appears in the course and exam description (CED): 5.3.A.45.4.A.1

Why it matters in Unit 5

Lets people communicate securely without prearranging a shared secret.

Example

RSA encrypting a message with the receiver’s public key.

Related terms

• Key pair
• Public key
• Private key
• Symmetric encryption