Encryption ڈیٹا کو غیر قابلِ فہم شکل (ciphertext) میں تبدیل کرتی ہے جو صرف صحیح کلید سے decrypt کی جا سکتی ہے — confidentiality کو محفوظ رکھتے ہوئے۔ symmetric vs asymmetric encryption، اور data in transit vs at rest کو سمجھنا حساس ڈیٹا کو محفوظ رکھنے کے لیے اہم ہے۔
Symmetric vs asymmetric encryption
SYMMETRIC → ONE shared key encrypts AND decrypts (e.g. AES):
✓ fast, efficient → for bulk data (encrypting files, databases)
✗ both parties need the same key (key distribution is the challenge)
ASYMMETRIC → a KEY PAIR: PUBLIC key (encrypt / verify) + PRIVATE key (decrypt / sign):
→ encrypt with the public key, only the private key decrypts (e.g. RSA, ECC)
✓ solves key distribution (share the public key freely); enables signatures
✗ slower → used for key exchange, signatures, not bulk data
→ Often COMBINED: asymmetric to exchange a symmetric key, then symmetric for the data
(e.g. how TLS works).
