[Cryptography] Understanding Public Key, Private Key, and Certificate with a Real-Life Analogy
Sometimes when developers hear about public keys, private keys, and certificates, their brain goes foggy. Let’s clean that up simply. By following this post, you will understand these concepts clearly with a real-life analogy that makes them easy to remember. 1. Public Key and Private Key A key pair consists of two mathematically linked keys: where one key locks, only the other can unlock. A message encrypted with a public key can be decrypted only with the private key. A message “signed” (not really encrypted, but mathematically processed) with a private key can be verified with the public key. 1.1 Public Key → The Mailbox Imagine a mailbox in front of a house. ...
