{"id":977,"date":"2020-05-15T14:46:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-15T14:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sectigostore.com\/blog\/?p=977"},"modified":"2025-04-28T12:19:34","modified_gmt":"2025-04-28T12:19:34","slug":"5-differences-between-symmetric-vs-asymmetric-encryption","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sectigostore.com\/blog\/5-differences-between-symmetric-vs-asymmetric-encryption\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Differences Between Symmetric vs Asymmetric Encryption"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Symmetric vs asymmetric encryption \u2014<\/strong> which is more secure? We\u2019ll break down the differences between asymmetric and symmetric encryption to provide clarity<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For someone who\u2019s not a techie or is mostly new to cryptography, choosing an encryption software to secure sensitive data can be a challenging task, particularly if they need to decide between symmetric vs asymmetric encryption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Questions around their differences, which is considered the more secure process, and which one is most suitable for your needs, are bound to arise. But before we answer any of these questions, for the uninitiated, we\u2019d like to go back to the basics and start with defining encryption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An Overview: What Is Encryption?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Encryption<\/a> is the process of converting human-readable data (plaintext) into unintelligible ciphertext.  This scrambling of data is the result of an algorithmic operation that uses a cryptographic key. Simply put, encryption takes your data and makes it random enough so that anybody who steals it can\u2019t read it unless they have the key to turn it back into a legible form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The use of encryption is necessary<\/a> if we want privacy and for protecting our data at rest, in use, or in motion. There are two main types \u2014 symmetric encryption vs asymmetric encryption \u2014 which we will compare in this article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Symmetric vs Asymmetric: The Two Types of Encryption and How They Work<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Symmetric Encryption<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"symmetric
Graphic of how symmetric encryption works<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In the case of symmetric encryption, the same key is used for both encrypting and decrypting messages. Because the entire mechanism is dependent on keeping the key a shared secret \u2014 meaning that it needs to be shared with the recipient in a secure way so that only they can use it to decrypt the message \u2014 it does not scale well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Symmetric encryption algorithms can use either block ciphers or stream ciphers. With block ciphers, a number of bits (in chunks) is encrypted as a single unit. For instance, AES uses a block size of 128 bits with options for three different key lengths \u2014 128, 192, or 256 bits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Symmetric encryption suffers from key exhaustion issues and, without proper maintenance of a key hierarchy or effective key rotation, it\u2019s possible that every usage can leak information that can be potentially leveraged by an attacker to reconstruct the secret key. Although there are key management issues with symmetric encryption, its faster and functions without a lot of overheads on network or CPU resources. Therefore, it\u2019s often used in combination with asymmetric encryption, which we\u2019ll look into in the following section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key Takeaways of Symmetric Encryption<\/h4>\n\n\n\n