What are the types of Keys in Information Security?

There are various types of keys are as follows −

Symmetric key −A symmetric key is one that can be used both to encrypt and decrypt information. This can define that to decrypt information, one should have the same key that was used to encrypt it.

Symmetric encryption is generally more effective than asymmetric encryption and thus preferred when large amounts of information need to be exchanged.

 Asymmetric key − Asymmetric encryption is a type of encryption that required two separates yet mathematically related keys to encrypt and decrypt data. The public key encrypts information while its correlating private key decrypts it.

Asymmetric key authentication is a cryptographic technique that uses a different verification key in the CAD than the proving key used by the smart card. This technique is generally executed using trapdoor one-way functions, in which smart card makes a digital signature with its private key and the CAD required a public key to authenticate the signature.

 Public Key − Public-key is a form of cryptography in which a user has a set of cryptographic keys including public key and a private key. The problem for public-key cryptography is proving that a public key is real, and has not been tampered with or resaved by a malicious third party.

The main approach to this problem is to need a Public-key Infrastructure (PKI), in which one or more third parties, known as certificate authorities, certify ownership of key pairs.

 Private Key − A private key is a small bit of code that is paired with a public key to set off algorithms for text encryption and decryption. It is generated as an element of public key cryptography during asymmetric-key encryption and can decrypt and transform a message to a readable structure.

Public and private keys are paired for secure connection, including email. Private Key can be part of a public/ private asymmetric key pair. It can be used in asymmetric encryption as it can use the similar key to encrypt and decrypt information.

 Pre-Shared Key − In cryptography, a pre-shared key (PSK) is a shared secret which was shared among the two parties using a secure channel earlier it is used. In cryptography, a pre-shared key or PSK is a shared secret which was shared among the two parties utilizing some safe channel before it required to be utilized.

The method PSK is used in Wi-Fi encryption including WEP or WPA, where both the wireless access points and all user share the similar key. The characteristics of this secret or key are decided by the system which uses it and some system designs needed that such keys be in a specific format. It is a password, a passphrase, or a hexadecimal string.