Beginner Guide for Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) Technology
FAZZDEVELOPER.COM - PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) has been used to protect email or messages from attack. It encrypts the message that doesn’t allow anyone to see or read it. Therefore, the expert recommends email users, especially companies, to use Pretty Good Privacy as a data security technology.
How Does It Work?
PGP works by using the public key system to encrypt the message. The user of PGP has the key to decrypt that message which is also known as the private key. Then, PGP will also encrypt that key into a shortcut and send it to the recipient.
A double encryption process like this reduces the risk of the leak. PGP encrypts that message which gives one layer protection. Then, it also gives a similar treatment to the key to open that encryption that you send.
The Public Key
The public key holds an essential role in the encryption method because it is the opener of the encryption. Pretty Good Privacy as a data security technology uses two versions of the public key to ensure its safety. They are the Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA) and Diffie-Hellman public key.
When PGP uses the RSA public key version, it applies the IDEA algorithm to create the short key. As for the Diffie-Hellman version, PGP uses the CAST algorithm. Both algorithms can create the short key fast, in a matter of seconds.
This speed is necessary to provide a smooth message sending process. Moreover, it also lowers the risk of a hacker finding the gap to attack. Therefore, the quality of its protection is much higher than other systems.
Where to Use PGP?
Even though we said before that PGP is a good protection system for email, that’s not all. PGP is also applicable in various places, as long as it has digital data. So, you can use it to encrypt text, files, directories, and even disk partitions to protect its content.
Many companies also implement the PGP system on their security system. For example, Symantec File Share Encryption uses the PGP system to provide its service. Symantec is also one of the pioneers for using the PGP system on data other than message/email.
Conclusion
Pretty Good Privacy as a data security technology is indeed a great addition to any system. Even though it was invented in 1991, its concept is still relatable with the current digital system. Its double protection and security key is something that is not easy to break even with today’s technology.
Source Image Background : Vector Vectors by Vecteezy

