Introduction
In the previous post we have seen Advanced Encryption Standards 256. AES256 is a symmetric algorithm used for encryption and decryption based on a shared secret key. Besides secret key, there are other parameters that need to be set for specifying the key bits, the padding bits and the mode of encryption/decryption.
Let’s now dive deeper into the security. So here we are going to discuss the hybrid encryption and decryption process to enhance the security a step further. This process utilizes both Symmetric Key algorithm and Asymmetric Key algorithm and hence the term hybrid. The idea behind the hybrid encryption and decryption is that we use symmetric algorithm to encrypt the data using a secret key. Now, this key needs to be shared with the receiver in order for him to decrypt the data. So, instead of sharing the key in plain text format, this key itself is encrypted using the asymmetric algorithm with the public key of the receiver. Now, no one other than the intended receiver will be able to decrypt the encrypted secret key using his own private key, as his own public key is used to encrypt the secret key.
