Release 10.1A: OpenEdge Getting Started:
Core Business Services

> ## Public-key algorithms

> Public-key algorithms base their security on the solving of complex mathematical problems that are reliant on large keys for numbers. The nature of the mathematical problems distinguish the different algorithms.

> Two of the more common algorithms include:

> - RSA — Named for its inventors, Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir, and Len Adleman, this algorithm works on very large numbers that can be factored into large primes.

> - Digital Signature Algorithm (DSA) — A U.S. Government standard, this algorithm works on large numbers that can be used to determine discrete logarithms.

> The minimum practical key size for both RSA and DSA keys is typically 1024 bits. As the size of the keys implies, public-key algorithms are highly compute-intensive and are much slower than symmetric-key algorithms, but they are also far more secure. This far greater security and the ease of public key distribution is what makes them ideal as the basis for a data security infrastructure. However, their relatively slow speed makes them less than ideal to provide the sole cryptographic mechanism for all services of a PKI.

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