Encryption
Encryption is the most commonly used method of securing transmissions via the internet. There are two main types of encryption – secret key and public key. Secret-key encryption is where parties to a transaction share a common encrypted key number that is known only to them. The same key is used to encrypt and decrypt a message. Public-key encryption is where the encrypted key number used is different for sender and receiver. This method, sometimes known as asymmetric cryptography, uses two keys – one to encrypt the message and the other to decrypt the message. The keys are related by numerical code and the material only becomes readable when the keys are used in combination. Each user has a public key and a private key. No key pair can be transformed into the other. This means that any user remains free to publish their own public key and allow others to communicate with them using that public key to encrypt the message. This security is maintained so long as the user ensures that the private key is not disclosed to anyone else. Public-key encryption is based on Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) software that encrypts e-mail messages and is available in both free and commercial formats. Most private users of the internet are likely to have a security system called Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) that was developed by Netscape and widely distributed as a means of securing messages across HTTP. SSL-enabled servers use digital certificates as a means of authenticating transactions. Most B2C transactions are secured via SSL.