What Is Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC)?

When it comes to security, ECC needs no introduction. This is the latest and greatest public-key encryption strategy. Elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) is a type of public-key cryptography with a few differences. In ECC, the decryption key is kept private; an elliptic curve is used instead of the usual mathematical quadratic one. This specific strategy relies on the unique nature of an elliptic curve to provide security for all encrypted products. ECC is widely used for mobile payments, secure data transfer, and other applications requiring high security but low processing power. It has several advantages over different types of cryptography: It is significantly more efficient than other public-key cryptography methods, particularly for mobile devices. It is more difficult to crack than other public-key cryptography methods. It requires less power than symmetric cryptography methods. Its public versus private keys makes sharing the key between two parties easier. As with all public-key cryptography, it is necessary to distribute a public key to anyone who might want to communicate securely with you. To combat this issue, ECC uses a more conceptual approach to mathematics based on a set of discrete values on a curve. As the number of discrete points on a curve increases, the chances of a pattern that hackers or mathematicians can exploit. The discrete points are chosen from almost impossible curves to predict or models, such as real numbers or imaginary numbers. So, ECC is based on discrete numbers on an angle rather than on a set of serial numbers. ECDSA (Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm) is a public key cryptographic algorithm that uses a curve like an exponential graph to generate a public-private key pair. It's a form of cryptography used for both authentication and encryption. ECDSA is the standardized form of DSA by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). You can keep your secret key a secret, and you can even keep your public key a secret. No matter how clever the researchers get trying to find out the math behind the curve, they'll never know what it is… erm, because it's elliptic.