public key
nounid
3725·updated May 9, 2026candidate
A cryptographic key, used with a public key cryptographic algorithm, that is uniquely associated with an entity and may be made public. In an asymmetric (public) cryptosystem, the public key is associated with a private key. The public key may be known by anyone and, depending on the algorithm, may be used, for example, to: 1) Verify a digital signature that is signed by the corresponding private key, 2) Encrypt keys that can be decrypted by the corresponding private key, or 3) Compute a shared secret during a key-agreement transaction.
polysemousMWE
Classifications
Entity Type
Credential90%rule-basedr:entity.credential.cert.v1
Sensitivity
unclassified
Information Class
unclassified
Variants
- plural
- public keys
- possessive
- public key's
- pluralpossessive
- public keys'
Framework definitions
- §1
- The publicly-disclosed component of a pair of cryptographic keys used for asymmetric cryptography.
National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies (NICCS) Cybersecurity Lexicon1 senseview framework →
- §1 · extended_definition_available
- A cryptographic key that may be widely published and is used to enable the operation of an asymmetric (public key) cryptographic algorithm.
Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) IT Examination Handbook Infobase, Glossary1 senseview framework →
- §1
- See "PKI".
- §1
- The public part of an asymmetric key pair that is typically used to verify signatures or encrypt data.
- §2 · sense_2_pending_review
- A cryptographic key, used with a public key cryptographic algorithm, that is uniquely associated with an entity and may be made public. In an asymmetric (public) cryptosystem, the public key is associated with a private key. The public key may be known by anyone and, depending on the algorithm, may be used, for example, to: 1) Verify a digital signature that is signed by the corresponding private key, 2) Encrypt keys that can be decrypted by the corresponding private key, or 3) Compute a shared secret during a key-agreement transaction.
- §3 · sense_3_pending_review
- A cryptographic key used with a public key cryptographic algorithm, uniquely associated with an entity, and which may be made public; it is used to verify a digital signature; this key is mathematically linked with a corresponding private key.
- §4 · sense_4_pending_review
- A cryptographic key used with a public key cryptographic algorithm that is uniquely associated with an entity and that may be made public.
- §5 · sense_5_pending_review
- A cryptographic key that may be widely published and is used to enable the operation of an asymmetric cryptography scheme. This key is mathematically linked with a corresponding private key. Typically, a public key can be used to encrypt, but not decrypt, or to validate a signature, but not to sign.
- §1
- A cryptographic key that may be widely published and is used to enable the operation of an asymmetric cryptography scheme. This key is mathematically linked with a corresponding private key. Typically, a public key can be used to encrypt, but not decrypt, or to validate a signature, but not to sign.
- §1
- The public part of an asymmetric key pair that is typically used to verify signatures or encrypt data.
- §1
- A cryptographic key used with a public key cryptographic algorithm that is uniquely associated with an entity and that may be made public.
- §1
- The public part of an asymmetric key pair that is typically used to verify signatures or encrypt data.
- §1
- A cryptographic key, used with a public key cryptographic algorithm, that is uniquely associated with an entity and may be made public. In an asymmetric (public) cryptosystem, the public key is associated with a private key. The public key may be known by anyone and, depending on the algorithm, may be used, for example, to: 1) Verify a digital signature that is signed by the corresponding private key, 2) Encrypt keys that can be decrypted by the corresponding private key, or 3) Compute a shared secret during a key-agreement transaction.
- §1
- A cryptographic key used with a public key cryptographic algorithm, uniquely associated with an entity, and which may be made public; it is used to verify a digital signature; this key is mathematically linked with a corresponding private key.
Outgoing relationships
No outgoing triples
This term is not the subject of any RDF-style relationship yet.
Incoming relationships
- related
- ←keynoun