Public And Private Key Encryption In Java Apr 2026

Asymmetric encryption uses a : a Public Key for encryption and a Private Key for decryption. RSA is the most common algorithm for this.

In symmetric encryption, the same key is used for both encrypting and decrypting. is the industry standard. Public And Private Key Encryption In Java

import java.security.KeyPair; import java.security.KeyPairGenerator; import javax.crypto.Cipher; import java.util.Base64; public class AsymmetricExample { public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception { String data = "Secret Message"; // 1. Generate Key Pair KeyPairGenerator keyGen = KeyPairGenerator.getInstance("RSA"); keyGen.initialize(2048); KeyPair pair = keyGen.generateKeyPair(); // 2. Encrypt with Public Key Cipher encryptCipher = Cipher.getInstance("RSA"); encryptCipher.init(Cipher.ENCRYPT_MODE, pair.getPublic()); byte[] encryptedBytes = encryptCipher.doFinal(data.getBytes()); // 3. Decrypt with Private Key Cipher decryptCipher = Cipher.getInstance("RSA"); decryptCipher.init(Cipher.DECRYPT_MODE, pair.getPrivate()); byte[] decryptedBytes = decryptCipher.doFinal(encryptedBytes); System.out.println("Decrypted: " + new String(decryptedBytes)); } } Use code with caution. Key Differences Symmetric (AES) Asymmetric (RSA) One shared key Two keys (Public & Private) Speed Slow (computationally heavy) Use Case Bulk data encryption Secure key exchange & Digital Signatures Security Best Practices Asymmetric encryption uses a : a Public Key