How does asymmetric encryption differ from symmetric encryption?

• A. Asymmetric uses a single shared key for encryption and decryption.
• B. Symmetric uses a public/private key pair.
• C. Asymmetric uses a key pair (public/private) for encryption/decryption; symmetric uses a single shared key.
• D. Symmetric cannot be used for encryption.

Answer: (C)

The main idea is how keys are used. Asymmetric encryption relies on two keys: a public key that can be shared openly and a private key that remains secret. Data encrypted with the public key can only be decrypted with the private key, and you can also create a digital signature by signing with the private key to be verified with the public key. Symmetric encryption uses a single shared secret key that both parties must know and use for both encryption and decryption. This makes symmetric methods typically faster for processing large amounts of data, but it requires securely sharing the key in advance. The correct description is that asymmetric uses a key pair (public/private) for encryption/decryption, while symmetric uses a single shared key. The other statements mix up the roles or make false claims about symmetric.