Difference between ECC and RSA Public Key Cryptography.
ECC (Elliptic Curve Cryptography) and RSA (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman) are two different public key cryptography algorithms.
2. RSA stands for Rivest Shamir Adleman, and these are the names of the
inventors of this cryptographic algorithm.
Though it came into existence in 1977, in today’s time, RSA is widely used
for encrypting emails, software, website data, etc.
Its principle is based on the prime factorization method for one-way data
encryption. The process involved taking two large random prime numbers and
multiplying them together to develop a public key.
It is known as the modulus, and though it is made public, one cannot
determine what the message or piece of data was as the two prime numbers
are kept private.
WHAT IS RSA?
3. WHAT IS ECC?
Definition:
ECC stands for Elliptic Curve Cryptography.
It's an asymmetric cryptographic algorithm based on the algebraic structure of elliptic curves
over finite fields.
Proposed by Neal Koblitz and Victor S in the 1980s.
Gained prominence in 2004.
Known for its resilience against attacks due to the difficulty of solving the mathematical
problem presented by the elliptic curve.
Security Measures:
Tough to crack due to the mathematical complexity of ECDLP.
No known solution to the elliptical curve mathematical problem.
Potential attacks involve brute-force or trial-and-error approaches.
Comparative Strength:
ECC provides strong security with smaller key sizes compared to traditional cryptographic
algorithms.
4. KEY LENGTH: ECC 256 VS RSA 2048
Security (in Bits) Key Length of RSA Key Length of ECC
80 1024 160-223
112 2048 224-255
128 3072 256-383
192 7680 384-511
The key length of RSA is measured in bits, and it typically ranges from 1024 to 4096 bits.
The longer the key length, the stronger the encryption. For RSA, a key length of 2048 bits is considered the
standard that is secure enough for most applications.
When compared to RSA, ECC has a smaller key length compared to RSA.
It is measured in terms of the size of the prime modulus, which typically ranges from 160 to 521 bits.
For ECC, A key length of 256 bits is considered to be the standard.
5. THE PERFORMANCE OF ECC AND RSA
Encryption/Decryption: ECC encryption and decryption operations are faster
than RSA due to the use of elliptic curve mathematics.
Digital Signatures: Due to the application of elliptic curve mathematics,
ECC digital signatures are faster than RSA
Bandwidth: The demand for bandwidth is less with ECC compared to RSA when
transmitting data over a network.
Power Consumption: ECC drains less power than RSA, so it is more suitable
for devices with limited power resources.
If we have to give you a number- RSA is capable of responding to 450
requests per second with a 150-millisecond average response time,
but ECC takes only 75 milliseconds to respond to the same number of
requests per second.
6. KEY GENERATION
ECC key generation is faster and more computationally efficient
compared to RSA key generation.
This is because ECC key generation involves choosing a random
elliptic curve over a finite field and selecting a random point
as the public key.
On the other hand, RSA key generation involves the selection of
two large prime numbers and performing mathematical operations on
them to generate the public and private keys.
7. APPLICATIONS
ECC is used in various protocols, including SSL/TLS, SSH, and
IPSec, whereas RSA is mainly used in SSL/TLS and SSH.
Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA) Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC)
RSA is one of the oldest and well-established public-key
cryptography methods.
ECC is comparatively a newer public-key cryptography
method.
Works on the principle of the prime factorization
method.
Works on the mathematical representation of elliptic
curves.
RSA runs faster as it is a simple algorithm. As it is complex in nature, ECC takes more time to run.
Due to a lack of scalability, RSA has started becoming
vulnerable.
ECC is more secure thanks to its adaptive phase. Its
application might scale up in the future.
For implementing encryption, RSA demands bigger key
lengths.
Compared to RSA, ECC demands shorter key lengths.
Standard Key length- 2,048 bits Standard Key length- 256 bits
It supports all the platforms.
It exhibits compatibility with new browsers and OS
(some platforms like cPanel are not supported)
8. IS ECC THE BEST FOR YOU?
Elliptic curve cryptography is used in various organizations
today, such as Facebook, Cloudflare, etc. So, is it ideal for
you?
As per the current scenario, RSA is the most widely used
cryptosystem. It is used by over 90% of SSL certificates, while
ECC is used by 4%. Now, by statistics, it may seem like it is not
for you. But, trust us, the adoption of ECC is on the rise.
If you have a website that requires powerful security and is
complex, ECC could be the perfect match for you. However, note
that the use of ECC requires implementation, and it needs to be
handled carefully.