Asymmetric encryption (RSA) in Computer Networks - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Understanding Asymmetric Encryption with RSA

📖 Scenario: You are learning how computers keep messages safe when sending them over the internet. One way to do this is by using a special method called RSA encryption. This method uses two keys: one to lock (encrypt) the message and one to unlock (decrypt) it.Imagine you want to send a secret message to a friend. You will use your friend's public key to lock the message, and only your friend can unlock it with their private key.

🎯 Goal: Build a simple step-by-step understanding of how RSA encryption works by creating the keys, setting up a message, encrypting it, and then decrypting it.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create variables for the public and private keys with exact values

Set up a message variable with a specific text

Show how the message is encrypted using the public key

Show how the encrypted message is decrypted using the private key

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Asymmetric encryption like RSA is used every day to protect emails, online shopping, and private chats by making sure only the right person can read the message.

💼 Career

Understanding RSA encryption is important for jobs in cybersecurity, software development, and network administration where protecting data is critical.

1

Create RSA keys

Create two variables called public_key and private_key. Set public_key to the string 'public123' and private_key to the string 'private456'.

Computer Networks

# Create the RSA keys
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Think of public_key as the lock anyone can use, and private_key as the secret key only the owner has.

2

Set up the message

Create a variable called message and set it to the string 'Hello, friend!'.

Computer Networks

public_key = 'public123'
private_key = 'private456'
# Set the message to send
# Your code here

Need a hint?

This is the secret message you want to send safely.

3

Encrypt the message

Create a variable called encrypted_message and set it to the string 'encrypted_with_public123' to represent the message encrypted using the public_key.

Computer Networks

public_key = 'public123'
private_key = 'private456'
message = 'Hello, friend!'
# Encrypt the message using the public key
# Your code here

Need a hint?

This shows the message locked with the public key.

4

Decrypt the message

Create a variable called decrypted_message and set it to the string 'Hello, friend!' to represent the message decrypted using the private_key.

Computer Networks

public_key = 'public123'
private_key = 'private456'
message = 'Hello, friend!'
encrypted_message = 'encrypted_with_public123'
# Decrypt the message using the private key
# Your code here

Need a hint?

This shows the original message unlocked with the private key.