Any private or public key value that you enter, or we generate is not stored on this site, this tool is provided via an HTTPS URL to ensure that private keys cannot be stolen.
This tool provides flexibility for RSA encrypt with a public key as well as private key and vice versa.
If you appreciate this tool, then you can consider donating.
For Java implementation of RSA, you can follow this article.
By default, the private key is generated in PKCS#8 format and the public key is generated in X.509 format.
Key Features of RSA
- Asymmetric Key Algorithm: Uses a pair of keys (public and private).
- Security Basis: Security is based on the difficulty of factoring large integers composed of two or more large prime numbers.
- Variable Key Lengths: Common key lengths are 1024, 2048, and 4096 bits.
- Use Cases: Widely used in secure communications, digital signatures, and key exchanges.
Key Concepts
- Key Generation:
- Public Key: Comprises two components: a modulus nn and an exponent ee. The modulus nn is the product of two large prime numbers pp and qq, and ee is typically a small, fixed value such as 65537 (often chosen for efficiency reasons).
- Private Key: Also consists of two components: the same modulus nn and an exponent d. The exponent dd is computed such that d⋅e≡1 mod ϕ(n)d⋅e≡1 modϕ(n), where ϕϕ is Euler's quotient function ϕ(n)=(p−1)(q−1).
Security Considerations:
- Key Size:RSA security depends on the size of the modulus nn. As computing power increases, larger key sizes are required to maintain security.
- Padding:Proper padding schemes (e.g., OAEP, PKCS#1 v1.5) are crucial to prevent certain cryptographic attacks and ensure secure encryption.
- Key Management:Private keys must be securely stored.
RSA Encryption through OpenSSL
Open a command line shell with openSSL and execute below commands to generate RSA key pair.
Generate Private Key
You can generate a public and private RSA key pair by running the below command. It generates a 2048-bit private key and output it to the private.pem file.
$ openssl genrsa -out private.pem 2048
Export Public Key
Given a private key, you can export its public key and output it to public.pem using below command.
$ openssl rsa -in private.pem -pubout -out public.pem
Next open the public.pem and ensure that it starts with -----BEGIN PUBLIC KEY-----. This is how we know that this file is the public key of the pair.
Encrypt Data
We can now use this key pair to encrypt and decrypt a file, data.txt.
$ openssl rsautl -encrypt -inkey public.pem -pubin -in data.txt -out data.txt.enc
Decrypt Data
Below command can be use to decrypt RSA encrypted file. Let's use the file that is encrypted above.
$ openssl rsautl -decrypt -inkey private.pem -in data.txt.enc -out data.txt
Usage Guide
Below is the usage guide of this tool.
RSA Public and Private Keys
In the first section of this tool, you can generate public and private keys. The private key is used to generate digital signatures, and the public key is used to verify the digital signatures.
To generate the keys, select the RSA key size between 515, 1024, 2048 and 4096 bit and then click on the button to generate the keys for you.
Since 2015, NIST has recommended a minimum of 2048-bit keys for RSA. A 4096-bit key size does provide a reasonable increase in strength over a 2048-bit key size but the encryption strength doesn't drop off after 2048 bits. There's a significant increase in CPU usage as a result of a 4096 bit key size. Hence, it is recommended to use 2048-bit keys.
RSA Encryption
For encryption and decryption, enter the plain text and supply the key. As the encryption can be done using both the keys, you need to tell the tool about the key type that you have supplied with the help of a radio button. By default, public key is selected. Then, you can use the cipher type to be used for the encryption. RSA, RSA/ECB/PKCS1Padding and RSA/ECB/OAEPWithSHA-1AndMGF1Padding. Now, once you click the encrypted button, the encrypted result will be shown in the textarea just below the button.
RSA Decryption
Similarly, for decryption, the process is the same. Here, you need to enter the RSA encrypted text and the result will be a plain-text. You have both the options to decrypt the encryption with either public or private keys.
Applications of RSA
- Secure Data Transmission: Used in SSL/TLS for secure web browsing.
- Digital Signatures: Ensures the authenticity and integrity of a message.
- Key Exchange: Used to securely exchange symmetric keys for encryption algorithms like AES.
RSA is fundamental to modern cryptography and is used in a variety of security protocols and applications. Its strength lies in the computational difficulty of factoring large composite numbers.
