Also called asymmetric cryptography 

1. Different from secret key cryptography, algorithms for encoding and decoding differ considerably •

2.Working with two keys

→ A private key d (known only to the owner)

→ A public key e (known by possibly everyone)

3. Public key cryptography principle 

4. More easily configurable than secret key cryptography, but slower

5. Often combined with secret key: authentication and distribution of a secret key (e.g. Diffie-Hellman for establishment of a shared secret)