Schlüsselverteilung

Schlüsselverteilung refers to the process of securely distributing cryptographic keys to authorized parties. This is a fundamental aspect of modern cryptography, enabling secure communication and data protection. Without a secure method of distributing keys, even the strongest encryption algorithms are vulnerable.

There are several primary methods for Schlüsselverteilung. Manual distribution, where keys are physically exchanged, is only feasible for very small-scale, low-security applications. More common are key distribution centers (KDCs) which act as trusted third parties to generate and distribute session keys to communicating parties. This is often seen in protocols like Kerberos.

Asymmetric cryptography, using public-key infrastructure (PKI), offers another approach. In this model, a public key is freely available, and a corresponding private key is kept secret by its owner. Keys can be exchanged by encrypting a symmetric session key with the recipient's public key. The recipient then decrypts this message using their private key. Digital certificates, issued by trusted Certificate Authorities (CAs), are crucial for verifying the authenticity of public keys in PKI. The choice of Schlüsselverteilung method depends on factors such as the required level of security, the number of participants, and the operational environment.