What is PGP Encryption? How it Works?

What is PGP Encryption?

Pretty Good Privacy, PGP is one of the best known and most popular applications for encryption types and decryption of data incorporating both cryptographic privacy and authentication, which makes the internet-based communication secure. It was first designed by Phil Zimmermann in 1991.

PGP provides a combination of two types of encryption models, namely a hybrid that basically comprises symmetric key encryption, where the same key used for encryption is used for decryption as well, with asymmetric key encryption that involves the use of two keys that are in pairs that include public and private.

How it Works?

PGP encryption seems to follow a number of explicitly described steps in which both symmetric as well as asymmetric cryptography is developed for the realization of a secure means of communication as well as storage of data.

Firstly, each user proceeds with the generation of his pair of keys: the public key is distributed to other subjects, while the private key stays secret.

PGP security is based on the fact that the private key ought to be kept secret and is only meant to be used for decrypting messages encrypted using the corresponding public key.

However, at the moment when a sender wants to send an encrypted message, it produces some kind of unique symmetric session key for that very message which is being sent so that it becomes fast and efficient for encryption as well as decryption.

It then encrypts the message using a symmetric key encryption technique such as AES or Triple DES.

After the encryption of the message, the session key itself would be encrypted using the recipient’s public key; its encryption should only be decrypted by the intended recipient.

The packaged message and the encrypted session key would then be transmitted to the intended recipient. When the encrypted message arrives at the receiver’s location, she will apply her private key to decrypt the session key as well.

She will be the only one who will succeed because the private key is solely in her possession. On decrypting the session key, it will then be able to unlock the decryption of the content of the intended message.

Another key feature is Digital Signatures of PGP. A feature in the facility allows the sender to sign independently with his private key messages which can later be authenticated by the recipient using the sender’s public key on his behalf.

That displays evidence that a message does not get altered during transmission and that this is, indeed, a message coming from a legitimate sender.

PGP also makes use of a concept of a “decentralized systems model”, also known as the “web of trust”, whereby the users can essentially verify other users’ public keys through this means of signing.

Such a peer-to-peer model of trust, as already discussed, endows this connection between peers who share trust instead of relying on some kind of centralized authority.

In general, PGP encryption encompasses the best properties of both symmetric and asymmetric methods that allow a robust framework for secure communication, privacy preservation, and identity authentication in a wide range of applications.

How Do I Set Up PGP Encryption?

In the great majority of cases, you will need to download some sort of add-on for your email program, which you can then install, following instructions provided.

There are add-ons like this available for Thunderbird, Outlook, and Apple Mail, and we’ll describe these below.

Recent years have also given rise to a range of online email systems that include PGP as a standard part of the system – perhaps the best known being ProtonMail.

However, for those people who want to utilize PGP for encrypting files, there are many solutions at an enterprise scale.

As an example, Symantec also has several PGP-based products: Symantec File Share Encryption, aiming to encrypt files across a network and on desktops, mobile devices, and removable storage; complete disk encryption with Symantec Endpoint Encryption.

How to Select PGP Software?

Your main reason for using PGP will probably be the privacy of your messages: you want only the recipient to be able to read them. So your first consideration to bear in mind when seeking PGP software is security.

PGP itself is provably unbreakable, but a number of implementations have been broken in the past.

Unless you are an experienced coder, there’s probably a good chance you don’t know how to spot these either, so the best way forward is to seek known weaknesses in the software you’re interested in.

Secondly, the decision of PGP software depends on your purpose: personal or business. Most probably, you are going to send email not often, and encrypt all the outgoing e-mails; in such a case, downloading an add-on to your regular email client may be too much. Use an online PGP service for securing critical emails instead.

Finally, select a software provider that offers dedicated support either in the form of a customer support team or a user community.

Learning PGP is frustrating not only as you try to go through learning the system for the first time, but probably you will also want to have assistance at that stage.

Uses of PGP Encryption

Email Encryption

The most likely application of PGP encryption probably is in the encryption of electronic mail. Encryption of the contents of email ensures that only the recipient can read it. To encrypt, the sender requires the recipient’s public key.

Using the public key, the sender will encrypt the email and send it through the internet. Had the email intercepted along the way tried to decrypt it, decryption would have been impossible without the private key of the recipient.

This level of security has to be present to protect sensitive data, such as financial information or confidential business conversations.

File Encryption

Beyond email, PGP can encrypt files before they are sent or put away. Such encryption is of great importance to anyone handling sensitive information, which may range from medical records to legal documents or proprietary business information.

With PGP, users can encrypt files in such a way that even if unauthorized people access the file, they cannot view the contents. This encryption can be used to any type of file, which may range from some document, image, or database.

Electronic Signatures

PGP also provides for electronic signing, or the ability to electronically sign a message or document. Using the private key to sign a message authenticates both sender identity as well as proves that its contents have not been altered.

The recipient can subsequently authenticate the sender’s public key for such verification thus increasing his reliance on the whole process of communication.

It is particularly valid in a commercial transaction, a legal agreement, or any case where authenticity comes to play.

Communication Security

Apart from emails, PGP is increasingly being integrated with secure messaging applications that offer end-to-end encryption for instant messages and chats.

This means that the message becomes encrypted on the sender’s device and can only be decrypted on the recipient’s; therefore, third parties cannot intercept it. It’s an extremely important feature for journalists, activists, and those who have to send real-time information about sensitive matters.

Data Integrity

Data integrity is another important use of PGP encryption. Now, with this privacy, digests allow the users to digitally sign the message and is proof the data has not been altered during its transmission.

Businesses and organizations ensure safe receipt of communications, contracts, and agreements with no changes during its transmission. Indeed, the recipient can prove, with the help of PGP, that the message they received is the exact one that was sent and will ensure information integrity.

Advantages of PGP Encryption

Strong Security

What makes PGP one of the safest methods when used to encrypt data is through its usage of advanced cryptographic algorithms that obviate unauthorized access and data breaches to a great extent both for symmetrical and asymmetrical encryption.

Data Privacy

As far as data encryption is concerned, the best form of confidentiality is through e-mail or file encryption so that only the recipient can read information.

Moreover the information is secretive or confidential, especially about individuals, money, or confidential business communications.

Data Integrity

PGP provides a mechanism for data integrity checking. When the original author sends a message signed digitally, it is guaranteed not to be modified during transit.

This has become a very important factor in confidence and trust connected with information sent based upon communications within legal and business transactions.

Authenticity

PGP actually allows the sender’s identity to be authenticated by the receiving user through a digital signature, thereby providing protection from any potential impersonation or phishing attacks. The recipient will therefore rely on the origin of the message.

Decentralized Key Management

PGP uses decentralized models of key management: Users may create their own keys, store them locally, and distribute them to others without any type of maintenance of central resources.

Such flexibility gives users control over their encryption keys as well as eliminates points of failure.

Disadvantages of PGP Encryption

Complexity and User Experience

Perhaps the greatest weakness of PGP encryption is its complexity, which might be too intimidating for non-technical users. It is definitely not an easy task to generate, manage, and keep track of both public and private keys and needs some technical know-how.

Generally, all key management and especially a large number of users might be too complicated in nature.

Now, even this complexity drains down into the processes of encryption and decryption, which, actually, depend on certain manual steps that are confusing to an uninitiated person or vulnerable to mistakes.

The problem in question here is users who do not know much about encryption. They do not know how to import public keys, and they do not know how to encrypt data first thus increasing the possibilities of mistakes.

Lack of Forward Secrecy

Unlike most modern encryption protocols, like TLS, PGP does not use forward secrecy. That means that even in case the private key is compromised after some time, encrypted data before that will still be secure because each session will use a different key.

In PGP, all messages to a recipient are always encrypted using the same private key. It means that all earlier communications encrypted using this key will be decrypted if this key is compromised.

This makes PGP more vulnerable to key theft since an attacker would then have access to sensitive information retroactively.

Key Revocation Issues

Key revocation in PGP sometimes becomes clumsy and very ineffective in the practical world. When a user loses or compromises private keys, users have to issue a revocation certificate.

It is hard to ensure that all users know of the revocation since many of them may still be using the compromised public key if they fail to or haven’t received and honored the revocation in good time.

This might lead to some security breaches since the sensitive information might still be encrypted with a key that was, after issuance, revoked.

No Built-In Trust Infrastructure

Behind all modern encryption systems is the formal CA infrastructure, while PGP bases their work on the model of the web of trust.

A decentralized model really needs users to validate one another’s keys in person, which can then be prone to wrong steps in building trust. To be sure, it’s much more cumbersome when realized in larger organizations or public networks.

Traditionally, such a decision is entrusted to the user. This has sometimes resulted in errors and security breaks, often when the signature of a key was being validated.

No Automatic Key Recovery

Probably the biggest disadvantages of PGP are that it cannot make automatic key recoveries. It means losing the private key or forgetting the passphrase, where, having encrypted data, the user will not be able to access any data.

The potential for such negligence raises major risks because key holders now may irretrievably lose access to important or sensitive information.

Unlike recovery mechanisms of modern encryption tools, PGP will expose the user to a probable loss of crucial information following a data loss and will offer no avenue to regain access.

Conclusion

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