A typical disadvantage of public key encryption compared to symmetric key encryption is ________.

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Motivations for comparing public key and symmetric key encryption involve analyzing performance characteristics and operational trade-offs.
Option a: 'the former's slower key generation, encryption and decryption algorithms' correctly identifies a typical disadvantage. Public key cryptography tends to have slower asymmetric operations (key generation, encryption with a public key, and decryption with a private key) compared to symmetric algorithms, which are optimized for speed and efficiency.
Option b: 'the former requires a private channel for key distribution' is inaccurate. Public key cryptography is specifically designed to avoid the need for a private channel for distributing keys, since the public key can be openly shared while the private key remains secret. This statement describes a problem that public-key schemes actually solve, not a disadvantage.
Option c: 'the former's faster key generation, encryption and decryption algorithms' is the opposite of the truth. Public key algorithms are slower in these operations relative to symmetric algorithms, so claiming they are faster misstates the performance reality.
Option d: 'none of the above' would be incorrect because option a correctly identifies a genuine disadvantage, while the other options contain factual inaccuracies or mischaracterizations.
In summary, the correct characterization is that public key encryption is generally slower than symmetric key encryption across generation, encryption, and decryption steps, which is precisely what option a states, whereas options b and c misstate the key distribution model and performance, and option d incorrectly dismisses the valid point in option a.

FIT1093_S2_2025 Week 5 MCQ: Public Key Cryptography Part 2

A typical disadvantage of public key encryption compared to symmetric key encryption is ________.

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