Asymmetric Algorithms

Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA)

One of the earliest, most widely used asymmetric cryptographic algorithms. Based on the mathematical difficulty of factoring the product of 2 large prime numbers

RSA Usages

Secure data transmission, digital signatures, and key exchange in protocols like SSL/TLS

Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC)

Based on the algebraic structure of elliptic curves over finite fields

Offers a high degree of security with smaller key sizes compared to RSA

ECC Usages

Used in apps such as secure messaging, cryptocurrency, and SSL/TLS

Gaining popularity, especially in mobile and wireless environments due to its efficiency

Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange

Not an encryption algorithm per say, but a method to securely exchange cryptographic keys over a public channel

Diffie-Hellman Usages

Often used to set up a shared key for communication in SSL/TLS and other secure communication protocols

ElGamal

A public-key cryptosystem for both encryption and digital structures

Based on Diffie-Hellman key exchange

ELGamal Usages

Notable for its mathematical elegance and the basis it provides for other algorithms

Not as widely used as RSA or ECC