The use of a public and private key, where any plaint-text P encrypted by one, can be decrypted via the other
Strengths
If the system were used among users
- Scalable, one new user requires one new private/public key
- Users are more easily removed
- key pair regeneration only required if a private key is compromised
- key exchange is simple
- No preexisting communication link required
The main weakness is speed, unlike symmetric encryption, with is why both are used in tandem usually