Perfect Forward Secrecy: What It is, How It Works?

Ruheni Mathenge  - Streaming Expert
Last updated: October 28, 2023
Read time: 6 minutes
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Perfect forward secrecy is a great way to stay safe online. Check out this guide to know what it is, how it works, its pros and cons, everything.

THE TAKEAWAYS

Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS) is a unique encryption protocol that provides robust security to online traffic. It ensures no data leak even if the cyber attacker steals the private encryption key to decrypt the information. PFS utilizes a key exchange algorithm that changes the session encryption key after every message, call, and web reload. This way, only a bit of your data can be compromised upon breach, and the major data will stay encrypted and protected. This article sheds light on Perfect Forward Secrecy and its operation to protect online activities.

Any data transmitted online remains vulnerable to unauthorized interception or even download. This can include personal or sensitive data like passwords, credit card numbers, and bank account details. So, finding an effective way to protect this information is essential.

In addition, a hacker may retrieve your past conversations upon getting hold of your private keys. Perfect forward secrecy (PFS) is one of the best ways to prevent this from happening and keep you safe online.

What is Perfect forward secrecy?

Perfect forward secrecy (PFS) is an encryption type that regularly changes the encryption key to protect your online activities. So, only a tiny bit of your data will be compromised in case of a security breach.

It is designed to switch keys after every call, message, and web page load. As a result, the intruder will only manage to get one message or operation because the rest of the data is encrypted with different keys.

The system will also safeguard the data of networks using the SSL/TLS protocols if their assigned keys are compromised.

How perfect forward secrecy works