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Security Fundamentals & Crypto · Intermediate

Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC)

Public key cryptography based on elliptic curve math, offering strong security with short keys.

Definition

ECC relies on the elliptic curve discrete logarithm problem. A 256-bit ECC key provides about 128 bits of security, comparable to RSA-3072, making it efficient for mobile and IoT devices. ECC is used for ECDH key agreement and ECDSA/EdDSA signatures but is vulnerable to Shor's algorithm.

Example

Most modern TLS certificates use ECDSA P-256 keys for faster handshakes.

Exam tip

ECC is the answer when the question emphasizes low power, mobile, or smaller key sizes.

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