Online Documentation for SQL Manager for SQL server

Asymmetric Keys


In SQL Server 2005 and higher, data can be encrypted with a hierarchical encryption and key management infrastructure. Each layer encrypts the layer below it by using a combination of the following mechanisms for encryption: symmetric keys, asymmetric keys, certificates.

 

An Asymmetric key is composed of a private key and the corresponding public key. Each key can decrypt data encrypted by the other. Asymmetric encryption and decryption provide a higher level of security than symmetric encryption. An asymmetric key can be used to encrypt a symmetric key for storage in a database.

 

 

Asymmetric Key Editor allows you to define asymmetric key properties. It opens automatically when you create a new asymmetric key and is available on editing an existing one.

 

To open an asymmetric key in Asymmetric Key Editor, double-click it in the DB Explorer tree.