From 20ffb8e53b5b759f7c5858cf3be64565de788cfd Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Paul Schaub Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2023 11:43:13 +0200 Subject: [PATCH] Add examples to key terminology section --- book/source/04-certs.md | 3 ++- 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/book/source/04-certs.md b/book/source/04-certs.md index 13fb794..7974350 100644 --- a/book/source/04-certs.md +++ b/book/source/04-certs.md @@ -40,9 +40,10 @@ In the OpenPGP space, the term "key" has historically been used for three distinct concepts, at three layers, all related to each other: - (Bare) "cryptographic keys" (without additional metadata). +Those might be the secret and/or public parameters that form a key, e.g. in case of an RSA secret key the exponent `d` along with the prime numbers `p` and `q`. - OpenPGP *component keys*: "OpenPGP primary keys" and "OpenPGP subkeys". Those are building blocks of OpenPGP certificates, - they consist of a (bare) cryptographic keypair, plus metadata. + they consist of a (bare) cryptographic keypair, plus some invariant metadata (e.g. key creation time). - "OpenPGP key" (or "OpenPGP certificate"): These consist of a number of component keys plus additional elements, such as identity information.