18.2 SSH Key-based Authentication

SSH key-based authentication makes use of asymmetric public key encryption to add an extra layer of security to remote system access. The concept of public key encryption was devised in 1975 by Whitfield Diffie and Martin Hellman and is based on the concept of using a pair of keys, one private and one public.

In a public key encryption system, the public key is used to encrypt data that can only be decrypted by the owner of the private key.

In the case of SSH key-based authentication, the private key is held by the host on which the SSH client is located while the corresponding public key resides on the system on which the SSH server is running. It is important to protect the private key, since ownership of the key will allow anyone to log into the remote system. As an added layer of protection, therefore, the private key may also be encrypted and protected by a password which must be entered each time a connection is established to the server...