How to Use public-key in a Sentence

public-key

noun
  • For over 40 years, public-key cryptography has secured global commerce.
    — Lane Sullivan, Forbes.com, 13 Feb. 2026
  • The app’s wallet uses an open-source protocol to generate a ZKP showing that the holder’s private key is linked to a public-key hash on the blockchain, without revealing which one.
    — Edd Gent, IEEE Spectrum, 22 Dec. 2022
  • Quantum computers were on the road to defeating conventional, public-key crypto algorithms like RSA.
    — Margo Anderson, IEEE Spectrum, 9 Aug. 2019
  • Google took a hybrid approach that combines a traditional public-key cryptography algorithm with Dilithium for authentication.
    — IEEE Spectrum, 29 Aug. 2023
  • Many regulators and agencies are targeting migration away from classical public-key cryptography in the early 2030s.
    — Maman Ibrahim, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
  • If public-key cryptography becomes breakable, attackers can impersonate services, weaken the handshakes that set up secure sessions and forge signatures that make malicious code look legitimate.
    — Kumar Mehta, Forbes.com, 26 June 2026
  • That technology is also what makes security keys vulnerable to quantum attacks, because ultimately, quantum computers will break all current forms of public-key cryptography, researchers say.
    — IEEE Spectrum, 29 Aug. 2023
  • Washington has restricted the export of sensitive technology before, from public-key cryptography in the 1970s to nuclear technology.
    — Sam Birchall, Fortune, 23 June 2026
  • Because Dilithium is not yet an official standard and has not long been in use under real-world conditions, Google took a hybrid approach that combines a traditional public-key cryptography algorithm with Dilithium for authentication.
    — IEEE Spectrum, 29 Aug. 2023
  • Rodriguez points to advances in domain name system security extensions (DNSSEC), which uses digital signatures based on public-key cryptography to strengthen the authentication of the domain name system.
    — IEEE Spectrum, 6 May 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'public-key.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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