Final answer:
The two primary forms of encryption are symmetric, which uses the same key for encryption and decryption, and asymmetric, which uses a public and private key pair.
Step-by-step explanation:
The two primary forms of encryption are symmetric encryption and asymmetric encryption. Symmetric encryption uses the same key for both encrypting and decrypting the data. This key must be kept secret and shared between the sender and recipient for data to be securely transmitted and decoded. A common example of symmetric encryption is the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES).
Asymmetric encryption, on the other hand, uses a pair of keys: a public key, which can be shared with anyone, and a private key, which is kept secret by the owner. Data encrypted with the public key can only be decrypted with the corresponding private key, and vice versa. This is used in scenarios where secure data exchange is needed without prior key exchange, such as in digital certificates. A well-known asymmetric algorithm is the RSA (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman) encryption.