Perfect Forward Secrecy

Overview [1] [2] [3]#

Perfect Forward Secrecy (same as Forward Secrecy) is a property of Secure connection communication protocols (Key agreements) that gives assurances the, typically short lived, Session Keys will not be compromised even if the long term Private Key are compromised.

In modern cryptographic communication typically the problem to solve is that the Private Key is used for two purposes:[1]

Authentication only matters while the communication is established, but the encryption is expected to last for years.

The Session Key is typically a Shared Secret that is shared using a Key agreement within an Key-Exchange.

More Information#
