Symmetric vs Asymmetric Encryption

With symmetric-key encryption, there is one key used to both encrypt and decrypt the message. On the other hand, asymmetric-key encryption uses two keys - a public key and a private key. Anyone can see the public key, but the private key is kept by the user. Symmetric key encryption is secure because it takes brute force methods to try and crack encryption. Identity can be confirmed with asymmetric key encryption by using a decrypting a given ciphertext with someone's public key. For example, I can give someone an encrypted message that can only be decrypted with my public key. This is referred to as m digital signature. Symmetric key encryption operates faster, but it poses the challenge of having to distribute a new key between each communication. This can leave the communication to fall prey to a middleman, who can intercept the message and fake the keys between the two users. Asymmetric key encryption is more secure, relying on modular arithmetic and the use of two keys, but it needs larger keys and is slower.