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The Mathematics Behind the RSA Algorithm RSA is one of the classic public-key cryptographic algorithms. Its mathematics comes primarily from number theory , especially prime numbers, modular arithmetic, Euler's theorem, and modular inverses. 1. The Big Picture RSA has two keys: Public key — anyone can know it. Private key — must be kept secret. Message → Encryption using public key → Ciphertext Ciphertext → Decryption using private key → Original Message The fascinating part is that encryption and decryption are based on exponentiation modulo a large number. Encryption: c = m e mod n Decryption: m = c d mod n 2. First: What Does "mod" Mean? The word mod means "remainder after division." Example 1 17 divided by 5 gives: 17 = 5 × 3 + 2 Therefore: 17 mod 5...