IBM Novell 10 SP1 EAL4 - Manual (Page 196)

If encryption is done with a public key, only the corresponding private key can be used for decryption. This
allows a user to communicate confidentially with another user by encrypting messages with the intended
receiver’s public key. Even if messages are intercepted by a third party, the third party cannot decrypt them.
Only the intended receiver can decrypt messages with his or her private key. The following diagram
conceptually illustrates encryption with a public key to provide confidentiality.
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Figure 5-88: Asymmetric keys
Figure 5-89: Encryption with private key provides authentication