A person buying something securely from a website will receive a _________ key to encrypt sensitive data.

In secure online transactions, a person typically receives a public key to encrypt sensitive data. This approach is based on asymmetric cryptography, where there are two keys: a public key, which is used for encryption, and a private key, which is kept secret and used for decryption.

When a buyer connects to a secure website, the site provides its public key as part of its digital certificate. The buyer uses this public key to encrypt their payment information or other sensitive data before sending it to the website. This ensures that even if an unauthorized party intercepts the data in transit, they will not be able to decrypt it without the corresponding private key, which is securely held by the website.

In this context, the mention of the private key in the answer choice signifies that it is part of the underlying model of asymmetric encryption, where the public key is shared openly, whereas the private key must remain confidential to allow secure decryption of the data once it reaches the intended recipient. This distinction underscores the foundational principles of secure communications over the internet.