In cryptography, a SKI (Symmetric-Key Infrastructure) is one that is used both to encrypt and decrypt information. This means that to decrypt information, one must have the same key that was used to encrypt it. The keys, in practice, represent a shared secret between two or more parties that can be used to maintain a private information link. This requirement that both parties have access to the secret key is one of the main drawbacks of symmetric key encryption, in comparison to PKI (Public Key Infrastructure).
Symmetric encryption is generally more efficient than asymmetric encryption and therefore preferred when large amounts of data need to be exchanged.
Establishing the shared key is difficult using only symmetric encryption algorithms, so in many cases, an asymmetric encryption is used to establish the shared key between two parties.
