Advantages of Identity-Based Encryption

The power of IBE is in its simplicity. By using well-known identifiers, such as email addresses, as public keys, IBE enables security policies to be encoded directly into encryption and authentication methods, eliminating the need for cumbersome certificates and Certification Authorities. See the difference yourself:

The following is a RSA public key. A certificate is required to bind this key to an identity (i.e. to state that this key belongs to bob@b.com).

Public exponent:
0x10001

Modulus:
13506641086599522334960321627880596993888147560566702752448514
38515265106048595338339402871505719094417982072821644715513736
80419703964191743046496589274256239341020864383202110372958725
76235850964311056407350150818751067659462920556368552947521350
0852879416377328533906109750544334999811150056977236890927563

In contrast, this is an IBE public key. No certificate is required because the key is the identity.

Name = bob@b.com

By eliminating the need for certificates, IBE removes the hurdles of PKI: certificate lookup, lifecycle management, Certificate Revocation Lists, and cross-certification issues. IBE's simplicity enables it to be used in ways PKI could not; IBE can be used to build security systems that are more dynamic, lightweight and scalable.