why only prime numbers are used in RSA encryption?
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This may be a little over-simplified for an ELI5, but still: encryption means you must code something into a message that only the other person understands. But the other person must also be able to understand it. You need a shared secret. This can be achieved mathematically, by using numbers as those secrets. You don’t want to be able to understand the message using many possible values. You also don’t want to be able to create an understandable message using many possible values. Prime numbers have a property that makes them unique in that sense. If you use a prime number for key generation, you make it mathematically possible to encrypt a message that only one other person can decrypt correctly.
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