Hashing vs Encryption: What’s the difference? (2024)

Hashing vs Encryption: What’s the difference? (1)

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In the realm of data security, encryption and hashing are frequently contrasted, but why is this so? Encryption is a two-way function in which data is passed in as plaintext and comes out as unreadable ciphertext. Because encryption is two-way, the data may be decrypted and read again. Hashing, on the other hand, is a one-way process in which the plaintext gets scrambled into a unique digest that cannot be decrypted using a salt. Although hashing may be reversed technically, the computer power required to decrypt it makes decryption impractical.

A hashing algorithm is used to do hashing. This approach is most successful when it is collision resistant. Collision resistance refers to the fact that each digest is distinct from the others. This means that the hashing method must be sophisticated enough to avoid overlapping hashes while not being too complicated to generate hashes quickly. There are two forms of encryption, and both encryption and hashing have a number of common methods.

What is Hashing

Hashing is the process of employing a hash function to convert any data of any size into a fixed-length result. A hash value, hash code, digest, checksum, or simply hash is a fixed-length number. Hashing is used in two primary areas of computer systems −

To determine the integrity of a file or message during network transport. User A, for example, can transmit a file to user B and include the hash value in the original message. User B can calculate the hash value of the received file. User B is certain that the file integrity is intact if both hash values match.

Hash Function

The hash value of the provided data is computed by a hash function, which is an underlying algorithm. A hash function is a one-way algorithm, which is one of its most intriguing aspects. We can compute the hash value from the given data, but not the other way around. As a result, it is impossible to deduce the message from a hash value.

What is Encryption?

The process of converting data from one form to another is known as data encryption. Plaintext refers to the unencrypted form of data, whereas ciphertext refers to the encrypted form. A secret key is used to decipher the ciphertext.

The primary goal of encrypting data is to maintain data confidentiality while it is stored on computer systems or transported over the network to other computers. Modern data encryption techniques provide critical security characteristics such as authentication, integrity, and non-repudiation, as well as ensuring data confidentiality.

The authentication function enables the origin of communication to be verified. The integrity feature checks to see if the contents of a message have changed since it was sent. Non-repudiation also ensures that the sender of communication cannot deny sending it.

Types of Encryption

Encryption can be either Symmetric or Asymmetric.

Symmetric encryption

Symmetric-key encryption encrypts and decrypts data using the same secret key. The main advantage of this kind is that it is far quicker than asymmetric encryption. The disadvantage is that the sender must exchange the encryption key with the recipient in order for the receiver to decode it.

Organisations have adapted to use an asymmetric method to exchange the secret key after employing a symmetric technique to encrypt data to avoid the additional burden of securely exchanging the secret key.

Asymmetric Encryption

Asymmetric Encryption, often known as public-key cryptography, is a kind of encryption. This is because the encryption procedure uses two separate keys, one public and one private. The public key, as its name suggests, can be shared with everyone, while the private key must be kept private −

The Rivest-Sharmir-Adleman (RSA) algorithm is a widely used public-key encryption technique for securing sensitive information. The popularity of the RSA method stems from the fact that it can encrypt a message using both public and private keys to ensure confidentiality, integrity, authenticity, and non-repudiability of sent data.

Difference between Hashing and Encryption

The data that has been hashed into an unreadable string cannot be converted back into a readable string, whereas in encryption, with the use of cryptographic keys, the encrypted data may be decoded and turned into a string of readable letters (plaintext information).

The length of the illegible characters is fixed in hashing but there is no set length for the illegible characters in encryption.

In hashing, keys are not used but keys are used to encrypt information in encryption. Only public keys are used for symmetric encryption. Both public and private keys are utilised in asymmetric encryption.

Pranav Bhardwaj

Updated on: 23-Mar-2022

230 Views

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Hashing vs Encryption: What’s the difference? (31)

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Hashing vs Encryption: What’s the difference? (2024)

FAQs

Hashing vs Encryption: What’s the difference? ›

Since encryption is two-way, the data can be decrypted so it is readable again. Hashing, on the other hand, is one-way, meaning the plaintext is scrambled into a unique digest, through the use of a salt, that cannot be decrypted.

How does hashing differ from encryption? ›

Encryption is a two-way function where information is scrambled in such a way that it can be unscrambled later. Hashing is a one-way function where data is mapped to a fixed-length value. Hashing is primarily used for authentication.

What are the advantages of hashing over encryption? ›

Hashing and encryption differ in their advantages based on their speed and security. Hashing is faster than encryption, because it does not involve complex mathematical operations or key management.

Does hashed mean encrypted? ›

Hashing and Encryption have different functions. Encryption includes encryption and decryption process while hashing is a one-way process that changes data into the message digest which is irreversible.

What is the difference between hashing and signing and encryption? ›

Encryption provides confidentiality where users can encrypt any data with the public key and decrypt it with the private key. In signing, a digital signature is used for authenticating the data sender. It uses a best hashing algorithms along with the public-private key infrastructure for authentication.

Are passwords hashed or encrypted? ›

Hashing and encryption can keep sensitive data safe, but in almost all circ*mstances, passwords should be hashed, NOT encrypted. Because hashing is a one-way function (i.e., it is impossible to "decrypt" a hash and obtain the original plaintext value), it is the most appropriate approach for password validation.

Why can't hashing be reversed? ›

Because the conversion is done by a cryptographic algorithm (the “hash function”), the jumbling formula is unknown so the 64-digit string can't be reversed.

What are the downsides of hashing? ›

4 Disadvantages of hashing

It can be vulnerable to the choice of hash function, size of hash value, or distribution of text and pattern. Hashing can also be costly and wasteful, as it may require additional operations to resolve collisions or verify matches.

What are the disadvantages of hashing? ›

Hash tables offer efficient data storage and retrieval, but they come with some drawbacks. These include collision resolution, variable performance, space overhead, lack of ordered data, and dependency on a quality hash function. They are not ideal for range queries, and resizing can introduce overhead.

What is the point of hashing? ›

Why is hashing important? Hashing is important because it offers a method for retrieving data that's secure and efficient. It's also quicker than most traditional sorting algorithms, which makes it more efficient for retrieving data.

Should files be hashed or encrypted? ›

While encryption is primarily used to protect data in transit, hashing is used for protecting data in storage. Encryption can be used to protect passwords in transit while hashing is used to protect passwords in storage.

Are Windows passwords encrypted or hashed? ›

Each user account can be assigned a local area network (LAN) password and a Microsoft Windows password in the SAM. For increasing security, both of these are encrypted and cannot be accessed by any user. These are also referred to as password hashes.

Can hashed passwords be hacked? ›

If they successfully crack a hashed password, they may gain unauthorized access to user accounts and steal sensitive information.

Does hashing require a key? ›

A hash function is a cryptographic algorithm which is used to transform large random size data to small fixed size data. The data output of the hash algorithm is called hash value or digest. The basic operation of hash functions does not need any key and operate in a one-way manner.

Is encryption reversible? ›

Password encryption is used when the plaintext must be recovered for any reason. Encryption is a reversible method of converting plaintext passwords to ciphertext, and you can return to the original plaintext with a decryption key. Encryption is often used for storing passwords in password managers.

How is hashing used for authentication? ›

If the hashes match, you grant the user access and if they do not match, you deny the user access. This method of authentication enables you to verify a user's identity without storing or transmitting their passwords in plain text, thus reducing the risk of password theft or leakage.

How is hashing different from encryption in Quizlet? ›

How is hashing different from encryption? Hashing operations are one-directional. Hash functions, by definition, are one-way, meaning that it's not possible to take a hash and recover the input that generated the hash. Encryption, on the other hand, is two-directional, since data can be both encrypted and decrypted.

What is hashing and how does it differ from encryption quizlet? ›

Hashing is not the same thing as encryption, though it is often listed as a type of encryption and does, in a similar manner, transform data from one format to another. Encrypted data can be decrypted, but hashed data cannot.

What is the difference between hashing and encryption quizlet? ›

Encryption involves key(s), and "encrypting" something implies you want to have a way to reverse that (decrypt) so that you can retrieve the original information. Hashing is different. Hashing does not involve any secret (e.g., key), and it is one-way (i.e., you cannot retrieve the input message from the hash digest).

What is a major distinction between hashing and encryption quizlet? ›

What is the difference between hashing and encrypting? -Main difference is that encrypted strings can be reversed back into their original decrypted form if you have the right key. If you change only a single bit in a file of billions of bits, you might reason that the hashes would be nearly the same.

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