Encryption vs Hashing: Which One Can Be Reversed?
Start with purpose: confidentiality, integrity, authentication, or nonrepudiation.
Symmetric encryption
The same shared secret key is generally used for encryption and decryption. It is efficient, but secure key distribution is a challenge.
Asymmetric encryption
Uses a mathematically related public/private key pair for cryptographic operations.
Hashing
A cryptographic hash is designed as a one-way transformation and is commonly used for integrity checking, password-storage architectures, and digital-signature processes.
Digital signatures
Digital signatures can support authentication, integrity, and nonrepudiation concepts. Signing is not the same as encrypting an entire message for confidentiality.
The takeaway
Encryption protects confidentiality through reversible cryptography. Hashing is designed as a one-way integrity mechanism.
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FAQ
Is hashing encryption?
Not in the normal reversible sense.
Which encryption uses a key pair?
Asymmetric encryption.
Which is usually faster for bulk encryption?
Symmetric encryption.