About this interactive
What you are doing: deciding whether a described mechanism is hashing or encryption.
Hashing runs one direction. A password goes through a one-way function into a fixed-length fingerprint, and there is no step that recovers the original from the fingerprint. A login is verified by running the typed password through the same function and comparing the two fingerprints, so the system can confirm a password without ever reading it.
Encryption runs both directions. Data is scrambled and then unscrambled again by whoever holds the correct key, because the whole point is to recover the original later. If a key can return the data to its readable form, it is encryption, not hashing.
What you'll learn
- Sort each described way of handling data into hashing or encryption
Aligned to
CompTIA Security+
1.4
Explain the importance of using appropriate cryptographic solutions.
Key terms
- Hash Function
- A mathematical algorithm that converts input data of any size into a fixed-size output value used to verify data integrity.
- Encryption
- The process of converting readable data into an unreadable format using an algorithm and key to prevent unauthorized access.
- Authentication
- The process of verifying the identity of a user, device, or system.
Topics
Hash Function
Encryption
Authentication
Interactive
Streak Sort
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