(ISC)2 Certified in Cybersecurity Practice Exam

In which encryption method do you encrypt and decrypt using different keys?

1. Symmetric

2. Asymmetric

3. Hashing

4. Salting

The correct answer is: Asymmetric

The encryption method that uses different keys for encryption and decryption is known as asymmetric encryption. This approach employs a pair of keys: a public key and a private key. The public key is used to encrypt data, while the corresponding private key is utilized for decryption. This is a foundational principle in asymmetric cryptography, allowing secure communication without the need to share a secret key among parties involved. Asymmetric encryption provides a higher level of security for tasks such as secure key exchange, digital signatures, and secure email. It enables one party to send a secure message without needing to exchange a secret beforehand, which is a significant advantage over symmetric encryption, where the same key is shared for both encryption and decryption, raising potential risks if the key is compromised. Other options like symmetric encryption involve using the same key for both processes, while hashing focuses on creating a fixed-size output (hash) from input data, making it irreversible and not meant for encryption. Salting is a technique used to enhance security in password hashing, by adding random data (a 'salt') to passwords before hashing them, but it does not involve encryption either.