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What hashing and encryption do
A cryptographic hash function takes input of varying lengths and produces a fixed-length digest. NIST describes a cryptographic hash function in its glossary. Digests can help detect whether data has changed since the digest was generated, as described in NIST’s FIPS 180-4 publication page.
Encryption transforms plaintext into ciphertext to conceal its meaning. Decryption uses the appropriate key and process to restore the original data. NIST defines encryption as “the cryptographic transformation of data to produce ciphertext” in its encryption glossary.
Hashing vs. encryption at a glance
| Question | Hashing | Encryption |
|---|---|---|
| Main purpose | Produce a digest for checks such as integrity verification or password verification | Conceal plaintext while allowing authorized recovery |
| Can you reverse it? | Designed to be one-way; there is no decryption step | Yes, with the appropriate decryption process and key |
| Does it use a key? | A basic hash such as SHA-256 is unkeyed; keyed-hash constructions also exist | Uses cryptographic key material to control encryption and decryption |
| Typical use | Comparing a file digest or checking a password without storing a recoverable password | Protecting a file or message that needs to be opened later |
| Important limitation | A digest alone does not conceal data or prove who created it | Encryption alone does not necessarily establish integrity or authenticity |
Why a hash is not decrypted
A hash is not an encoded copy of the original text. Its fixed-length digest is intended to support verification, not recovery. Different input lengths can produce digests of the same length; for example, NIST’s FIPS 180-4 specifies a 256-bit message digest for SHA-256 and a 512-bit message digest for SHA-512. Those are standard parameters, not guarantees that any system using the algorithms is secure.
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“One-way” does not mean no one can ever find an input that matches a digest. An attacker can try candidate inputs, and common or predictable values may be guessed. A secure hash is designed to make finding a matching input or a collision computationally infeasible, but weak input choices can still undermine practical protection.
How hashing and encryption apply to passwords
Password verification uses hashing
When a service stores a password verifier, it should store a salted password hash produced by a suitable password-hashing scheme, rather than an encrypted password intended to be recovered. At sign-in, the service processes the submitted password with the stored scheme and salt, then compares the result with the stored verifier. It can check the password without decrypting or retrieving the original.
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NIST’s current digital-identity guidance, SP 800-63B-4, states: “Passwords SHALL be salted and hashed using a suitable password hashing scheme.” The scheme uses a password, salt, and cost factor. The cost factor makes each guess more expensive for an attacker who obtains the verifier file; it should be set as high as practical without harming verifier performance and increased over time as computing performance improves.
Salt and cost factor matter
A salt is stored alongside the resulting hash for each password. It helps ensure that identical passwords do not all produce the same stored result and makes large-scale guessing less efficient. SP 800-63B-4 specifies a minimum salt length of 32 bits and says salts should be selected to minimize collisions among stored hashes. That is the minimum stated in this edition of the guidance, not a claim that 32-bit salts are ideal for every modern implementation.
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The standard also recommends retaining a reference to the password-hashing scheme and its cost factor so the verifier can be migrated as needed. It describes an optional extra keyed-hashing or encryption operation using a secret held separately, ideally in hardware-protected storage. That is an additional layer; it does not replace the salted password-hashing scheme.
Why plain SHA-256 is not enough for password storage
SHA-256 is a general-purpose hash with a 256-bit digest, as specified by NIST in FIPS 180-4. A fast general-purpose digest alone is not the suitable password-storage scheme NIST calls for: an attacker can test guesses quickly if the verifier file is stolen. Use a password-hashing scheme designed to make guessing costly, with a salt and an appropriate cost factor.
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When to use each operation
Use hashing for verification
- Compare a file against a trusted expected digest to help detect changes.
- Verify a password without keeping a recoverable copy of it, using a suitable password-hashing scheme rather than a fast general-purpose hash alone.
Use encryption when data must be read again
- Protect a file or message that an authorized person or system needs to decrypt later.
- Choose encryption appropriate to the use case and account for integrity and authenticity too; encryption by itself does not necessarily provide either.
What a matching hash does—and does not—prove
If a file’s digest matches an expected digest that you trust, that comparison can help show the file has not changed. But a plain hash does not establish who generated the file or digest: an attacker able to replace both could make them match. Authentication requires an appropriate keyed or signature mechanism. A hash also does not conceal the file’s contents; use encryption for confidentiality.
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