What does hybrid encryption combine?

Hybrid encryption is a cryptographic approach that leverages the strengths of both symmetric and asymmetric encryption methods to secure data effectively. In hybrid encryption, symmetric encryption is typically used to encrypt the actual data because it is faster and more efficient for handling large amounts of data. However, the challenge with symmetric encryption is the secure exchange of the encryption keys. This is where asymmetric encryption comes into play.

Asymmetric encryption uses a pair of keys – a public key, which can be shared openly, and a private key, which must be kept secret. In the hybrid approach, the symmetric key used for encrypting the data is itself encrypted using the recipient's public key. This allows the secure transfer of the symmetric key, enabling the recipient to decrypt the data using their private key. Thus, hybrid encryption combines these two methods to provide both the efficiency of symmetric encryption and the secure key management capabilities of asymmetric encryption.

In contrast, the other choices do not accurately describe hybrid encryption. The first choice discusses asymmetric encryption and hashing, but hashing is not a method of encryption. The second choice implies that only symmetric methods are used, ignoring the role of asymmetric methods. The last choice conflates encryption with encoding techniques, which serve different purposes in data handling and are not part of