Which type of encryption typically offers higher security for data transmission?

Asymmetric encryption is often regarded as providing higher security for data transmission due to its use of a key pair: a public key and a private key. This method enhances security in several key ways. Firstly, the public key can be freely distributed to anyone, allowing anyone to encrypt a message intended for the owner of the paired private key. Only the holder of the private key can decrypt these messages, ensuring that only authorized parties can access the information.

The design of asymmetric encryption also helps to establish secure communications over untrusted networks, such as the internet. For instance, protocols like SSL/TLS employ asymmetric encryption to securely exchange session keys, which are then used for faster symmetric encryption during the active data transmission. This combination allows for both strong security through the key exchange and efficient data encryption thereafter.

In contrast, symmetric encryption uses a single key for both encryption and decryption, which can lead to potential vulnerabilities, particularly related to key distribution. If the symmetric key is intercepted or compromised, the security of the entire communication can be jeopardized.

While hashing and data masking have their uses, they do not serve the primary purpose of secure data transmission in the same way that asymmetric encryption does. Hashing is designed for data integrity and does not support encryption,