Answer: Hashing is a one-way process that transforms data into a fixed-size string of characters, called a hash value or digest. It's designed to be irreversible, meaning you cannot reconstruct the original data from its hash. Hashing is primarily used for data integrity verification and password storage (storing hashes instead of actual passwords). Encryption, however, is a two-way process that transforms data into an unreadable format (ciphertext) to protect its confidentiality. It uses an algorithm and a key, and the original data (plaintext) can be recovered from the ciphertext using the correct decryption key. Encryption is used for secure communication and data storage where confidentiality is paramount.