Which encryption method is typically slower and used for securing large amounts of data?

The correct answer is asymmetric encryption. Asymmetric encryption is characterized by the use of two different keys: a public key for encryption and a private key for decryption. This method, while providing strong security, is inherently slower than symmetric encryption due to the complex mathematical computations involved.

Asymmetric encryption is often not the best choice for encrypting large volumes of data directly. Instead, it is typically used to secure smaller amounts of data, such as encrypting keys for symmetric encryption or establishing secure communication channels. In practice, a hybrid approach is often employed where asymmetric encryption is used to securely exchange a symmetric key, and then that symmetric key is used for the bulk encryption of data, as symmetric encryption is much faster and more efficient for handling large datasets.

The other methods mentioned, such as symmetric encryption, hashing, and block ciphers, serve different purposes. Symmetric encryption is generally faster and is preferred for large amounts of data, whereas hashing is not an encryption method but a way to ensure data integrity by producing a fixed-size output from variable input and is irreversible. Block ciphers refer to specific algorithms used in symmetric encryption to process data in fixed-size blocks but do not independently describe an encryption method suitable for extensive data operations in terms of speed.