Due to the tremendous growth of cryptocurrencies, many people are now aware of those. Though you are already investing in cryptocurrencies, you might not be much familiar with the technologies behind the field. The cryptographic hash function is a backstage function that has become a cornerstone of the technology. Therefore, we thought of writing an article on cryptographic hash functions and how they perform. Let’s look deeper.
What are Cryptographic Hash Functions.
In cryptography, a hash function is a mathematical function. Hash functions take variable-length inputs and return outputs of a fixed length. The message-passing capabilities of hash functions are combined with security qualities in a cryptographic hash function (CHF). In basic terms, hash functions transform or map a specific set of data into a bitstream to help the digitalization.
Hash functions are often used in data structures in computing algorithms for activities like message integrity checks and information authentication. Though they are said to be cryptographically weak since they can be solved in polynomial time, in reality, they are difficult to decode. However, cryptographic hash functions add security characteristics to traditional hash functions, making it more difficult to decipher a message’s contents or information about receivers and senders. Hash functions consist of a set of specific characteristics such as,
- CHF are free of collisions because none of the two input hashes maps to the same output hash.
- It is considerably difficult to guess the initial input value for such function from its output.
- CHF are puzzle-friendly. Selecting an input that produces a pre-defined outcome is tough. Hence, the input should be chosen from a wide range of possibilities.
CHF Applications.
Cryptographic hash functions are commonly employed in cryptocurrencies to anonymously transmit transaction data. Hashes, on the other hand, have additional uses in the actual world. Below are the most frequent cryptography applications in day-to-day cryptocurrency considerations.
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Password verification:
Passwords are almost always stored as hashes since storing them in plain text is risky. When a user enters their password, the result is hashed and compared to a list of hashed values saved on the company’s servers.
Signature verification:
The mathematical method of verifying signatures is used to ensure the validity of digital documents or messages. When all of the conditions are met, a valid digital signature provides compelling assurance to the recipient that a known sender generated the message and that it was not altered in transit. A digital signature method usually consists of three algorithms: a key generation algorithm, a signing algorithm that creates a signature given a message and a private key, and a signature verification algorithm. Merkle Trees, a cryptocurrency technique, is a type of famous digital signature.Â
- The above discussion is neither financial advice nor financial recommendation. It is a basic study on cryptocurrency which is done based on resource sources. Therefore, our team accepts no responsibility or liability for any predictions/decisions you make in the industry.