What is hashing: How it works and is used in cybersecurity

Hashing is a crucial process in information security that transforms any data into a unique and fixed value, facilitating its rapid recovery and guaranteeing its integrity.

What is hashing?

Hashing is a data processing algorithm that transforms a string of text or data set into a single, fixed numerical representation. This process is done by a hash function, which generates a unique value for each distinct input, called a hash.

Hashing is commonly used in programming to store and retrieve data efficiently.

The hashing process works as follows:

1. Entrance. A text string or dataset is provided as input.
2. Hash function. The input is passed through a hash function, which uses a mathematical algorithm to transform the input into a unique numerical representation.
3. Hash. The result is the hash, a single, fixed numerical representation of the original input.

If the hash function is good, the same input message will always produce the same output number, and a slight change in the message will drastically change the output number.

However, it’s important to note that the features aren’t perfect. There is a chance that two different messages produce the same hash, known as a hash collision. Despite this, good hashing functions are designed to minimize the likelihood of collisions.

Using Hash Values

Now that we know what a hash is, it’s relevant to find out that hash values are instrumental in a variety of applications, including:

• Data storage and retrieval: The hashing algorithm efficiently stores and retrieves data. In a database, hashing is used to index and retrieve data quickly. When storing data in a hash table, the hash function directly calculates the location of the data in the table.
• Data authentication: These values are commonly used to authenticate data, as generating a hash that matches the original one is very complex. In addition, any slight modification to the data causes the creation of a new hash.
• Data encryption: Hashing is used to encrypt data securely. By storing data in encrypted mode, hashing protects the integrity and confidentiality of the data. This function associated with cryptography has made hashing a fundamental element of blockchain technology.
• Duplicate detection: Hash values can also be used to detect duplicate data. Two datasets will likely be identical if they have the same hash value.

Characteristics of how hashing works

The fundamental characteristics of how hashing works are:

Illegibility

The hash output data, the hashes, are not readable or recognizable. The goal is to make the results difficult to decode or understand, providing greater security in applications such as cryptography and data authentication.

Continuity

A hashing algorithm can maintain a connection or relationship between the input data and the generated results. This means that the results are consistent and consistent over time, which is especially important for applications that require data integrity and security.

Speed

Speed is an essential feature of hashing. Hashing functions are designed to be extremely fast and efficient. In general, the speed of hashing depends on the algorithm’s complexity and the hardware capacity used.

Determinism

This hashing feature refers to an algorithm’s ability to produce results that are always the same for a specific input.

It implies that the hashing result is predictable and not influenced by external factors. Given an input, the algorithm will always produce the same hash, and therefore, if two people have the same data and use the same hash function, they will get the same hash.

Securities Collision Safety

It refers to the ability of a hashing algorithm to minimize the likelihood of collisions between different inputs.

Theoretically, a perfect hashing algorithm would produce unique values for each entry. However, in practice, collisions can occur due to the limited number of possible hash values, where different inputs produce the same hash value.

A good hashing algorithm will distribute inputs evenly across the hash space, reducing the likelihood of collisions and improving safety.

Use cases of hashing in cybersecurity

Here are some prominent use cases for hashing in cybersecurity:

File integrity verification

In cryptography, hash values are used to verify the integrity of data. By calculating the hash value of the data before and after transmission, it is possible to check whether the data has been altered during transmission.

Digital signatures

The message’s hash value is input for the digital signatures signing algorithm. This allows you to verify the sender’s authenticity and the message’s integrity.

Secure password storage

The hashing algorithm authenticates a user’s identity and securely stores passwords. When registering for an app, the user provides a password stored as a hash.

The application checks the provided password against the stored hash when the user logs in. As it is stored as a hash, it is tough for that password to be decrypted and used by someone other than the user who generated it.

Prevention of replay, brute force, SQL injection, and cross-site scripting attacks

Hashing helps prevent these types of attacks, as it is difficult for an attacker to reproduce a hash that has already been verified or generate a hash that matches the original hash. This makes it difficult to access data without being authorized.

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Advantages of hashing that you should know

Hashing offers several advantages over other methods of encryption and data storage:

1. Speed. It is swift and efficient, based on simple mathematical operations, and does not require complex search algorithms.
2. Scalability. It is scalable, as it does not depend on the content’s complexity, making it suitable for large amounts of data.
3. Irreversibility. The hash is irreversible, which means that you cannot recover the original data from it. This provides an extra layer of security to protect sensitive data.
4. Data integrity. The hashing algorithm ensures that data is not modified or altered during transmission or storage.
5. Authentication. The hash of the original data can be verified by comparing it with the hash of the received data, which shows that the data has not been modified during the transmission process.
6. Efficiency. Modern hashing algorithms are fast and efficient, responding to applications that require high processing speed.
7. It requires no keys, secure communication, or encryption services. By its very function, hashing does not require keys, secure communication, or encryption services to protect data, so its implementation is straightforward. At the same time, it is ideal for applications that require high security.
8. No dependence. Hashing does not depend on complexity, structure, language, frequency, or data categorization, which may condition its application.

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