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Hash Function

Definition

Deterministic function that maps an input of arbitrary length to a fixed-length output. A cryptographic hash adds pre-image resistance, second pre-image resistance, collision resistance and the avalanche effect.

Related terms

Asymmetric Cryptography
Cryptosystem that uses a key pair: a public key (shareable) and a private key (secret). Built on mathematical trapdoor functions where the...
Digital Signature
Cryptographic proof of authenticity, integrity and non-repudiation. Sign by encrypting a hash of the message with the signer's private key; verify by...
DSC
Digital Signature Certificate. An Indian X.509 certificate issued by a CCA-licensed CA. Class 3 is the current mandatory tier for income tax,...
ECC
Elliptic Curve Cryptography. Smaller keys for equivalent security; 256-bit ECC is roughly equivalent to 3072-bit RSA. Used in ECDSA signatures, ECDH key...
HMAC
Hash-based Message Authentication Code, RFC 2104. Combines a secret key with a hash function to produce a MAC; immune to the length-extension...
PKI
Public Key Infrastructure. The set of roles (CA, RA, VA) and artefacts (X.509 certificates, CRL, OCSP) that bind a public key to...
RSA
Rivest-Shamir-Adleman, 1977. Public-key cryptosystem based on the hardness of factoring a product of two large primes. Common sizes today: 2048-bit (standard), 3072-bit...
Trapdoor Function
A one-way function with a secret 'trapdoor' that makes the reverse direction tractable. RSA's trapdoor is the factorisation of n into p...

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