Everybody nowadays is consistently working in a remote environment where files are consistently been shared from one system to another one. All of these activities have become very much unavailable and further, the organisations should depend upon this to function smoothly. In many organizations, the username and password are very well present in a table in a database and whenever somebody attempts to log in, the system will check and compare the password entered by the user. The basic format in this particular case will be the clear text where the readable data will be stored in the clear however security at this level is nothing to talk about because it is almost like writing of the credentials on a digital piece of paper. This particular scenario will be very prone to the concept of hacking which is the main reason to understand the importance and basic technicalities of Hashing algorithms right from day one.
What do you mean by Hashing algorithms?
Entering the Hashing algorithms is basically a fundamental component of cryptography that refers to the concept of chopping the data into smaller and mixed-up pieces which will make it very difficult for the end user to go back to the original state or text. This particular function is nothing but the algorithm that will be generating the fixed length result or a specific value from the input data and further this will be very much different from encryption that will be converting the plaintext into the encrypted text and vice versa. In the cases of Hashing algorithms, the plaintext will be converted into hashed text through the cryptographic function which will make it very difficult for the hackers to make a lot of sense of it.
What are the basic characteristics of the ideal Hashing algorithm functions?
Some of the major aspects that you need to focus on in this particular case have been explained as follows:
- It should always behave as a one-way function: It is impossible for the organizations to go back to the original text once it has been subjected to the concept of Hashing algorithms so, the other hand if you are interested in getting a specific result, this will be definitely helpful in providing people with initial inputs that will be leading to the result. As a very basic example in this case if 6 has been divided by 2, it will be giving the result of three but so does 9 divided by 3. Hence, there will be no option of determining the initial two numbers from the result three.
- Using the avalanche effect very well: Any kind of particular input will definitely provide people with a particular output even with a medal change in the input it can lead to a significant drastic change in the output. So, being very clear is also equally important so that things are very much of a dog and the introduction of the things will be accordingly and perfectly done.
- Should be fast to compute: For any kind of given data of input, which objects to the concept of Hashing algorithms, getting the results within seconds is definitely important so that the problem can be easily identified and solved. It is always important for organizations to go for that particular option of hashing algorithms which is built strongly and is very fast in terms of basic calculations.
- Should not have any kind of collision: The output of 2 input parameters should never be the same and for this particular purpose looking at the length of the Hashing algorithm function is definitely important so that everybody can get the desired output without any problem.
- The function should be deterministic: The output of one parameter has to be the same irrespective of whether one will be checking it or how many times when will be using it. This will be especially coming in whenever multiple people will be required to verify different things at multiple points in time in this case.
What are the multiple types of options of Hashing algorithms available in the industry?
- MD5: this is one of the commonly used options of hashing algorithms that will be providing people with password conversion into the specific pattern with this method. It is very easy to simply google the value and get the original value in this case.
- SHA family of algorithms: This particular scenario was introduced in 1983 and has been compromised many times. Later versions were slightly improved and ultimately were based upon SSL security which has been also subjected to many attacks. The latest possible version of this particular case is all about seriousness from the security perspective and ultimately provides people with a good number of benefits without any doubt.
- Whirlpool: This is the 512-bit HASH function which has been derived with the help of advanced-level encryption standards and provides people with significant performance at all times.
- RIPEMD Family of algorithms: This particular point very well stands for RACE integrity primitives evaluation message direct which was developed sometime in the mid-1990s. There are multiple versions associated with this point and the output keeps on increasing with subsequent versions which further helps in improving the overall quality of security. It is very important to understand because this will be providing people with an extreme level of protection without it out.
- CRC32: This is known as the cyclic redundancy code and provides people with a good number of spreading Properties which leads to quick and smooth transfer of the file with comprehensive validation that provides people with a significant element of protection.
It is definitely important for the organization to ensure that this particular scenario of hashing algorithms is secure but is never immune to attackers. At times the hackers will have the input to access the hashing algorithms which can be further used for the element of authentication. Mining the concept of hashing algorithms with the runtime application self-protection is a great idea because it will detect the attacks on the application in real-time and is a very good practice to proceed with because it will be based on limited human intervention and further will lead to the smart analysis of the contextual behavior of the applications to provide people with better security. Having a look at the perimeter of the application in this particular case is a great idea so that everyone will be able to check out what is exactly going on inside the application and further introducing the best practices with the help of experts at Appsealing can be considered as a good approach to deal with the security very successfully.