{"id":2835,"date":"2025-06-04T15:16:06","date_gmt":"2025-06-04T15:16:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diznr.com\/?p=2835"},"modified":"2025-06-04T15:16:06","modified_gmt":"2025-06-04T15:16:06","slug":"network-security-secure-hashing-algorithm-or-sha-algorithm-and-its-various-versions-network-secure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/pdf\/network-security-secure-hashing-algorithm-or-sha-algorithm-and-its-various-versions-network-secure\/","title":{"rendered":"Network Security Secure hashing algorithm or SHA algorithm and it&#8217;s various versions network secure."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Network Security Secure hashing algorithm or SHA algorithm and it&#8217;s various versions network secure.<\/p>\n<p>[fvplayer id=&#8221;136&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s a complete guide to the <strong>Secure Hashing Algorithm (SHA)<\/strong>, including its <strong>versions<\/strong>, <strong>uses in network security<\/strong>, and <strong>importance in cryptography<\/strong> \u2014 especially relevant for <strong>GATE CSE, Cybersecurity, Networking, and Computer Science Engineering<\/strong> students.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>\ud83d\udd10 What is <strong>SHA (Secure Hashing Algorithm)?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>SHA<\/strong> is a family of <strong>cryptographic hash functions<\/strong> designed to <strong>ensure data integrity<\/strong> by generating a fixed-size hash (or digest) from input data (message).<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u2705 <strong>Hash Function<\/strong>: Takes an input (of any size) \u2192 produces a fixed-length hash value.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>\ud83e\udde0 Why is SHA Important in <strong>Network Security<\/strong>?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>\ud83d\udca0 <strong>Data Integrity<\/strong>: Ensures that the data was not tampered with.<\/li>\n<li>\ud83e\uddfe <strong>Password Storage<\/strong>: Stores passwords as hash values.<\/li>\n<li>\ud83d\udce1 <strong>Digital Signatures<\/strong>: Used in SSL\/TLS, HTTPS.<\/li>\n<li>\ud83d\udd11 <strong>Blockchain &amp; Cryptography<\/strong>: SHA-256 powers Bitcoin mining.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>\ud83d\udd22 <strong>SHA Versions Overview<\/strong><\/h2>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Version<\/th>\n<th>Output Size<\/th>\n<th>Year Introduced<\/th>\n<th>Status<\/th>\n<th>Use Cases<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>SHA-0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>160 bits<\/td>\n<td>1993<\/td>\n<td>Obsolete<\/td>\n<td>Weak security<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>SHA-1<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>160 bits<\/td>\n<td>1995<\/td>\n<td>Broken\/Retired<\/td>\n<td>Was widely used (SSL, Git, etc.)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>SHA-2<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>224\/256\/384\/512 bits<\/td>\n<td>2001<\/td>\n<td>Secure<\/td>\n<td>Widely used in modern cryptography<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>SHA-3<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>224\/256\/384\/512 bits<\/td>\n<td>2025<\/td>\n<td>Secure<\/td>\n<td>Backup standard (based on Keccak)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>\ud83d\udd0e SHA-1 (Insecure) \u2013 <strong>Avoid using!<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>\u2705 Used in SSL certificates, Git, older systems.<\/li>\n<li>\u274c Broken by <strong>collision attacks<\/strong> (Google\u2019s SHAttered attack).<\/li>\n<li>\u274c Deprecated by most browsers &amp; organizations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>\ud83d\udee1\ufe0f SHA-2 Family (Secure, Recommended)<\/h2>\n<p>Includes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><code>SHA-224<\/code><\/li>\n<li><code>SHA-256<\/code> \u2714\ufe0f (most popular)<\/li>\n<li><code>SHA-384<\/code><\/li>\n<li><code>SHA-512<\/code><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>\u2705 <strong>SHA-256<\/strong>:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Most widely used<\/li>\n<li>Fixed 256-bit output<\/li>\n<li>Secure and collision-resistant<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\ud83d\udccc <strong>Used in<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>HTTPS<\/li>\n<li>Bitcoin and blockchain<\/li>\n<li>JWT (JSON Web Tokens)<\/li>\n<li>Software verification<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>\ud83e\uddea SHA-3 (New Standard)<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Based on <strong>Keccak<\/strong> algorithm (not Merkle\u2013Damg\u00e5rd like SHA-1\/2)<\/li>\n<li>More resistant to length-extension attacks<\/li>\n<li>Useful for <strong>post-quantum cryptography<\/strong> and <strong>IoT devices<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>\ud83d\udd01 How Hashing Works (Simple Illustration)<\/h2>\n<pre><code>Input Message \u2192 SHA Algorithm \u2192 Unique Hash Code\n\nExample:\nInput: \"hello\"\nSHA-256 Output:  \n2cf24dba5fb0a... (64 hex characters = 256 bits)\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>\u26a0\ufe0f Properties of a Good Hash Function<\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Deterministic<\/strong> \u2013 Same input \u2192 same output<\/li>\n<li><strong>Fast<\/strong> \u2013 Efficient to compute<\/li>\n<li><strong>Irreversible<\/strong> \u2013 Can\u2019t reverse to get input<\/li>\n<li><strong>Collision-resistant<\/strong> \u2013 No two inputs \u2192 same hash<\/li>\n<li><strong>Avalanche effect<\/strong> \u2013 Tiny change \u2192 big hash change<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>\ud83d\udcd8 Summary Table<\/h2>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Feature<\/th>\n<th>SHA-1<\/th>\n<th>SHA-2 (256\/512)<\/th>\n<th>SHA-3<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Output Length<\/td>\n<td>160 bits<\/td>\n<td>256\u2013512 bits<\/td>\n<td>256\u2013512 bits<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Security<\/td>\n<td>Weak (Broken)<\/td>\n<td>Strong<\/td>\n<td>Strong (Keccak)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Collision Resistance<\/td>\n<td>Low<\/td>\n<td>High<\/td>\n<td>Very High<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Applications<\/td>\n<td>Legacy Systems<\/td>\n<td>Modern Crypto<\/td>\n<td>Advanced\/Research<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>\ud83c\udf93 SHA in Exams &amp; Interviews<\/h2>\n<blockquote><p>\ud83d\udd39 <strong>GATE, UGC NET, and ISRO exams<\/strong> often ask:<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li>Hash output lengths<\/li>\n<li>Which version is secure\/insecure<\/li>\n<li>Hash function properties<\/li>\n<li>Usage in SSL, Blockchain, etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>\ud83d\udce9 Want More?<\/h2>\n<p>I can provide:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\ud83d\udd0d SHA algorithm source code (Python\/C++)<\/li>\n<li>\ud83d\udcca Comparison chart (PDF)<\/li>\n<li>\ud83e\uddea Practice MCQs (GATE-style)<\/li>\n<li>\ud83d\udca1 Real-world use case analysis (blockchain, auth)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Would you like a <strong>diagram<\/strong>, <strong>code example<\/strong>, or <strong>quiz<\/strong> based on SHA?<\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rcet.org.in\/uploads\/academics\/rohini_96687902490.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Network Security Secure hashing algorithm or SHA algorithm and it&#8217;s various versions network secure.<\/a><\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"LC20lb MBeuO DKV0Md\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ijcrt.org\/papers\/IJCRT2301533.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CRYPTOGRAPHIC SECURE HASH ALGORITHM WITH &#8230;<\/a><\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"LC20lb MBeuO DKV0Md\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.irjmets.com\/uploadedfiles\/paper\/\/issue_12_december_2023\/47726\/final\/fin_irjmets1703603936.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A REVIEW OF VARIOUS SECURE HASH ALGORITHMS &#8230;<\/a><\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"LC20lb MBeuO DKV0Md\"><a href=\"https:\/\/engineering.purdue.edu\/kak\/compsec\/NewLectures\/Lecture15.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hashing for Message Authentication Lecture Notes on \u201c &#8230;<\/a><\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"LC20lb MBeuO DKV0Md\"><a href=\"https:\/\/vssut.ac.in\/lecture_notes\/lecture1428550736.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">cryptography and network security lecture notes<\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Network Security Secure hashing algorithm or SHA algorithm and it&#8217;s various versions network secure. [fvplayer id=&#8221;136&#8243;] Here\u2019s a complete guide to the Secure Hashing Algorithm (SHA), including its versions, uses in network security, and importance in cryptography \u2014 especially relevant for GATE CSE, Cybersecurity, Networking, and Computer Science Engineering students. \ud83d\udd10 What is SHA (Secure [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":71,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[98],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-computer-network"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/pdf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/pdf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/pdf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/pdf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/71"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/pdf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2835"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/pdf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2835\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/pdf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/pdf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/pdf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}