- Jul 22, 2014
- 2,525
The SHA1 (Secure Hash Algorithm 1) cryptographic hash function is now officially dead and useless, after Google announced today the first ever successful collision attack.
SHA1 is a cryptographic hash function used generate hashes for digital data, hashes that, in theory, should be unique for each data blob, and used to sign and attest to a file's authenticity and identity.
The SHA1 hashing function was designed by the United States National Security Agency (NSA) and its algorithm was first published in 1995.
The algorithm started showing its age in 2005 when cryptanalysts found theoretical flaws that could be used to break SHA1 via collision attacks, a term used to describe when a determined attacker generates a file that has the same SHA1 hash of another, legitimate file.
Collision attacks are very dangerous in real life, as they allow an attacker to replace files without raising any suspicions.
More details in the link above
SHA1 is a cryptographic hash function used generate hashes for digital data, hashes that, in theory, should be unique for each data blob, and used to sign and attest to a file's authenticity and identity.
The SHA1 hashing function was designed by the United States National Security Agency (NSA) and its algorithm was first published in 1995.
The algorithm started showing its age in 2005 when cryptanalysts found theoretical flaws that could be used to break SHA1 via collision attacks, a term used to describe when a determined attacker generates a file that has the same SHA1 hash of another, legitimate file.
Collision attacks are very dangerous in real life, as they allow an attacker to replace files without raising any suspicions.
More details in the link above
