← back to all posts

A hash function does not provide integrity!

blog

Some of you might have seen the answer of this famous stack overflow question what are the differences between a digital signature, a mac and a hash?:

hash vs mac vs signatures

The above table is from the most upvoted answer –but it is false. A hash function does not provide integrity, a MAC provides integrity.

Instead a cryptographic hash function provides three properties, well defined in the world of cryptography: collision resistance, pre-image resistance and second pre-image resistance. Nothing else.

suggested reads:
← back to all posts blog • 2017-04-21

recent posts

elsewhere

book Real-World Cryptography Applied cryptography, from Manning. podcast Two And A Half Coins Crypto, banking & distributed systems. youtube Cryptography videos Concepts & security, explained.