What is a Cryptographic Hash? How does it differ from a regular hash?

Difficulty: 5/10

collision resistance, pre-image resistance, hash function use cases

Cryptographic vs Non-Cryptographic Hash

A cryptographic hash function is designed to provide security properties such as preimage resistance, second-preimage resistance, and collision resistance. A regular non-cryptographic hash used by a Hash Table is primarily optimized for speed and good distribution and does not need to resist deliberate attacks.

javascript

1
Cryptographic hashes prioritize security properties.
2
Non-cryptographic hashes prioritize speed and distribution.
3
SHA-256 is an example of a cryptographic hash function.
4
A Hash Table hash should not be assumed to be secure for password storage or digital signatures.
5
Password storage requires a password-specific password hashing/KDF scheme such as Argon2, scrypt, or bcrypt rather than a fast general-purpose hash.
6
Cryptographic hashes are generally more computationally expensive than ordinary Hash Table hashes.

Scenario Questions

0-2 years experience

Follow-up Questions