Examining Hashing and Obfuscation

Description: In this episode, we'll examine hashing, including the basic process and its importance in security. We'll also explore how to obscure data from being easily viewable by using obfuscation, steganography, tokenization, and data masking.

What is hashing, and how does it apply to security?

Hashing is a cryptographic operation that transforms data into a fixed-length string of characters known as a hash or hash value. The length of a hash, or output, doesn't change for any given input, and it supports integrity and authenticity verification.

What are the different types of hashing algorithm?

There are a variety of hashing algorithms, including:

• Message Digest 5 (MD5)

• Secure Hash Algorithm 1 (SHA-1)

• SHA-256

• SHA-3

• bcrypt

• Argon2

• RACE Integrity Primitives Evaluation Message Digest 160 (RIPEMD-160)

• Whirlpool

• BLAKE2

• SipHash

Note: You should carefully consider the specific requirements of your application and security needs, and the current state of cryptographic knowledge, before choosing a hashing algorithm. Additionally, always use well-established and recommended algorithms for security-critical applications.

What is Message Digest 5 (MD5) hashing algorithm?

128-bits long, it provides fast computation and is widely supported. However, it's vulnerable to collision attacks, and isn't suitable for security-sensitive applications.

What is Secure Hash Algorithm 1 (SHA-1) hashing algorithm?

160-bits long, it's faster than SHA-256 and widely supported. However, it's also vulnerable to collision attacks and has been deprecated for security-critical use.

What is the SHA-256 hashing algorithm?

256-bits long, it provides strong security and resistance to collision attacks. However, it's slower than MD5 and SHA-1 but generally is secure for most applications.

What is the SHA-3 hashing algorithm?

It has a configurable length, such as SHA3-256 and SHA3-512, and provides high security, resistance to various attacks, and based on different principles than SHA-2. However, it's relatively new and hasn't been widely adopted yet.

What is the bcrypt hashing algorithm?

Based on the Blowfish cipher, bcrypt has variable length. It's slow and computationally expensive, and is suitable for password storage. However, because it's slower, performance issues can result.

What is the Argon2 hashing algorithm?

Has a variable length, and is highly resistant to brute force and GPU-based attacks. It's designed for password hashing. However, newer algorithms may result in limited support in some environments.

What is the RACE Integrity Primitives Evaluation Message Digest 160 (RIPEMD-160) hashing algorithm?

160-bits in length, it's faster than some other algorithms but is vulnerable to collision attacks. It's not recommended for high-security applications.

What is Whirlpool hashing algorithm?

512-bits in length, it provides strong security and is resistant to known attacks. However, it can be slower than some other algorithms.

What is BLAKE2 hashing algorithm?

Has a variable length, such as BLAKE2s and BLAKE2b, and provides high performance and security. It's suitable for various applications but has been less widely adopted when compared to older algorithms.

What is SipHash hashing algorithm?

Has a variable length, such as SipHash-2-4 and SipHash-4-8, and is designed for hashing data structures and protecting against hash-based attacks. However, it's not a general-purpose hash, and is suitable for specific use cases only.

What is obfuscation?

It’s the practice of deliberately making data and code, including malware, more difficult to understand or analyze. You can use it to protect sensitive information, create covert communication channels, and deliver malware

What is steganography?

It’s a method of hiding secret information within nonsecret data, such as images, audio files, or text. You can use it to conceal a secret message or covert communication channel.

What is tokenization?

It’s a method of converting sensitive data, such as credit-card numbers or personal information, into nonsensitive tokens. You can use it to securely store sensitive data and then transmit nonsensitive tokens to reduce the risk of data breaches.

What is data masking?

It’s a protection technique that replaces sensitive information, such as organizational data, in a dataset that has fictional or scrambled data. It preserves the format of the sensitive information while reducing the risk of exposure or unauthorized access.