Wikipedia<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nSHA1 is part of cryptographic functions created to keep data safe. <\/strong>Generally, they are referred to as a secure hash algorithm, and they work by transforming messages using a hash function. <\/p>\n\n\n\nThese functions are algorithms made up of compression functions, bitwise operations, and modular additions. These algorithms are designed to be a one-way function that transforms the input data into a fixed size that is different from the first one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secure hash algorithm family are SHA- 1, SHA \u2013 2, and SHA- 3, all of which were developed and enhanced as per hacker activities. For instance, SHA-0, the first generation of secure hash algorithms, is now obsolete due to the widely exposed vulnerabilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>How does it work?<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nAs for this article, we will focus on SHA-1 (The Secure Hash Algorithm 1), a cryptographic computer security algorithm developed by the US National Security Agency in 1995. It was preceded by the SHA-0 algorithm, created in 1993. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
SHA-1 is part of the Digital Signature Standard (DSS) and (or) Digital Signature Algorithm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SHA-1 generates a 160-bit hash value or message digest from the input data that requires encryption.<\/strong> The generated data resembles the hash value of the MD5 algorithm. The whole process takes 80 rounds of cryptographic operations to secure data packets. <\/p>\n\n\n\nBelow are some protocols used in SHA-1:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nPretty Good privacy<\/li>\n\n\n\n Transport Layer Security<\/li>\n\n\n\n Internet Protocol Security<\/li>\n\n\n\n Secure Shell<\/li>\n\n\n\n Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions<\/li>\n\n\n\n Secure Sockets Layer<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<\/span>In Practice<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nSHA-1 is normally used where there is a high need for data integrity or in hostile environments. The technique is also used to identify checksum errors and data corruption and as well as index functions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Differences between MD5 and SHA-1<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nSHA1 and MD5 are both hashing algorithms, with MD5 being the most efficient in terms of speed. However, SHA1 is the most secure algorithm compared to MD5. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe basis of both hashing algorithms is their ability to generate an encrypted digest or hash from a message received. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some essential elements for both functions include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nThere can never be two similar hashes or digest as data sets are unique.<\/li>\n\n\n\n The size of the message being conveyed does not influence the length of the digest or hash generated.<\/li>\n\n\n\n Once executed, these functions cannot be undone or reversed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\nHash algorithms are primarily designed to verify files instead of encrypting the message sent. <\/p>\n\n\n\nMD5<\/strong><\/td>SHA1<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>MD5 is an acronym for Message Digest<\/td> On the other hand, SHA1 refers to the Secure Hash Algorithm.<\/td><\/tr> Compared to SHA1, MD5 is still fast and more reliable in terms of speed.<\/td> Likewise, the speed of SHA1 is relatively slow in comparison to that of MD5.<\/td><\/tr> The message digest is of 168 bits in length<\/td> While in SHA1, there can be up to 160 bits length of message hash.<\/td><\/tr> MD5 is simple when compared to SHA1<\/td> SHA1 is more complex than MD5<\/td><\/tr> An aggressor would require 2^128 operations to make the first message using the MD5 algorithmic program.<\/td> While in SHA1, an aggressor will require 2^160 operations hence quite challenging to find out.<\/td><\/tr> In MD5 an assailant would need to perfume 2^64 operations to find out if any two messages share the same message digest.<\/td> On the opposite side, an assailant would need 2^80 operations in SHA1, to find out the two messages with the same hash or digest.<\/td><\/tr> MD5 provides poor or indigent security<\/td> SHA1 provides tolerable or balanced security.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/span>Message Digest length for MD5 and SHA1<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nAccording to the Federal Information Processing Standard, there are four secure hash algorithms, namely SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-384, and SHA-512. All the four functions are iterative and one-way functions that can compress messages with lengths of between 264 <\/sup>to 2128 <\/sup>to produce a message digest of about 160 \u2013 to 512- bit. MD5 on the other hand produces a message digest or “fingerprint” equivalent of 128- a bit from an input message of an arbitrary length.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/span>Security<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nMD5 is expressed as a 32-digit hexadecimal number that is cryptographically broken and can have collisions. <\/strong> Despite its popularity as one of the most commonly used hash functions, it is not the most preferred security-based service for systems that rely on collision resistance. <\/p>\n\n\n\nOn the other hand, SHA is believed to be more secure than MD5. <\/strong> It takes a large number of bits as input and generates a shorter and more secure output of fixed size. Currently, there are better versions of SHA1 where most vulnerabilities have been eliminated such as SHA-256, SHA-384, SHA-512. The suffix indicates the level of strength of the message digest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/span>Conclusion<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nThe main and most significant difference between MD5 and SHA1 is that MD5 was the first one to be developed and had several vulnerabilities that could be exploited by intruders to create collisions for message digest or hash. SHA1 was therefore an enhancement of MD5 in terms of functionality and as well security-wise. Vulnerabilities in the first version of SHA1 has since then been eliminated through subsequent releases, that is, SHA 256 and SHA 512.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MD5 and SHA1 are often used following a random pick by the developer, but it’s not the same thingIn this post, I’ll introduce these two solutions and explain how they differ. The main difference between SHA1 and MD5 is that MD5 produces a 32-character message digest, while SHA1 produces a 40-character hexadecimal. Also, the MD5…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":118,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":14,"label":"Security"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/difference-md5-sha1-1024x683.jpg",1024,683,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Patrick Fromaget","author_link":"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/about\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":14,"name":"Security","slug":"security","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":14,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Check out our easy-to-follow tips and facts in Security Information. Learn how passwords work and more, all explained in a way that's easy to understand.","parent":0,"count":21,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":14,"category_count":21,"category_description":"Check out our easy-to-follow tips and facts in Security Information. Learn how passwords work and more, all explained in a way that's easy to understand.","cat_name":"Security","category_nicename":"security","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":696,"href":"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116\/revisions\/696"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}