Algorithms

When you do business in the digital world, do you fear that you could become the victim of hackers or attackers? Do you know what can happen if the data of your consumers or clients get leaked? Come on, it could be a nightmare for you if such a thing happens. But fortunately, these days, more and more companies are using hashing algorithms for protecting their data and procedures.

Well, in the realm of cryptography, hashing is a process that simply permits you to take data of any size and just apply a mathematical process to it that forms up an output that is a unique type of string of characters and numbers of the same measurement. Thus, no matter what type of size or even length of the input data, you always experience a hash output of the same type of length.

In a more specific manner, hashing simply takes input data (like a password or even a file) and teams it with a hashing algorithm (which is a mathematical algorithm or hashing function) to form up a distinct output of a specific length. This output, known as a hash value or even a hash digest, signifies the original data in the absence of making that original data known or even available to access. This can get used for everything from data organization to even file integrity verification.

So, hashing is the simple process of using a mathematical function to simply convert input data into a fixed-length type of output. Businesses make use of hashing functions to make sure that the data that is stored on servers and cloud storage systems stay absolutely safe and unreadable even if malicious hackers gain access to the data like record or documents. The software developers can make use of hashing in the applications and software they develop. Indeed, any business can make the most of this procedure to ensure their mobile app or platform is secure against hacking or attacks.

Hashing for businesses 

Businesses make use of different types of hashing algorithms based on their requirements. Though these hashing algorithms differ in their method to produce the output hash, the properties stay the same. All hashing algorithms produce a fixed-length output, regardless of the input length.  Here are quick points about hashing that would get you a better understanding of the concept:

  • Hashing is a unidirectional type of process that is impossible to work backwards to regain the original data.
  • Businesses select hashing algorithms having minimal possibilities of hash collisions.
  • The output hash is a type of fixed-length hexadecimal string of numerous characters.
  • An efficient hashing algorithm nowhere produce the same hash value for two diverse inputs.
  • A hash collision emerges once the algorithm produces the same output for two inputs.

Why would a business Hash Data?

Well, you would agree that data is the most valuable and important asset you have. As a marketer or business owner , the data on your existing audience and even your target audience definitely matters a lot. But you know what, data alone does not really add value, but you require to segment and use such data further rightly.

For example, you can simply share a proper list of email addresses of your present customers who have already bought a certain product and exclude them from your overall advertising campaigns. And hence , you might drive a much more efficient  and even targeted advertising campaign. Now, when you hash the data, you can be sure that the data you have saved on the servers or cloud or otherwise is safe and nobody can get access to the same.

Hashing Matters 

You know hash functions are absolutely important to data security because they permit the users to verify the integrity of the files or even online communications they receive. Hashing helps you guard your files against unauthorized changes and even alterations so that your users can simply realize that they have been altered in some manner.

You can simply think of hashing as the digital equivalent of overall tamper-resistant product packaging; if anybody tries to mess with it, then the person who simply purchases the package is going to recognize that it’s been altered. No matter the input or even size, hashing ensures that it has been packed in the same sized packaging, although no packaging is undistinguishable.

How hashing is impactful for your business?

Hashing functions has a significant role to play in cryptography as they carry important characteristics that aid in data authentication and even keep sensitive data (such as passwords) secure. These characteristics encompass the following:

Message Digest Hashing 

Cryptographic hash codes as well as hashing algorithms get used in message digesting.  These generate an output from which reaching the input is somewhat next to impossible. For example, Suppose you require to store data on any of the present cloud services. You need to ensure that the data you store is absolutely not damaged or harmed by any third party. So, how can you do that? You can easily and effectively do such a thing with this algorithm.

Verification of passwords

Just imagine that you are using any online website. It demands your user login. So, you simply enter your email id and password to validate that this account belongs to you. Once you simply enter the password, a hash of the password simply gets measured and sent to the server to confirm it. The passwords that get stored on the server are the computed hash values of the overall password you feed into. Then the input that you offer undergoes it in hash data structure, and a proper hashed value of output gets stored in the overall database.

Linking both File Name & Path  

Once you are trying to move through files on your local system, you get to observe two important file components, which is file _name and file path.  Here, you can use hash codes in hash tables to simply upkeep the agreement between file_name and file_path. Hence, you can be sure that there is nothing that goes wrong in this.

Conclusion 

To sum up , if you want to avail the hashing technology for the security of your business data procedures and all; talk to the experts at Appsealing and get started.