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Security Beginner

What is Hashing?

A one-way function that converts input data into a fixed-size string of characters, used for data integrity and password storage.

Hash functions produce a unique, fixed-length digest from any input. Unlike encryption, hashing is irreversible — you cannot recover the original data from the hash. Any change in input produces a completely different hash.

Uses include password storage (bcrypt, Argon2), file integrity verification (SHA-256), digital signatures, and data deduplication. Never use MD5 or SHA-1 for security — they are considered broken.

Related Terms

Secret Management
The practice of securely storing, accessing, and rotating sensitive credentials like API keys, passwords, and certificates.
Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
A strategy and set of tools that detect and prevent unauthorized transmission of sensitive data outside an organization.
Encryption
The process of converting readable data into an unreadable format using algorithms, reversible only with the correct key.
Man-in-the-Middle Attack
An attack where the attacker secretly intercepts and potentially alters communication between two parties who believe they are communicating directly.
OAuth 2.0
An authorization framework that allows third-party applications to access user resources without sharing passwords.
DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service)
An attack that floods a target server or network with traffic from multiple sources to overwhelm it and deny service to legitimate users.
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