The main difference between SHA1 and SHA256 is that SHA1 is an older version of SHA that generates a 160-bit hash value, while SHA256 is a type of SHA2 that generates a 256-bit hash value.
SHA stands for Secure Hash Algorithm. It refers to a set of cryptographic hash functions published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Moreover, it includes various versions such as SHA-0, SHA1, and SHA2 etc. Overall, SHA 1 is a 160-bit hash function which is similar to the MD5 algorithm. On the other hand, SHA 256 is a type of SHA 2 and outputs 256-bit hash. Also, they differ in construction, which describes generating the resulting hash from original data and in the bit length of the signature.
Key Areas Covered
1. What is SHA1
-Definition, Functionality
2. What is SHA256
-Definition, Functionality
3. Difference Between SHA1 and SHA256
-Comparison of key differences
Key Terms
SHA1, SHA256
What is SHA1
SHA1 stands for Secure Hash Algorithm 1. It is a cryptographic hash function that takes an input and generates a 160-bit hash value called message digest. Also, it is rendered as a hexadecimal number, 40 digits long. The United States National Security Agency designed it. However, after 2005, SHA-1 was not considered secure. Therefore, organizations now use SHA2 or SHA3 instead of SHA1. Most web browser vendors support SHA1 SSL certificates in 2017.
What is SHA256
SHA2 refers to a family of two similar hash functions with different block sizes. One of them is SHA 256. It is possible to use a hash generator tool to produce a SHA256 hash for any string or input value. Also, it generates 256 hash values, and the internal state size is 256 bit. An example of SHA1 and SHA256 hashes are as follows.
SHA1 – da39a3ee5e6b4b0d3255bfef95601890afd80709
SHA256 – e3b0c44298fc1c149afbf4c8996fb92427ae41e4649b934ca495991b7852b855
In addition to SHA256, SHA2 has another hash called SHA 512.
Difference Between SHA1 and SHA256
Definition
SHA1 is a cryptographic hash function which takes an input and produces a 160-bit hash value called message digest. In contrast, SHA256 is a type of SHA2 which produces a 256-bit hash value. Thus, this explains the main difference between SHA1 and SHA256.
Output size
The output size of SHA1 is 160 bits, and the output size of SHA2 is 256 bits.
Internal State Size
The internal state size of SHA1 is 160 while the internal state size of SHA256 is 256.
Security
Also, another difference between SHA1 and SHA256 is that SHA256 is a type of SHA2, and it is more secure than SHA1.
Conclusion
In brief, SHA is an algorithm that helps to secure the messages. There are various versions of SHA. Two of them are SHA1 and SHA256. However, the main difference between SHA1 and SHA256 is that SHA1 is an older version of SHA that generates a 160-bit hash value, while SHA256 is a type of SHA2 that generates a 256-bit hash value.
References:
1.“Secure Hash Algorithms.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 21 Apr. 2018, Available here.
2.“SHA-1.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 2 July 2019, Available here.
Image Courtesy:
1.”3374252″ via Pixabay
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