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What is the difference between SHA and MD5 in Information Security?
SHA
SHA stands for Secure Hash Algorithm. The Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA) is a family of cryptographic hash functions produced by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
The SHA 1 can take some arbitrary message as an input which is 264 bits in length and make 160-bit long message digest. SHA is broadly used in applications including SSH, SSL, IPsec and S-MIME (Secure, Multi-purpose Mail Extension).
MD5
The Message Digest (MD5) is a universal hashing algorithm that was invented by Ron Rivest and is used in several Internet applications today. It is a cryptographic hash algorithm that can be used to make a 128-bit string value from an arbitrary length string. Regardless of its security vulnerabilities, it is broadly used and deployed, mostly for checking integrity of files.
MD5 depends on its predecessor, the MD4 algorithm. The main algorithm is based on a compression function which works on blocks. The MD5 algorithm takes an input a message of arbitrary length and developed as output a 128-bit “fingerprint” or “message-digest” of the input message.
MD5 is not rapid as the MD4 algorithm, but provide much better information security. It is generally used in security protocols and applications including SSH, SSL, and IPSec.
The main objective of MD5 as a cryptographic hash function is to check that a file has been same. MD5 does this by creating a checksum on both sets and then comparing the checksums on both sets to check that they are the similar.
The MD5 message digest hashing algorithm processes information in 512-bit blocks, broken down into 16 words composed of 32 bits each. The output from MD5 is a 128-bit message digest value.
Let us see the comparison between SHA and MD5.
| SHA | MD5 |
|---|---|
| SHA stands for Secure Hash Algorithm. | MD5 stands for Message Digest. |
| The secure Hash Algorithm (SHA) is a family of cryptographic hash functions invented by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). SHA is broadly used in applications including SSH, SSL, IPsec and S-MIME (Secure, Multi-purpose Mail Extension). | The message digest (MD5) is a ubiquitous hashing algorithm that was invented by Ron Rivest. It can be used in several internet applications today. It is a cryptographic hash algorithm that can be used to produce a 128-bit string value from an arbitrary length string. Its main objective is to check that a file has been same. |
| SHA1 produces 160 bits long message digest. | MD5 can make 128 bits long message digest. |
| SHA1 is more difficult as compared to MD5. | MD5 is quicker than SHA1. |
| SHA-1 has 20 Rounds. | MD5 has 16 Rounds. |
| SHA-1 relatively needed more processing power when distinguished to MD5. | MD5 relatively needed less processing power when distinguished to SHA-1. |
| SHA-1 is safer and less likely to be vulnerable to cryptanalytic attacks. | MD5 is less safe and thus more vulnerable to cryptanalytic attacks. |
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