Cryptography & Network Security Hash Function Applications, Attacks and Advances: A Review

Hash Functions have a distinct paramount significance in the sub domain of Networking like Network Security, Computer Security and Internet Security as compare to Symmetric and Public Key Encryption-Decryption Techniques. Major issues primarily which resolved by any hash algorithm are to managing the Integrity of Plaint-text Message(s) which are to be transmitting between communicating parties and to prove the Authenticity of Resources (Users/Machines), with digital signatures as well. Hash function also utilized for computing random secrect key of fixed length which further feeds to Symmetric and Public Key Cryptosystems in particular Key Management. Different level of security provided by different algorithms depending on how difficult is to break them. The most well-known hash algorithms are MD4, MD5, SHA, JH, Skein, Grostl, Blake, Hamsi, Fugue, Crush, Whirlpool, Tav etc. In this paper we are discussing importance of hash functions, hash functions widely used in networking their application, literature and most importantly various Attacks applicable on hash functions and compression functions utilized by hash functions.