Question

Cryptographic hash function takes an arbitrary block of data and returns _________

(a) fixed size bit string

(b) variable size bit string

(c) both fixed size bit string and variable size bit string

(d) variable sized byte string

The question was asked in an online quiz.

Origin of the question is Cryptography topic in section Networking of Computer Network

Answer 1

Correct answer is (a) fixed size bit string

The explanation is: Cryptographic hash functions are used in digital signatures and message authentication codes. The only issue with it is that it returns the same hash value every time for a message making it vulnerable to attackers to evaluate and break the cipher.