Question

John wants to produce a message digest of a 2,048-byte message he plans to send to Mary. If he uses the SHA-1 hashing algorithm, what size will the message digest for this particular message be?

A. 1,024 bits
B. 160 bits
C. 2,048 bits
D. 512 bits

Answer 1

The message digest size of a 2,048-byte message using SHA-1 will be 160 bits, as SHA-1 produces a fixed-length output of 160 bits for any input size.

Step-by-step explanation:

When employing the SHA-1 hashing algorithm on a 2,048-byte message, the resulting message digest will consistently be 160 bits in size. SHA-1 generates a fixed-length output of 160 bits, maintaining uniformity regardless of the input message's size. Therefore, whether the input is 2,048 bytes or any other size, the SHA-1 algorithm reliably produces a 160-bit message digest. This consistent output size is a characteristic of SHA-1, facilitating a standardized representation of the input's cryptographic hash, crucial for integrity verification and secure communication.