(ISC)2 Certified in Cybersecurity Practice Exam

Is MD5 considered a secure hashing algorithm?

1. True

2. False

The correct answer is: True

MD5 is not considered a secure hashing algorithm due to several significant vulnerabilities that have been discovered over the years. Although it was widely used in the past for various applications, including checksums and digital signatures, researchers have demonstrated that MD5 is susceptible to collisions, where two different inputs produce the same hash output. This property undermines its reliability for cryptographic purposes, as attackers could feasibly exploit these collisions to create malicious files that are indistinguishable from legitimate ones. The increasing computational power available to potential attackers has made it easier to perform these collision attacks, leading to a general consensus in the cybersecurity community that MD5 should be avoided for secure applications. Instead, algorithms like SHA-256 or SHA-3 are recommended, as they provide higher levels of security and resistance against such vulnerabilities. In summary, recognizing the weaknesses inherent in MD5 is crucial for maintaining data integrity and security, emphasizing the need for more robust hashing algorithms in cryptographic implementations.