An Interesting Development in the SHA256 Algorithm

A hash (digest) of a message, is a one way function which allows the person who generated the message to keep a record of the message and also to ensure anyone with the hash can determine if this is authentic without being able to see the original message.

This is a screenshot of the security certificate of my WordPress site (23/12/2022)

Note the SHA256 Fingerprint -This is fundamental to all internet security.

This is the SHA256 fingerprint

95 A6 25 3C F5 BA 9E 9C 79 C9 E1 66 74 AE 68 DA 28 99 75 43 93 FF 3F AA 5C 4B D5 10 B3 8D 95 A7

I cannot pre-image the hash – this is well beyond what I can do.

Below is a video of a hash being generated (I like visual things). It shows the 64 rounds of the SHA256 being implemented. It hashes the word ‘Hello’.

Each row (binary) represents one of the blocks the message is broken up into.

MINING CRYPTO-CURRENCIES

In order to generate Bitcoin/Ethereum and every other crypto-currency, two rounds of a SHA256 are performed. A message is taken and random numbers are added to the end of the message (this is called salting) and the message is hashed. A coin is generated when a pre-image generates enough ‘0’s at the start of the hash and a coin is generated and you get some money.

Instead of adding salt at the end of the pre-image, pepper is added at the start. This uses a stochastic function which gradually increases the probability of 1 or 0 being generated at any position in the 256bit binary number. I am not saying exactly how this works but it is based on work at a UK government funded research institute which used billiard balls to crack elliptic curve cryptography (not real balls – on a computer).

You never see ECC anymore.

The video below shows an iterated SHA256 hash with added pepper producing lots of zeros on the left hand side (I am mining!)

Photo of my MATLAB code – a ruler covers the function you want to see.

Here’s a repeated hash of the text:

MERRY CHRISTMAS HO! HO! HO!’

I tried checking my own results using online SHA256 sites but realised when doing repeated iterations they were all ‘lower case’ so I did this for New Year.

The image below is the ‘Target’

And below is how my shooting went.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

(This is a hoax – obviously)