Which Secure Hashing Algorithm produces a 160-bit digest and resembles MD5, with a maximum message length of 2^64 - 1 bits?

Which Secure Hashing Algorithm produces a 160-bit digest and resembles MD5, with a maximum message length of 2^64 - 1 bits?

• A. SHA-1
• B. SHA-256
• C. MD5
• D. SHA-3

Answer: (A)

Digest length and algorithm lineage are what this item tests. SHA-1 yields a 160-bit digest and was designed as the MD4/MD5 successor, using a Merkle–Damgård construction with 512-bit blocks and 32-bit word operations. Its padding includes a 64-bit length field, which confines the maximum message length to 2^64 − 1 bits. That combination—160-bit output plus MD5-like design and a 64-bit length encoding—fits perfectly. MD5 produces 128-bit hashes and SHA-256 or SHA-3 produce larger or differently structured outputs, so they don’t match these clues.

Digest length and algorithm lineage are what this item tests. SHA-1 yields a 160-bit digest and was designed as the MD4/MD5 successor, using a Merkle–Damgård construction with 512-bit blocks and 32-bit word operations. Its padding includes a 64-bit length field, which confines the maximum message length to 2^64 − 1 bits. That combination—160-bit output plus MD5-like design and a 64-bit length encoding—fits perfectly. MD5 produces 128-bit hashes and SHA-256 or SHA-3 produce larger or differently structured outputs, so they don’t match these clues.