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Flimm
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What is the difference between a digital signature, a MAC and a hash?

A message may be accompanied with a digital signature, a MAC or a hash. What assurances does each primitive provide to the recipient.

In your answer, please discuss for each primitive:

  • Integrity: can the recipient be confident that the message has not been accidentally modified?

  • Authentication: can the recipient be confident that the message originates from the sender?

  • Non-repudiation: if the recipient passes the message and the proof to a third party, can the third party be confident that the message originated from the sender? (Please note that I am talking about non-repudiation in the cryptographic sense, not in the legal sense.)

  • Keys: does the primitive require a shared secret key, or public private keypairs?

Flimm
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