CompTIA Security+ (SY0-501) — Question 229

In an effort to reduce data storage requirements, some company devices to hash every file and eliminate duplicates. The data processing routines are time sensitive so the hashing algorithm is fast and supported on a wide range of systems.
Which of the following algorithms is BEST suited for this purpose?

Answer options

• A. MD5
• B. SHA
• C. RIPEMD
• D. AES

Correct answer: B

Explanation

SHA is considered the best option for this scenario due to its balance of speed and security, making it suitable for fast processing on a variety of systems. MD5, while fast, has known vulnerabilities that make it less reliable for preventing collisions. RIPEMD is less commonly used and may not be as widely supported. AES is not a hashing algorithm, but rather a symmetric encryption standard, making it unsuitable for this task.