QCAA Digital Solutions External Assessment (EA) Practice Test

The hashing algorithm that is recognized as a legacy system yet continues to see widespread use is MD5. Developed in the early 1990s, MD5 was initially designed to produce a 128-bit hash value, primarily for ensuring data integrity through checksums. Despite its numerous vulnerabilities, such as susceptibility to collision attacks, various legacy systems and applications still rely on MD5 because it was historically ubiquitous and many existing systems have not transitioned to more secure alternatives.

While SHA1 is another hashing algorithm that has seen substantial usage and is also considered somewhat outdated due to its vulnerabilities, MD5 is often specifically referred to as a legacy system. The SHA-2 and SHA-3 algorithms represent more modern cryptographic hashing standards that offer better security and are more resistant to attacks. However, the continued use of MD5 in certain applications underscores the challenges in deprecating older technologies within established systems.