Hashing FAQs, Tips, and Examples

04 Oct 2022
2 Minutes to read

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Hashing FAQs, Tips, and Examples

Updated on 04 Oct 2022
2 Minutes to read

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FAQs

What are hashing algorithms?

Hashing algorithms are functions that take text input and return a hash code, or message fingerprint, of that input. The resulting hash code is a fixed length and will vary widely with small variations in input.

Why are hashing algorithms used?

One of the primary features of hashing algorithms is that they are one-way functions which means that it is nearly impossible to determine the original input based only on the hash code. Hashing algorithms power the security behind applications like internet banking and they are what allows Jornaya to receive data in a way that protects consumer privacy.

What algorithms are compatible with Jornaya Activate?

MD5 and SHA-256 are two popular algorithms that Jornaya Activate supports. Many databases and programming languages have built-in functions that will hash database content for you.

MD5 algorithm always produces 32-character strings
SHA-256 algorithm always produces 64-character strings

If the hashed fields being sent to Jornaya are not 32 or 64 characters, please check that a supported hashing algorithm is being used.

How is hashing different from encryption?

Encryption turns data into a series of unreadable characters that aren't of a fixed length. The key difference between encryption and hashing is that encrypted strings can be reversed back into their original decrypted form if you have the right key.

Tips

Upper and lower case values produce different hash values
- Solution: Use lower case values for Jornaya Activate
Leading/trailing white spaces will modify the hash values
- Solution: Strip leading/trailing white spaces out prior to hashing
All characters impact the hash
- Solution:
  - Strip out parentheses, hyphens, and/or periods from phone numbers
  - NOTE: Periods and "@" symbolsfor email addresses should remain

Examples

Below are example hashes that can be used to confirm the hashing logic is returning the expected outputs.

Example 1: MySQL to hash a single email address

 SELECT SHA2('test@example.com', 256) as email01;

RESULT:

email01
973dfe463ec85785f5f95af5ba3906eedb2d931c24e69824a89ea65dba4e813b

Example 2: MySQL to hash a single email address with trailing whitespace

SELECT SHA2('test@example.com ', 256) as email02;

RESULT:

email01
1f0a3bbdda1b7eb2c6688ac0ff5213b8e1fdc6cb9b0e419314262e0c98e8b517

Note: The resulting hash completely changes by adding a single space at the end of the email address, before applying the hashing algorithm.

Example 3: MySQL to hash a 10-digit phone number

 SELECT SHA2('6105551212', 256) as phone01;

RESULT:

phone01
230d628373ef5c69d80b0efe374cf9b5676fadba1946f78dd5d895c70290e8ee

Example 4: MySQL to hash a 10-digit phone number with hyphens

 SELECT SHA2('610-555-1212', 256) as phone02;

RESULT:

phone02
c6a14a90387c06a0963360aafd01f7b401447cbe47cf4ae5c00d2a5c07891892

Note: The resulting hash completely changes by including hyphens within the phone number, before applying the hashing algorithm.

Example 5: Microsoft SQL Server to hash a signal email address

SELECT ISNULL(
 CONVERT(varchar(255), HASHBYTES('SHA2_256', 'test@example.com'), 2), ''
 ) AS email01;

RESULT:

email01
973dfe463ec85785f5f95af5ba3906eedb2d931c24e69824a89ea65dba4e813b

Explanation:

HASHBYTES('SHA2_256', 'test@example.com') produces the hash value in binary.
CONVERT(varchar(255), HASHBYTES('SHA2_256', 'test@example.com'), 2) converts
the binary output to a varchar.
ISNULL(CONVERT(varchar(255), HASHBYTES('SHA2_256', 'test@example.com'), 2), '')
the hash value if available or an empty string.

Example 6: SAS to hash a single email address

proc sql;
 CREATE table temp_table AS
 SELECT
 sha256 (strip('test@example.com')) as email01 format $hex64. length=64
 FROM &source_table;
 quit;

RESULT:

email01
973dfe463ec85785f5f95af5ba3906eedb2d931c24e69824a89ea65dba4e813b

Explanation:

Create a temporary table 'temp_table' to store the result of the SQL query.
The source of the consumer's PII is source_table
strip('test@example.com') strips all whitespace from the input
sha256 (strip('test@example.com')) as email01 format $hex64. length=64 hashes the
input, converting the default binary as a 64-character long hexadecimal string.

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