Final answer:
A cryptographic hash function is a mathematical algorithm that generates a unique hash value from an input, making it difficult to reverse-engineer the original data. One example is SHA-256, widely used for password storage, digital signatures, and data integrity checks.
Step-by-step explanation:
A cryptographic hash function is a mathematical algorithm that takes an input (or message) and produces a fixed-size string of characters, which is typically a sequence of numbers and letters, known as the hash value or digest. This hash value is unique to the input data, meaning that even a slight change in the input will produce a completely different hash value. The hash function operates in such a way that it is computationally infeasible to reverse-engineer the original input from the hash value, making it a one-way function.
One example of a cryptographic hash function is the SHA-256 (Secure Hash Algorithm 256-bit). It takes an input of any length and produces a 256-bit hash value. This function is commonly used in various applications like password storage, digital signatures, and data integrity checks. It provides a way to verify that the data or file has not been tampered with by comparing the hash values.