Cybersecurity Fundamentals Tutorial #13 | Hash Functions, SHA-256 and Collisions

Cybersecurity Fundamentals Tutorial: Episode 13 of SyntaxPilot's free Cybersecurity Fundamentals full course, with real-life examples for every concept. Hash Functions, SHA-256 and Collisions. In this video you'll learn: • Why file size and CRC checksums can't prove a file is genuine • What a cryptographic hash promises: one-way, second preimage and collision resistance • The birthday paradox and the avalanche effect, run live in Python • Why MD5 and SHA-1 are broken, and SHA-2, SHA-3, BLAKE2 and BLAKE3 • Length extension (concept), and verifying a download with SHA-256 • Merkle trees, as used by Certificate Transparency Every concept starts with a real-life example, then an animation and notes, then live code in the SyntaxPilot online compiler. Practice free in the SyntaxPilot compiler (nothing to install): https://syntaxpilot-learning-2026.web... Detailed notes for this episode (code, outputs, practice): https://syntaxpilot-learning-2026.web... Chapters 00:00 Welcome 00:29 Today's agenda 00:47 Problem 1: is it the real file? 02:27 Problem 2: a checksum gets forged 03:36 Problem 3: the birthday paradox 05:00 Problem 4: what a safe hash promises 07:26 Problem 5: MD5 and SHA-1 broke 08:31 Problem 5: SHA-2, SHA-3, BLAKE2 09:30 Problem 6: length extension 10:23 Problem 7: verifying a download 11:12 Problem 8: Merkle trees 12:38 The whole chain 13:21 Common mistakes 13:46 Quick quiz 14:15 Recap and homework 14:43 Next episode Next episode: Storing passwords correctly Post your homework and quiz answer in the comments, and subscribe for the full basic-to-master playlist, free. #Cybersecurity #Cryptography #SyntaxPilot