Which of the following BEST describes the purpose of a message digest in cryptography?
Authenticating the sender of a message
Ensuring confidentiality of transmitted data
Verifying the integrity of a message
Encrypting sensitive information
The correct answer is Verifying the integrity of a message. A message digest is a fixed-size output (hash) generated from a message of any size using a cryptographic hash function. Its primary purpose is to verify that the message has not been altered during transmission or storage, thus ensuring integrity.
Ensuring confidentiality of transmitted data is incorrect because message digests themselves don't provide confidentiality as they don't encrypt the original message.
Encrypting sensitive information is incorrect because message digests are not used directly for encryption, though they're used in digital signature processes.
Authenticating the sender of a message is incorrect because while message digests can be part of authentication systems, they alone don't authenticate the sender without additional mechanisms like digital signatures.
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