Site Glossary | EchothisLabs

Browse the glossary using this index

Special | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | ALL

Page: 1 2 (Next)
ALL

H

Hard Fork

A protocol change that creates a permanent split unless all participants upgrade to the new rules.

Hardware Security Module (HSM)

A specialized device that generates, stores, and uses cryptographic keys within tamper-resistant hardware. HSMs are used to protect high-value keys such as certificate authority keys, code signing keys, and enterprise encryption keys.

HART (Highway Addressable Remote Transducer)

HART is a communication protocol used for industrial automation and control applications, allowing for two-way communication between field devices (such as sensors and actuators) and control systems, often layered on top of analog signals in ICS environments.

Hash Function

A one-way function that maps input data to a fixed-length digest. Hashes are used for integrity verification, digital signatures, password storage (with proper KDFs), file identification, and many blockchain designs.

Hash Rate

Total computational power supporting a Proof‑of‑Work network; often used as a security/health indicator.

Hash Value

A cryptographic digest (such as SHA-256) used to verify data integrity. Matching hash values before and after transfer or processing helps demonstrate the evidence was not altered.

Hashing

Forensic hashing is the process of creating a digital fingerprint, or hash, of a file or piece of evidence in order to verify its authenticity and integrity. Hashing algorithms, such as MD5 or SHA-1, create a unique string of characters that represents the contents of a file. If even a single bit of the file is changed, the resulting hash will be completely different.

Forensic hashing is used in digital forensics to ensure that evidence has not been tampered with or altered in any way. For example, if a suspect's computer is seized as evidence, a forensic analyst may create hashes of the files on the computer in order to verify their integrity. If the hashes match the original hashes created at the time of seizure, it is an indication that the files have not been tampered with.

Forensic hashing is also used to identify duplicates of a file. If two files have the same hash, it is highly likely that they are identical copies. This can be useful in cases where there may be multiple copies of a file, such as a piece of malware or a stolen document.

In addition to verifying the authenticity and integrity of evidence, forensic hashing can also be used to identify known malicious files. Many antivirus software programs maintain databases of known malicious hashes, which allows them to quickly identify and block these files.

Overall, forensic hashing is an important tool in digital forensics, as it allows analysts to verify the authenticity and integrity of evidence and identify known malicious files.

HD Wallet

Hierarchical Deterministic wallet that derives many keys/addresses from a single seed phrase (BIP‑32/39/44 family of standards).

Heuristic

An analytic rule-of-thumb used to infer likely relationships from observable data; should be treated as probabilistic, not definitive.

HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)

HIPAA is a U.S. regulation that mandates the protection of sensitive patient data. In the context of IoT, IIoT, and medical devices, HIPAA requires healthcare providers and organizations to ensure the security and privacy of electronic health information.

Page: 1 2 (Next)
ALL