In the simplest terms, a hash is like a digital fingerprint for data.
Imagine you have a piece of information—a document, a photo or even a piece of text. When you run this information through a hash function (a specific type of algorithm), it generates a unique string of characters called a hash. No matter the size of the original data, the resulting hash is always of a fixed length. This is a key feature of hash functions: They condense data into a fixed-size output.
Think of it like shredding a document and then encoding the resulting pile of shredded paper into a fixed-sized box. No matter how long or short the original document was, the box is always the same size, and it’s nearly impossible to reconstruct the original document from the box alone. Similarly, it’s computationally infeasible to revert a hash back into its original data.
Hashes are foundational to many blockchain technologies, including cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. They are integral to how blockchain ensures the integrity and security of data. Here are some key reasons why hashes are so important in Web3:
Data Integrity: Hashes ensure that the data hasn’t been altered. When data is hashed, even the slightest change in the input (like changing a single letter in a text) will produce a completely different hash. This makes it easy to detect tampering or corruption.
The decentralized internet as we know it is possible through the use of hash functions, as demonstrated by the Interplanetary File System and its distributed hash table. IPFS uses hash functions to verify the integrity of all data shared to what has become known as the decentralized internet. In fact, Gala Founder’s Nodes power a large portion of this data, giving the Gala ecosystem a large share in the responsibility of web3’s future.
Blockchain Security: In blockchain, hashes are used to link blocks of data together. Each block contains the hash of the previous block, forming a chain. If someone tries to alter the data in a block, the hash of that block changes, which then changes the hash of the subsequent block, and so on. This makes it extremely difficult to alter any information in the blockchain without detection.
Efficient Data Storage: Hashes allow large amounts of data to be represented by a small, fixed-size string. This makes storing and verifying data in blockchain systems much more efficient.
Proof of Work: In cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, hash functions are used in the mining process. Miners compete to find a hash that meets certain criteria (e.g., it must start with a certain number of zeros), which requires computational power. This process, known as “proof of work,” secures the network and adds new blocks to the blockchain.
How Hashes Work
To dive a bit deeper, let’s explore how a hash function works. A common hash function used in blockchain is SHA-256 (Secure Hash Algorithm 256-bit). When you input data into SHA-256, it generates a 256-bit (or 64-character) hash. No matter what data you input—a single letter or an entire book—the output is always 64 characters long.
For example:
The text “Hello, World!” might hash to something like a591a6d40bf420404a011733cfb7b190d62c65bf0bcda32b575a0f76c6e53a2e.
If you change it to “Hello, world!” (note the lowercase ‘w’), the hash could be 64ec88ca00b268e5ba1a35678a1b5316d212f4f366b247724e663cd0da0927d5.
This dramatic change in the hash output despite a minor change in input is known as the “avalanche effect,” a property that makes hash functions extremely secure, reliable and suitable for blockchain technology.
Hashes are used in various Web3 applications beyond just cryptocurrencies:
Smart Contracts: Smart contracts often use hashes to verify the integrity of data or ensure that certain conditions have been met.
Digital Signatures: When sending transactions on a blockchain, digital signatures use hash functions to securely sign and verify the authenticity of messages.
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs): NFTs often include metadata that is hashed to ensure the data related to the token (like the digital artwork it represents) remains unchanged.
In the world of Web3, hashes are like the glue that holds everything together. They ensure data integrity, provide security, and allow for efficient data handling. Whether you’re dealing with cryptocurrencies, smart contracts, or NFTs, understanding hashes is crucial to grasping how the blockchain works.
Hopefully this quick explainer article has helped you advance your understanding of the tech behind the web3 world. Until next time!
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) is transforming the financial system by using blockchain technology to remove intermediaries. Learn how it differs from traditional finance and the potential it offers for a more transparent and inclusive financial future.
Yield farming lets users get rewarded by staking digital assets on decentralized platforms. Learn how it works, why it’s important and what to watch out for in this introductory explainer blog.
Liquidity is a key concept in Web3, enabling smooth and efficient trading of crypto assets. Learn how liquidity pools and liquidity providers make decentralized platforms work.
Dropping tomorrow at 1pm PT, Gala Music is pleased to announce Precious Mac’s platform debut with “Good Vibes.”
The singer-songwriter’s powerful vocal skills are best known as the first runner-up in Nigerian Idol’s 8th Season, which ran from April through July 2023. Her soulful sounds captivated audiences and judges throughout the season.
Check out her performances of Shania Twain’s “From This Moment” and Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep.”
Precious Mac has a magnificent gift for vocal expression, which she uses in both original and cover songs to inspire and heal listeners throughout the world.
Good vibes is an Afrobeat/R&B song about love, positive energy and the desire to hold on to it for as long as possible. With sultry smooth vocals and melodies to linger for days… all mixed up in jiggy percussions and drum loops typically unique to Afrobeat sound.
This is your first opportunity to own a Precious Mac NFT on Gala Music. As listeners are exploring her unique Afrobeat sounds, owners will be prepared to share in her success with daily $MUSIC rewards based on platform plays of the track. Afrobeat is one of the fastest growing genres not only on Gala Music, but throughout the world, making this a perfect opportunity to support an emerging artist that shows the originality and diversity of decentralization in the music industry.
NFT supply of “Good Vibes” is limited to just 100 copies, available for public sale starting at 1pm PT only on Gala Music.
Listen to the track now and share a comment in the new Track Chat feature, available to every Gala Music account holder. Join us in wishing Precious Mac a warm welcome to our web3 music community!
Imagine that you were a scammer trying to target a particular group of people… let’s say people who like to spend their days at the lake relaxing with a fishing pole hanging in the water. Who knows why – maybe you are trying to sell counterfeit lures? Coordinate putting out some AI-enabled fishing rod that’s collecting fingerprint data while they laze their days away? Motivations are rather inconsequential for this example.
You could pay for a big list of dark web data, but you could also just insert yourself into that community. You can hop on message boards, join chat groups, heck you could even go hang around local bait shops. Before long, you’ve got a lot of useful demographic data on people that are part of that group. Maybe all you have is some emails and IP addresses… but that’s enough to start refining your list and getting more information.
The same is true with Discord. The Gala community is a great place for the latest news and robust conversation about every aspect of the Gala Ecosystem. The popularity and richness of social connections that are forged on our Discord server or Telegram channel, however, also make them a popular destination for another type – scammers. It’s important to know and understand the tactics of these digital miscreants to keep your digital assets safe while still participating in any digital community.
Welcome to the 8th installment of The Guardian Papers, where we try to impart the wisdom that everyone should have to start a successful journey through the world of digital ownership. The blockchain world is still in its infancy. We here at Gala believe that empowering each and any member of our community makes us stronger as a whole.
Miss an issue of the Guardian Papers!? Check out past editions below!
It is our hope that this series has and will continue to present foundational information that will not only provide a base understanding of how to keep your blockchain footprint secure, but will also help inform your journey through this digital adventure so you can ask better questions, do better research, and make better decisions to help guard your entire community.
The Dark Side of Community
Discord was originally made for gamers. As the scope of the platform has grown to include countless massively popular communities, however, it has also attracted the riffraff that stalks digital space for the opportunity to steal from the unwitting. Because Discord servers categorize people into common interests, it’s easy for scammers to get inside groups and represent themselves as just another member – or even an authority figure – within that community.
The same is true for Telegram or other messaging apps where people commonly gather in like-minded groups. In these spaces, the community itself has already done the work to compile victims for all the villains in the cryptoshadows. Communities are welcoming because that’s the point of community. By simply being in these groups, however, you’ve done part of the scammers research for them… they know that you are part of their target audience.
Make sure you customize your privacy settings in Telegram… or else you’re about to get a whole hornet’s nest of attention from all the wrong people!
Community messaging apps like Telegram and Discord are third-party platforms that are utilized by Gala, but these can have their own security issues that are simply beyond any community’s ability to control. The scammers thoroughly know the shortcomings of these apps, and can exploit them to attempt to scam thousands of members of a community within minutes. Even one success will show them this pond is well-stocked with easy catches for their future fishing endeavors.
Any community where the digital villains see opportunity isn’t going to get rid of them without a fight, however. We can only turn the tide against the scammers by making sure that each and every one of us is ready to defend against them.
Don’t forget to customize your exceptions as well! By default, any member of Telegram’s premium subscription can contact you regardless of your settings 😱
Don’t forget to customize your exceptions as well! By default, any member of Telegram’s premium subscription can contact you regardless of your settings! 😱
How Scammers Prey on Communities
It’s hard to build and feel community if you’re always suspicious of your neighbors. The scammers are counting on this, because that’s not how defenses work. When you perceive yourself as ‘among friends’ your defenses naturally go down. You want to be helpful – after all, that’s what building community is all about.
That’s why they’re here. Community is a group trust that we build up over time with likeminded people. We can’t simply turn it off and on. It’s not like we recognize every member of the community, we just recognize that they are part of the community.
We’ve discussed impersonation before, so you’re all very well aware that there are people out there who will pretend to be Gala customers or community support. You need to stay vigilant for these types of things… these apps are where the scammers find their marks.
This isn’t to say that community itself is bad. In fact, it’s very very good. Community standards and best practices are how we combat these scammers. Building a community is too important to let scammers stop us. We have to build a better community to make it outlast the villains.
Trust is Earned
Just because someone is part of your community does not mean they’ve earned trust, and it’s not an insult to tell them so. Caution is admirable… and part of the point of web3 is to establish systems that don’t rely on trust.
First off, please adjust your privacy settings on Telegram, WhatsApp, Discord or similar apps if you have not. In Telegram, for instance, you can be contacted by anyone by default. If you don’t change that it’s only a matter of time before you are getting blown up with spam and scams. Similarly WhatsApp will show your personal phone number to anyone who comes looking if you don’t change the security settings… make sure to get this done or you’re wide open to an attack from a crytpovillain.
Even on Discord you can customize your security settings to control who can reach out to you. As we’ve discussed before, don’t trust a display name… that can be easily changed. Put people you trust on your friends list. Consider changing your settings so friends can message you. That way any new friend requests are where you know you need to be vigilant, and anyone on your friends list has already been vetted.
Trust, but verify
-Old Russian proverb
Don’t trust these security measures to be the end all be all of your defenses, however! People can get hacked or lose access to their accounts. Sometimes the attack could come from someone you know… albeit not them actually sitting in front of their keyboard.
Community Strong
With so many threats among communities you trust, the fight against bad actors in digital spaces can seem hopeless. Fortunately, community is also the cure to this malady.
⬆️ Not a great way to seek help from the community. Not only does anyone watching now know this user’s needs, but also their urgency. I bet their DMs blew up.
⬅️This is a great way to utilize the knowledge of the community. Tons of eyes can get on the deceptive scam attempt right away to verify if it’s legitimate or not. HINT: This one was not legitimate.
No one person can be entirely vigilant all the time. We get tired. We get distracted. Our guard comes down for a moment here and there… and that’s when attacks happen. Talk to your community. Educate each other and call out the tactics that scammers are using so that everyone can learn to avoid them. Alone an attack is inevitable. Together we’re strong.
If you see something sus, reach out! Ask the community you trust whether you should be engaging. Don’t be embarrassed. A simple question could save you a lot of hassle.
Guarding Each Other
When we work together, the community really shows its strength. Those who seek to exploit communities of common interests in the web3 space are counting on us not following through with our commitment to a solid community. If a victim doesn’t use the community resources at their disposal to help themselves, what can a community do to help?
That’s why it’s so important to share tips and educate fellow community members about security culture. If we all get a little better at spotting bad actors, we’ll all be a little less likely to get scammed. If we all get a little better and share a little more of that culture with each other, we’ll be exponentially more protected from those who seek to do us harm.
That’ll do it for this week’s Guardian Papers, but we’ll be back! Next time, we’ll be breaking down multi-factor identification and how it can help protect your digital sovereignty in this new age.
Stay safe Galaxians… and always have your shield ready!
