Cryptography Primer: Hashes, Signatures, and Keys

Cryptographic hash functions compress input to fixed-size digests; small input changes produce vastly different hashes. Digital signatures prove that the holder of a private key authorized a message without revealing the key. Public-key cryptography enables addresses and ownership proofs used across blockchains.

Threat modeling

Security is layered: protect keys with hardware, minimize attack surfaces, and assume attackers will try social engineering and malware. Plan for secure backups and recovery procedures.