Question

A primary requirement for a good cryptographic hash function is that the function should not produce too many collisions. A collision in a hash function is when:



There are few inputs, but a lot of outputs.


2 inputs map to the same output.


2 outputs come from the same input.


There are few outputs, but a lot of inputs.

Answer 1

A collision in a hash function occurs when **2 inputs map to the same output**. This means that two different pieces of data (inputs) generate the same hash value (output), which undermines the uniqueness and integrity properties of the hash function. Thus, the correct answer is:

**2 inputs map to the same output.**