Google, Dutch institute crack key Internet security standard

Powering finance: The algorithm is used to verify the integrity of digital files and signatures that secure credit card transactions.

A collaboration between Google's research unit and a Dutch institute on Thursday cracked a widely used cryptographic technology that has been one of the key building blocks of Internet security.

The algorithm, known as Secure Hash Algorithm 1 or SHA-1, is currently used to verify the integrity of digital files and signatures that secure credit card transactions as well as Git open-source software repositories.