Which hash algorithm is primarily used by the NSRL project?

The National Software Reference Library (NSRL) project specifically utilizes the MD5 hash algorithm to create file signatures for known software applications, file types, and other digital artifacts. MD5 is favored in this context for its efficiency and speed in generating hash values that can quickly determine the integrity of files and identify known entities. Although SHA-1 and SHA-256 are more secure in terms of collision resistance compared to MD5, the legacy of MD5 in various applications, including the NSRL, leads to its usage in this particular project.

Mentioning CR32 serves a different purpose, primarily related to checksum validation rather than cryptographic hashing.