What Does Secure Hash Algorithm 2 (SHA-2) Mean?

The Secure Hash Algorithm 2 (SHA-2) is a computer security cryptographic algorithm. It was created by the US National Security Agency (NSA) in collaboration with the National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) as an enhancement to the SHA-1 algorithm. SHA-2 has six different variants, which differ in proportion with the bit size used for encrypting data.

Techopedia Explains Secure Hash Algorithm 2 (SHA-2)

The SHA-2 family of hash functions includes: