Which of the following cryptology tools is used to prove message integrity?

The choice of hashes as the tool used to prove message integrity is particularly accurate because hashes produce a fixed-size string of characters that uniquely represents the input data. When a message is created, a hash value is generated based on the content of that message. If even a single character of the message changes, the hash value will also change, indicating that the integrity of the message has been compromised.

This unique characteristic of hashes allows for simple verification of message integrity. By comparing the hash value calculated from the sender's original message with the hash value derived from the received message, one can determine if the message has remained unchanged during transmission. This makes hashes an essential component in cybersecurity, especially in ensuring that data has not been tampered with.

While encryption and digital signatures also have roles in securing and authenticating messages, they serve different primary purposes. Encryption is used to protect confidentiality, while digital signatures authenticate the sender and provide non-repudiation. Compression algorithms, on the other hand, primarily focus on reducing the size of data and do not contribute to message integrity. Therefore, the choice of hashes specifically addresses the need for proving message integrity effectively.