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Avalanche effect

In cryptography, the avalanche effect refers to a desirable property of cryptographic algorithms, typically block ciphers andcryptographic hash functions. The avalanche effect is evident if, when an input is changed slightly (for example, flipping a single bit) the output changes significantly (e.g., half the output bits flip). In the case of high-quality block ciphers, such a small change in either the key or the plaintext should cause a drastic change in the ciphertext.