Message Digests, Message Authentication Codes, and Digital Signatures

2004 ◽  
pp. 101-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Weiss
Author(s):  
Kannan Balasubramanian

Cryptographic Hash Functions are used to achieve a number of Security goals like Message Authentication, Message Integrity, and are also used to implement Digital Signatures (Non-repudiation), and Entity Authentication. This chapter discusses the construction of hash functions and the various attacks on the Hash functions. The Message Authentication Codes are similar to the Hash functions except that they require a key for producing the message digest or hash. Authenticated Encryption is a scheme that combines hashing and Encryption. The Various types of hash functions like one-way hash function, Collision Resistant hash function and Universal hash functions are also discussed in this chapter.


Integrity is the property of information concerning protection against its unauthorized modifications and forgeries. This chapter discusses bulletin board (BB), hash functions, MACs (Message Authentication Codes) and digital signatures, as schemes for maintaining integrity of data. BBs protect data by simply disclosing them to the public, i.e. an entity cannot modify them without being watched by others. Hash functions, Macs, and digital signatures protect data by detecting illegitimate modifications while attaching values to the data. Namely, when an entity illegitimately modifies the data, the modified results become inconsistent with the attached values. When hash functions, MACs and digital signatures are compared regarding the ability to convince entities that the data are authorized ones, hash functions cannot enable entities to convince others, and by MACs, entities can convince others only when relevant secrets are properly protected. On the other hand, digital signatures enable anyone to convince others without constraints.


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