Cryptography and Network SecurityChapter 11.ppt

To get some feel for the security considerations involved in cryptographic hash functions, we present two simple, insecure hash functions in this section. One of the simplest hash functions is the bit-by-bit exclusive-OR (XOR) of every block, which can be expressed as shown. This operation produces a simple parity for each bit position and is known as a longitudinal redundancy check. It is reasonably effective for random data as a data integrity check. Each n-bit hash value is equally likely. Thus, the probability that a data error will result in an unchanged hash value is 2–n. With more predictably formatted data, the function is less effective. For example, in most normal text files, the high-order bit of each octet is always zero. So if a 128-bit hash value is used, instead of an effectiveness of 2–128, the hash function on this type of data has an effectiveness of 2–112. A simple way to improve matters is to perform a one-bit circular shift, or rotation, on the hash value after each block is processed. Although this second procedure provides a good measure of data integrity, it is virtually useless for data security when an encrypted hash code is used with a plaintext message. Given a message, it is an easy matter to produce a new message that yields that hash code: Simply prepare the desired alternate message and then append an n-bit block that forces the new message plus block to yield the desired hash code. * * Stallings Table 11.1 lists the generally accepted requirements for a cryptographic hash function. The first three properties are requirements for the practical application of a hash function. The fourth property, preimage (for a hash value h = H(x), we say that x is the preimage of h) resistant, is the one-way property: it is easy to generate a code given a message, but virtually impossible to generate a message given a code. This property is important if the authentication technique involves the use of a secret value (Figure 11.2c). The fifth prope