METHOD OF LOW-RESOURCE HASHING TYPE "DATA – GENERATOR"

Abstract

Creating a secure and efficient structure of a cryptographic algorithm is one of the key cryptographic tasks. Recently, cryptography for low-resource devices has attracted considerable attention of world scientists. A significant portion of the research is dedicated to the examination of block encryption methods, and conversely, there are notably fewer publicly disclosed proposals for low-resource hashing methods. Many hash functions recommended for use in low-resource devices by well-known standardization organizations are based on block encryption, which offers a sufficient level of security but demands substantial computational resources—something critical for their application in such devices. The urgency of investigating low-resource data hashing methods stems from the need to guarantee an adequate level of hash function security while minimizing computational resource usage through adjustments to the hashing process. This article reviews established approaches to constructing hash functions of varying complexities and examines the latest research and publications focused on low-resource hashing. Based on this, the structure and approach for developing a low-resource data hashing method were chosen. A novel low-resource hashing method, founded on the Merkle-Damgård construction and utilizing an iterative byte-oriented approach, is introduced. The process of low-resource hashing, according to the new method, is formally described. Statistical testing of the proposed method was conducted in accordance with NIST SP 800-22. An overview of the hardware implementation of the proposed low-resource hashing method is presented in the form of a generalized structural diagram. The complexity of the proposed hardware implementation is quantified in conventional units [GE] for hash value calculations of 128, 192, and 256 bits. A comparison of the proposed "data-generator" type hashing method with established low-resource hash functions, in terms of hardware costs, is conducted.