Theoretical Cryptography - MD5
Published by Evil Bee Friday, 27 July 2007 14:08
Since Martin constantly manages to cover all ongoing news regarding cryptography and security I myself planned on writing about “any time soon”, I had to look for other topics on the subject I could cover. So I decided to make good use of all the time I spend studying this kind of stuff and share this knowledge with you. And I would be very grateful, if someone could tell me in return how to defeat shirred fabrics with my sewing machine… but that’s a whole different matter.
So for the first Part of this - hopefully ongoing - series, I decided to look at the MD5 hash algorithm. It’s one of the most commonly used cryptographic algorithms out there and I would claim that nearly everyone has a password somewhere that is stored with an MD5 or similar hash.
Cryptanalysis of MD5 and SHA: time for a new standard
Published by Evil Bee Monday, 19 April 2004 00:12
At the Crypto 2004 conference in Santa Barbara, Calif., this week, researchers announced several weaknesses in common hash functions. These results, while mathematically significant, aren't cause for alarm. But even so, it's probably time for the cryptography community to get together and create a new hash standard.
One-way hash functions are a cryptographic construct used in many applications. They are used with public-key algorithms for both encryption and digital signatures. They are used in integrity checking. They are used in authentication. They have all sorts of applications in a great many different protocols. Much more than encryption algorithms, one-way hash functions are the workhorses of modern cryptography.
Read more: Cryptanalysis of MD5 and SHA: time for a new standard