rsa@lll-crg.llnl.gov (RSA Data Security) (02/07/90)
Archive-name: md4.rsa.paper/31-Jan-90
Original-posting-by: well!rsa@lll-crg.llnl.gov (RSA Data Security)
Original-subject: Re: Signature Programs
Archive-site: cert.sei.cmu.edu [128.237.253.5]
Archive-directory: pub/virus-l/docs
Archive-files: md4.rsa.paper
Reposted-by: emv@math.lsa.umich.edu (Edward Vielmetti)
The following paper is presented for review and discussion. It
will be submitted to a number of conferences and MD4 will
be proposed to a number of standards organizations. We encourage
people to study and evaluate MD4.
_________________________________________________________________
The MD4 Message Digest Algorithm
--------------------------------
by Ronald L. Rivest
MIT Laboratory for Computer Science, Cambridge, Mass. 02139
and
RSA Data Security, Inc., Redwood City, California 94065
(C) Copyright 1989, 1990 RSA Data Security, Inc.
(Version 1/29/90)
Abstract:
---------
This note describes the MD4 message digest algorithm. The
algorithm takes as input an input message of arbitrary length and
produces as output a 128-bit ``fingerprint'' or ``message
digest'' of the input. It is conjectured that it is
computationally infeasible to produce two messages having the
same message digest, or to produce any message having a given
prespecified target message digest. The MD4 algorithm is thus
ideal for digital signature applications, where a large file must
be ``compressed'' in a secure manner before being signed with the
RSA public-key cryptosystem.
The MD4 algorithm is designed to be quite fast on 32-bit
machines. On a SUN Sparc station, it runs at 1,100,000
bytes/second. On a DEC MicroVax II, it runs at 70,000
bytes/second. In addition, the MD4 algorithm does not require
any large substitution tables; the algorithm can be coded quite
compactly.
[Ed. Due to the length of this paper, I've placed it on the
VIRUS-L/comp.virus document archive at cert.sei.cmu.edu, where it is
available for anonymous FTP. The filename is:
pub/virus-l/docs/md4.rsa.paper.]
(C) Copyright 1989, 1990 RSA Data Security, Inc.
All rights reserved.