Cryptology ePrint Archive: Report 2004/166

FRMAC, a Fast Randomized Message Authentication Code

Eliane Jaulmes and Reynald Lercier

Abstract: We revisit the randomized approach followed in the design of the RMAC message authentication code in order to construct a MAC with similar properties, but based on Wegman-Carter's $\varepsilon$-universal hash families instead of a classical CBC chain. This yields a new message authentication code called FRMAC whose security bounds are, as in RMAC, beyond the birthday paradox limit. With efficient hash functions in software, the performance of FRMAC for large messages is similar to those of the fastest previously known schemes. FRMAC can also be more efficient for small messages. Furthermore, due to relaxed requirements about the nonces in the security proof, the implementation of FRMAC in real applications tends to be easier.

Category / Keywords: secret-key cryptography / message authentication codes

Date: received 12 Jul 2004

Contact author: reynald lercier at m4x org

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Version: 20040714:190651 (All versions of this report)

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