Cryptology ePrint Archive: Report 2012/351

SipHash: a fast short-input PRF

Jean-Philippe Aumasson and Daniel J. Bernstein

Abstract: SipHash is a family of pseudorandom functions optimized for short inputs. Target applications include network traffic authentication and hash-table lookups protected against hash-flooding denial-of-service attacks. SipHash is simpler than MACs based on universal hashing, and faster on short inputs. Compared to dedicated designs for hash-table lookup, SipHash has well-defined security goals and competitive performance. For example, SipHash processes a 16-byte input with a fresh key in 140 cycles on an AMD FX-8150 processor, which is much faster than state-of-the-art MACs. We propose that hash tables switch to SipHash as a hash function.

Category / Keywords: secret-key cryptography / MAC, PRF, hash flooding

Publication Info: INDOCRYPT 2012

Date: received 20 Jun 2012, last revised 19 Sep 2012

Contact author: jeanphilippe aumasson at gmail com

Available format(s): PDF | BibTeX Citation

Version: 20120919:063040 (All versions of this report)

Short URL: ia.cr/2012/351

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