Secure and fast hashing algorithm with multiple security levels

We propose a new secure and fast hashing algorithm with multiple security levels (SFHA-MSL). It is based on the generic 3C (3 compressions) construction and the 3C-X (3C XOR) hash function which is the simplest and efficient variant of the generic 3C hash function and it is the simplest modification to the Merkle-Damgard (M-D) iterated construction that one can achieve. The design principle of the proposed algorithm is to have variable output length of 128, 192 and 256 bits, variable number of compression functions, variable number of iterations in each compression function and variable compression function structure. The compression function used in this algorithm is more dynamic in the sense that the input controls what happen in the algorithm. This enable us to achieve a novel design principle: when message is changed, different shift rotations are done which causes more complexity for someone trying to create a collision. Instead of mixing a single word of a message block, four words are mixed per iteration which achieve faster data diffusion and hence better avalanching effect. There is no message expansion in the proposed scheme and it doesn't use Boolean functions but uses only addition, XOR and rotations to achieve its security. This in addition to increasing the algorithm efficiency, it distributes non-linearity among all blocks in a round. © 2009 Academy Publisher.