Inside SHA-3

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has selected a new cryptographic hash algorithm through a public competition. The new hash algorithm is referred to as the Secure Hash Algorithm 3 (SHA-3) and is intended to complement the SHA-2 hash algorithms currently specified in Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 180-3, Secure Hash Standard. The selected algorithm is intended to be suitable for use by the U.S. government as well as the private sector and is available royalty-free worldwide.