Message based Selection Matrix for Dynamic Hash based Security Systems

Hash based security systems using a one way hash function are widely used in the network security. Design of such system revolves around the selection of proper function. An ideal hash function is the one that will never cause a collision. Although separate chaining and other techniques can be successfully applied for collision resolution, it is still a challenging job to find a suitable hash function. In this paper, we propose a simple technique that is based on a matrix of hash functions. A hash function is selected from the matrix based on message contents. With different hash functions used in single communication scenario, it is possible to strengthen the overall security of the system. Even if one of the hash functions is compromised, it is not possible to predict the next hash function associated with the message to calculate the message hash.