FPGA implementation of new standard hash function Keccak

High-speed hardware for Keccak, which was selected as a new standard hash function named SHA-3, was developed and its performance was evaluated against SHA-1 and -2 circuits through the use of various FPGA platforms. The results showed that Keccak is suitable for high-speed hardware implementations, but it is getting harder to implement on new FPGA devices, due to the current trends in architecture for state-of-the-art FPGAs. We also clarify the drawbacks of Keccak due to its structure.

I. Introduction

A hash function is a fundamental function, which compresses arbitrary length data into fixed length data. SHA-1 and −2 [1] were standardized by NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) and are widely used in MAC (Message Authentication Code) and digital signatures, however security issues have been raised. Therefore, NIST started the SHA-3 competition [2] to select a new hash function SHA-3 in 2007, and 64 algorithms were proposed. After three international workshops, Keccak [3] from Belgium was selected as SHA-3 in October 2012 [1].