Redefining hash functions for quantum security with SHA 256
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
The rapid advancement of quantum computing technology presents a significant challenge to the field of cryptography, particularly affecting the security of hash functions that form the foundation of many cryptographic protocols. Hash functions are widely used to ensure data integrity, generate digital signatures, and securely store passwords. However, the emergence of quantum algorithms—such as Grover’s algorithm—threatens to undermine the security assumptions on which these hash functions are based by significantly reducing their effective security levels. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the vulnerabilities introduced by quantum computing to traditional hash functions, detailing how these weaknesses can be exploited by quantum adversaries. We explore the fundamental properties of hash functions, including pre-image resistance, second pre-image resistance, and collision resistance, and assess how these properties are affected in a quantum context. Furthermore, we examine the implications of these vulnerabilities for existing cryptographic systems and emphasize the urgent need for the development of post-quantum cryptographic standards. In response to these challenges, we review ongoing research efforts focused on designing hash functions that are resilient to quantum attacks. We evaluate several promising candidates for post-quantum hash functions, considering their security properties, performance metrics, and practical applicability. The findings of this paper highlight the necessity of transitioning to post-quantum cryptographic solutions to safeguard sensitive information in an increasingly quantum-capable world. Ultimately, we advocate for proactive measures within the cryptographic community to adopt and implement these new standards, thereby ensuring robust data security in the age of quantum computing.
Downloads
Article Details
Alladi, T., Chamola, V., Sahu, N., & Guizani, M. (2020). Applications of blockchain in unmanned aerial vehicles: A review. Vehicular Communications, 23, 100249. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vehcom.2020.100249
Amin, R., Islam, S. H., Biswas, G. P., Khan, M. K., & Kumar, N. (2018). A robust and anonymous patient monitoring system using wireless medical sensor networks. Future Generation Computer Systems, 80, 483–495. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.future.2016.05.032
Benioff, P. (1980). The computer as a physical system: A microscopic quantum mechanical Hamiltonian model of computers as represented by Turing machines. Journal of Statistical Physics, 22(5), 563–591. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01011339
Bernstein, D. J., Hopwood, D., Hülsing, A., Lange, T., Niederhagen, R., Papachristodoulou, L., Schneider, M., Schwabe, P., & Wilcox-O’hearn, Z. (2015). SPHINCS: Practical stateless hash-based signatures. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (Including Subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics), 9056, 368–397. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-46800-5_15
Bernstein, D. J., & Lange, T. (2017). Post-quantum cryptography. Nature, 549(7671), 188–194. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature23461
Bogdanov, A., Knežević, M., Leander, G., Toz, D., Varici, K., & Verbauwhede, I. (2011). Spongent: A lightweight hash function. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (Including Subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics), 6917 LNCS, 312–325. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-23951-9_21
Cui, J., Zhang, J., Zhong, H., & Xu, Y. (2017). SPACF: A secure privacy-preserving authentication scheme for VANET with cuckoo filter. IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, 66(11), 10283–10295. https://doi.org/10.1109/TVT.2017.2718101
Damgård, I. B. (1990). A design principle for hash functions. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (Including Subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics), 435 LNCS, 416–427. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-34805-0_39
Dobraunig, C., Eichlseder, M., Mendel, F., & Schläffer, M. (2021). Ascon v1.2: Lightweight Authenticated Encryption and Hashing. Journal of Cryptology, 34(3), 1–42. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00145-021-09398-9
Du, W., Wang, R., & Ning, P. (2005). An efficient scheme for authenticating public keys in sensor networks. Proceedings of the International Symposium on Mobile Ad Hoc Networking and Computing (MobiHoc), 58–67. https://doi.org/10.1145/1062689.1062698
Fernandez-Carames, T. M., & Fraga-Lamas, P. (2020). Towards Post-Quantum Blockchain: A Review on Blockchain Cryptography Resistant to Quantum Computing Attacks. IEEE Access, 8, 21091–21116. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2020.2968985
Fukuhara, M., & Kaji, S. (2021). Blockchain Basics. In The Economics of Fintech. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4913-1_10
Gentry, C., Peikert, C., & Vaikuntanathan, V. (2008). Trapdoors for hard lattices and new cryptographic constructions. Proceedings of the Annual ACM Symposium on Theory of Computing, 197–206. https://doi.org/10.1145/1374376.1374407
He, D., Kumar, N., Zeadally, S., Vinel, A., & Yang, L. T. (2017). Efficient and Privacy-Preserving Data Aggregation Scheme for Smart Grid Against Internal Adversaries. IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid, 8(5), 2411–2419. https://doi.org/10.1109/TSG.2017.2720159
Kiktenko, E. O., Pozhar, N. O., Anufriev, M. N., Trushechkin, A. S., Yunusov, R. R., Kurochkin, Y. V, Lvovsky, A. I., & Fedorov, A. K. (2018). Quantum-secured blockchain.
Lyubashevsky, V., Peikert, C., & Regev, O. (2010). On Ideal Lattices and. Advances in Cryptology – EUROCRYPT 2010, 015848, 1–23.
Lyubashevsky, V., Peikert, C., & Regev, O. (2013). On Ideal lattices and learning with errors over rings. Journal of the ACM, 60(6), 1–35. https://doi.org/10.1145/2535925
M. N. Wegman, & J. L. Carter. (1981). New hash functions and their use in authentication and set equality. Journal of Computer and System Sciences, 22, 265–279. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0022000079900448%0Ahttps://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/0022000079900448
Peris-Lopez, P., Hernandez-Castro, J. C., Estevez-Tapiador, J. M., & Ribagorda, A. (2006). M2AP: A minimalist mutual-authentication protocol for low-cost RFID tags. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (Including Subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics), 4159 LNCS, 912–923. https://doi.org/10.1007/11833529_93
Preskill, J. (2018). Quantum computing in the NISQ era and beyond. Quantum, 2(July), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.22331/q-2018-08-06-79
Regev, O. (2004). New lattice-based cryptographic constructions. Journal of the ACM, 51(6), 899–942. https://doi.org/10.1145/1039488.1039490
SAHAI, A., & WATERS, B. (2021). How to use indistinguishability obfuscation: Deniable encryption, and more. SIAM Journal on Computing, 50(3), 857–908. https://doi.org/10.1137/15M1030108
Stevens, M., Bursztein, E., Karpman, P., Albertini, A., & Markov, Y. (2017). The first collision for full SHA-1. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (Including Subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics), 10401 LNCS, 570–596. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63688-7_19
Supriati, R., Anjani, S. A., Anugrah, R. W., Mccarthy, R., Info, A., Cryptography, Q., Cryptography, P. Q., & Attacks, Q. (2025). Enhancing Network Security with Quantum Cryptography : A Study on Future-Proofing Computer Networks Against Quantum Attacks. 2(1), 24–35.
Wang, W., Li, Z., Owens, R., & Bhargava, B. (2009). Secure and efficient access to outsourced data. Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security, 55–65. https://doi.org/10.1145/1655008.1655016
Zinzindohoué, J. K., Bhargavan, K., Protzenko, J., & Beurdouche, B. (2017). HACL.: A verified modern cryptographic library. Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security, 1789–1806. https://doi.org/10.1145/3133956.3134043
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.