Asymptotic Analysis of Plausible Tree Hash Modes for SHA-3

TL;DR

This paper reviews existing tree hash modes for SHA-3, discusses their limitations, and proposes new modes optimized for different device categories, analyzing their asymptotic performance.

Contribution

It introduces new tree hash modes tailored to various device types and provides asymptotic analysis to improve resource efficiency.

Findings

Proposed new hash modes for different device categories

Analyzed asymptotic resource usage of the new modes

Identified limitations of existing tree hash modes

Abstract

Discussions about the choice of a tree hash mode of operation for a standardization have recently been undertaken. It appears that a single tree mode cannot address adequately all possible uses and specifications of a system. In this paper, we review the tree modes which have been proposed, we discuss their problems and propose remedies. We make the reasonable assumption that communicating systems have different specifications and that software applications are of different types (securing stored content or live-streamed content). Finally, we propose new modes of operation that address the resource usage problem for the three most representative categories of devices and we analyse their asymptotic behavior.