This is an old revision of this page, as edited by RedWolf (talk | contribs) at 05:36, 10 April 2004 (added info about 1991 paper that showed MD4 was not secure). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 05:36, 10 April 2004 by RedWolf (talk | contribs) (added info about 1991 paper that showed MD4 was not secure)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)MD4 is a message digest algorithm (the fourth in a series) by Professor Ronald Rivest of MIT. It implements a cryptographic hash algorithm for use in message integrity checks. The digest length is 128 bits. Its design has been very influential; SHA-xxx, RIPEMD-xxx, MD5, and others have all been based on this fundamental design.
MD4 was shown to be insecure by Den Boer and Bosselaers in a paper they published in 1991 and so it should not be used except for backwards compatibility. Many of the message digest designs based on it remain secure, in the sense that no effective attack has been discovered (or rather published!) against them. At this writing, they include: SHA-1 (the first version, SHA, was withdrawn by NSA due to a 'newly discovered flaw'), RIPEMD-160, and MD5.
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