Jump to content

Talk:Key derivation function

Page contents not supported in other languages.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Noloader (talk | contribs) at 03:45, 16 July 2012 (Please - No MD5: new section). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
WikiProject iconCryptography: Computer science Start‑class
WikiProject iconThis article is within the scope of WikiProject Cryptography, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Cryptography on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.
StartThis article has been rated as Start-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale.
???This article has not yet received a rating on the importance scale.
Taskforce icon
This article is supported by WikiProject Computer science.
WikiProject iconComputing: Security C‑class Low‑importance
WikiProject iconThis article is within the scope of WikiProject Computing, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of computers, computing, and information technology on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.
CThis article has been rated as C-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale.
LowThis article has been rated as Low-importance on the project's importance scale.
Taskforce icon
This article is supported by WikiProject Computer security.
Things you can help WikiProject Computer security with:
Article alerts will be generated shortly by AAlertBot. Please allow some days for processing. More information...
  • Review importance and quality of existing articles
  • Identify categories related to Computer Security
  • Tag related articles
  • Identify articles for creation (see also: Article requests)
  • Identify articles for improvement
  • Create the Project Navigation Box including lists of adopted articles, requested articles, reviewed articles, etc.
  • Find editors who have shown interest in this subject and ask them to take a look here.

Please - No MD5

I agree the following is a correct statement:

Modern password-based key derivation functions, such as PBKDF2 (specified in RFC 2898), use a cryptographic hash, such as MD5 or SHA1, more salt (e.g. 64 bits) and a high iteration count (often 1000 or more).

However, I feel mentioning MD5 is an implicit approval of the algorithm. MD5 was broken some time ago, and its often available for compatibility only. For example, MD5 is banned from US Federal use except in some compatibility cases such as use in SSL/TLS as part of pseudorandom number generator component. Additionally, others, such as the author of md5crypt, has stated the algorithm is broken, should not be used, and the program is at End of Life.

Would it be possible to yank references to MD5 that sound like an endorsement? In its place, mention Whirlpool, which is NESSIE and ISO/IEC approved. More importantly, the SHA-2 family and Whirlpool's security properties are in tact.