Skip to main content

Message Authentication Codes (MACs)

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Book cover Understanding Cryptography

Abstract

A Message Authentication Code (MAC), also known as a cryptographic checksum or a keyed hash function, is widely used in practice. In terms of security functionality, MACs share some properties with digital signatures, since they also provide message integrity and message authentication. However, unlike digital signatures, MACs are symmetric-key schemes and they do not provide nonrepudiation. One advantage of MACs is that they are much faster than digital signatures since they are based on either block ciphers or hash functions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 34.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 44.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 44.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christof Paar .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Paar, C., Pelzl, J. (2010). Message Authentication Codes (MACs). In: Understanding Cryptography. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-04101-3_12

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-04101-3_12

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-44649-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-04101-3

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics