Hash Manager Bypasses Memory Copies for Quantum-Resistant Signatures
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Solution Overview
Problem
Constrained devices face performance and power consumption issues with existing hardware architectures for iterative hash computations, making them unsuitable for quantum-resistant cryptographic applications due to high time and energy requirements.
Innovation Solution
The method involves loading at least a portion of a digest message directly into a configurable position in an input buffer, bypassing memory copies and bus latencies, to accelerate quantum-resistant, cryptographic hash-based signature computations by repeating the hash computation for a predetermined number of iterations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If quantum-resistant cryptographic hash-based signature computations are implemented on constrained devices, then security against quantum attacks is improved, but processing time and power consumption increase excessively
Solution Approach 1:
The hash computation process is divided into multiple iterations, where each iteration processes a portion of the digest message. The input buffer is segmented to hold different portions of data for each iteration, allowing the computation to be broken down into manageable chunks that can be processed efficiently on constrained devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The digest message is pre-loaded into the input buffer before the iterative hash computation begins. This preliminary action eliminates the need for repeated memory accesses during the computation iterations, reducing processing time and power consumption by having data ready in advance.
2Reliability
If quantum-resistant cryptographic hash-based signature computations are implemented on constrained devices, then security against quantum attacks is improved, but power consumption increases excessively
Solution Approach 1:
The computation is segmented into iterations that process portions of the digest message, allowing power-efficient processing on constrained devices. Each iteration uses a subset of the data in the input buffer, reducing the instantaneous power requirement compared to processing the entire message at once.
Solution Approach 2:
By pre-loading the digest message into the input buffer, the system avoids repeated high-power memory accesses during iterations. This preliminary action reduces overall power consumption by minimizing energy-intensive data transfer operations during the computation phase.
3Ease of operation
If traditional memory copy methods are used for iterative hash computations, then data processing is simplified, but bus latencies and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The digest message is loaded directly into the input buffer before the iterative computation begins, eliminating the need for repeated memory copies during iterations. This preliminary action maintains operational simplicity while avoiding the time penalty of bus latencies associated with repeated data transfers.
Solution Approach 2:
The loading of the digest message and the iterative hash computation are merged into a single efficient process. By loading the data once and then iterating over it in-place in the buffer, the system combines data transfer and computation operations, eliminating separate memory copy steps and their associated latencies.
Data Source
AI summary
This document describes techniques and apparatuses directed at accelerating quantum-resistant, cryptographic hash-based signature computations. Upon receipt of an input message, one or more processors implements a hash manager. The hash manager is configured to initialize variables, load the input message and initialized variables into an input buffer, and execute a hash-based signature computation. The hash-based signature computation is repeated for a predetermined number of iterations with each iteration involving loading at least a portion of a digest message directly into a configurable position in the input buffer. In so doing, this method of iterative hash computation bypasses memory copies and bus latencies, accelerating quantum-resistant, cryptographic hash-based signature computations.