computer science

Message Authenticator Algorithm

Message Authenticator Algorithm is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Message Authenticator Algorithm rather than just read about it. In short: The Message Authenticator Algorithm (MAA) was one of the first cryptographic functions for computing a message authentication code (MAC). History It was designed in 1983 by Donald Davies and David Clayden at the National Physical Laboratory (United Kingdom) in response to a request of the UK Bankers Automated Clearing Services.

Key takeaways

Message Authenticator Algorithm belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Message Authenticator Algorithm to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Message Authenticator Algorithm from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Message Authenticator Algorithm (MAA) was one of the first cryptographic functions for computing a message authentication code (MAC).

History It was designed in 1983 by Donald Davies and David Clayden at the National Physical Laboratory (United Kingdom) in response to a request of the UK Bankers Automated Clearing Services. The MAA was one of the first Message Authentication Code algorithms to gain widespread acceptance.

Development and standardization The original specification of the MAA was given in a combination of natural language and tables, complemented by two implementations in C and BASIC programming languages. The MAA was adopted by ISO in 1987 and became part of international standards ISO 8730 and ISO 8731-2 intended to secure the authenticity and integrity of banking transactions.

Attacks Later, cryptanalysis of MAA revealed various weaknesses, including feasible brute-force attacks, existence of collision clusters, and key-recovery techniques. For this reason, MAA was withdrawn from ISO standards in 2002 but continued to be used as a prominent case study for assessing various formal methods.

Formal specifications of the MAA The MAA has been used as a prominent case study for assessing various formal methods. In the early 1990s, the NPL developed three formal specifications of the MAA: one in Z, one in LOTOS, and one in VDM. The VDM specification became part of the 1992 revision of the International Standard 8731-2, and three implementations were manually derived from that latter specification: C, Miranda, and Modula-2. Other formal models of the MAA have been developed. In 2017, a complete formal specification of the MAA as a large term rewriting system was published; From this specification, implementations of the MAA in fifteen different languages have been generated automatically. In 2018, two new formal specifications of the MAA, in LOTOS and LNT, have been published.

References

External links Preneel, Bart (2011). "MAA". In van Tilborg, Henk C. A.; Jajodia, Sushil (eds.). Encyclopedia of Cryptography and Security (2nd ed.). Springer. pp. 741–742. doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-5906-5_591. ISBN 978-1-4419-5905-8. http://www.cix.co.uk/~klockstone/maa.htm http://www.mars-workshop.org/repository/012-MAA.html

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Message Authenticator Algorithm

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Message Authenticator Algorithm claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Message Authenticator Algorithm before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Message Authenticator Algorithm ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Message Authenticator Algorithm

In research: Message Authenticator Algorithm appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Message Authenticator Algorithm in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Message Authenticator Algorithm is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Broken hash functions, Checksum algorithms, Cryptographic hash functions, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Message Authenticator Algorithm outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Message Authenticator Algorithm in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Message Authenticator Algorithm means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Message Authenticator Algorithm out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Message Authenticator Algorithm in simple terms?

The Message Authenticator Algorithm (MAA) was one of the first cryptographic functions for computing a message authentication code (MAC). History It was designed in 1983 by Donald Davies and David Clayden at the National Physical Laboratory (United Kingdom) in response to a request of the UK Banker…

Why does Message Authenticator Algorithm matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Message Authenticator Algorithm?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Message Authenticator Algorithm.