NIST Announces Cryptographic Hash Algorithm Design Competition
The National Institute of Standards and Technology has announced a design competition for a new hash algorithm (Federal Registrar Notice). The new algorithm is to be called SHA-3 and will augment, rather than supplant, the hash algorithms currently specified in the Secure Hash Standard (FIPS 180-2). Submissions must be received by October 31, 2008.
The security of the SHA series of hashes was brought into question when a Chinese researcher demonstrated that higher order algebraic attacks could be useful in attacks against SHA0 and SHA1.