Hash function history

[soma56]

Where can I find a good starting point for hash funtion history? I've searched the web however I can't seem to find anything about the origins of hash functions. Have there been any significant points in history where hash functions are concerned that would be worth mentioning in a paper?

[SirDice]

Hmm. Good one.. Have you been to the SANS Reading Room?

[sysmin770]

Originally posted here by soma56
Have there been any significant points in history where hash functions are concerned that would be worth mentioning in a paper?

Well, the recent buzz about MD5 and SHA1 would definitely be something worth mentioning. There are still a lot of applications that use these hashing functions. Here is a useful link you might want to look at from Bruce Schneier's Blog:

http://www.schneier.com/blog/archive...a1_broken.html

It explains a little about this issue. Definitely worth mentioning if you are writing a paper on Hashing functions. It might be a good idea to bring attention to the recent security issues with these functions and point out some places where they are still used. You can use that as an attention getter.