Public‐Key Digital Signature Algorithms
Bruce Schneier · 2015
This chapter discusses a list of public-key digital signature algorithms (DSA), and looks at the criticisms against DSA. DSA is a variant of the Schnorr and ElGamal signature algorithms. The algorithm makes use of a one-way hash function. The digital signature standard (DSS) specifies the Secure Hash Algorithm. The chapter tabulates sample software speeds of DSA. Real-world implementations of DSA can often be speeded up through precomputations. The chapter also tabulates a comparison of DSA and RSA computation times for a particular smart card implementation. The chapter discusses the GOST DSA, and three examples of a general digital signature scheme based on the discrete logarithm problem. The strength of any public-key algorithm depends on more than the computational complexity of the problem upon which it is based; a hard problem does not necessarily imply a strong algorithm.