Patent-Free Authenticated-Encryption As Fast As Ocb

This paper presents an efficient authenticated encryption construction based on a universal hash function and block cipher. Encryption is achieved via counter-mode while authentication uses the Wegman-Carter paradigm. A single block-cipber key is used for both operations. The construction is instantiated using the hash functions of UMAC and VMAC, resulting in authenticated encryption with peak performance about ten percent slower than encryption alone.