METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR EFFICIENT AUTHENTICATION AND INTEGRITY CHECKING USING HIERARCHICAL HASHING

摘要

In accordance with the present invention a method is provided for signing data and verifying data. Data signing involves dividing a data set into packets, hashing the data within each of the packets to produce a hash block including hash values and applying a digital signature to the hash block. The verifying process involves receiving a packet including data, a hash block and a digital signature, verifying the digital signature, hashing the data to produce hash values and comparing the hash values to values in the hash block.