Operation Manual

Hash Algorithms

In the Volume Creation Wizard, in the password change dialog window, and in the Keyfile

Generator dialog window, you can select a hash algorithm. A user-selected hash algorithm is used

by the VeraCrypt Random Number Generator as a pseudorandom “mixing” function, and by the

header key derivation function (HMAC based on a hash function, as specified in PKCS #5 v2.0) as

a pseudorandom function. When creating a new volume, the Random Number Generator

generates the master key, secondary key (XTS mode), and salt. For more information, please see

the section Random Number Generator and section Header Key Derivation, Salt, and Iteration

Count.

RIPEMD-160

RIPEMD-160, published in 1996, is a hash algorithm designed by Hans Dobbertin, Antoon

Bosselaers, and Bart Preneel in an open academic community. The size of the output of RIPEMD-

160 is 160 bits. RIPEMD-160 is a strengthened version of the RIPEMD hash algorithm that was

developed in the framework of the European Union’s project RIPE (RACE Integrity Primitives

Evaluation), 1988-1992. RIPEMD-160 was adopted by the International Organization for

Standardization (ISO) and the IEC in the ISO/IEC 10118-3:2004 international standard [21].

SHA-256

SHA-512 is a hash algorithm designed by the NSA and published by NIST in FIPS PUB 180-2 [14]

in 2002 (the first draft was published in 2001). The size of the output of this algorithm is 256 bits.

SHA-512

SHA-512 is a hash algorithm designed by the NSA and published by NIST in FIPS PUB 180-2 [14]

in 2002 (the first draft was published in 2001). The size of the output of this algorithm is 512 bits.

Whirlpool

The Whirlpool hash algorithm was designed by Vincent Rijmen (co-designer of the AES encryption

algorithm) and Paulo S. L. M. Barreto. The size of the output of this algorithm is 512 bits. The first

version of Whirlpool, now called Whirlpool-0, was published in November 2000. The second

version, now called Whirlpool-T, was selected for the NESSIE (New European Schemes for

Signatures, Integrity and Encryption) portfolio of cryptographic primitives (a project organized by

the European Union, similar to the AES competition). VeraCrypt uses the third (final) version of

Whirlpool, which was adopted by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the

IEC in the ISO/IEC 10118-3:2004 international standard [21].