A Fisher–Yates Shuffle in a Hardened Merkle–Damg˚ard hash for the blockchain’s PoW

  • Asmaa CHERKAOUI Laboratory of Mathematical Analysis, Algebra and Applications (LAM2A), Faculty of Sciences Ain Chock, University Hassan II of Casablanca, Morocco
  • Seddik ABDELALIM Laboratory of Mathematical Analysis, Algebra and Applications (LAM2A), Faculty of Sciences Ain Chock, University Hassan II of Casablanca, Morocco
  • Abdelkarim LKOAIZA Laboratory of Mathematical Analysis, Algebra and Applications (LAM2A), Faculty of Sciences Ain Chock, University Hassan II of Casablanca, Morocco
  • Ilias ELMOUKI MoNum, EHTP, Casablanca, Morocco
DOI: https://doi.org/10.19139/soic-2310-5070-2761
Keywords: Merkle–Damgård, Fisher–Yates shuffle, SHA-256, SAT solvers, blockchain, proof-of-work

Abstract

In this paper, we introduce a Fisher–Yates shuffle for the development of the Merkle-Damgård construction while not using any predefined functions or hashing library. Since SHA-1 has been deprecated, we focus on the Secure Hash Algorithm 2 (SHA-2), which remains secure against all known full-round collision attacks. In this work, we introduce and study Fisher--Yates–driven dynamic permutations within this family to enhance resistance against automated cryptanalysis, particularly SAT-based attacks, while preserving SHA-2’s robust design. Finally, we provide a practical explanation of how the use of our approach could be beneficial for the Proof-of-Work (PoW) in blockchain.
Published
2025-11-08
How to Cite
CHERKAOUI, A., ABDELALIM, S., LKOAIZA, A., & ELMOUKI, I. (2025). A Fisher–Yates Shuffle in a Hardened Merkle–Damg˚ard hash for the blockchain’s PoW. Statistics, Optimization & Information Computing. https://doi.org/10.19139/soic-2310-5070-2761
Issue
Online First
Section
ICCSAI'24
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