Estimation for the number of MDS Matrices, Recursive MDS Matrices and Symmetric Recursive MDS Matrices from the Reed-Solomon Codes

Abstract

The diffusion layer of the SPN block ciphers is usually built on the basis of the MDS (Maximum Distance Separable) matrices which is the matrix of the maximum distance separable code (MDS code). MDS codes have long been studied in error correcting code theory and have applications not only in coding theory but also in the design of block ciphers and hash functions. Thanks to that important role, there have been many studies on methods of building MDS matrices. In particular, the recursive MDS matrices and the symmetric recursive MDS matrices have particularly important applications because they are very efficient for execution. In this paper, we will give an estimate of the number of MDS matrices, recursive MDS matrices and symmetric recursive MDS matrices built from Reed-Solomon codes. This result is meaningful in determining the efficiency from this method of building matrices based on the Reed-Solomon codes. From there, this method can be applied to find out many MDS matrices, secure and efficient symmetric recursive MDS matrices for execution to apply in current block ciphers. Furthermore, recursive MDS matrices can be efficiently implemented using Linear Feedback Shift Registers (LFSR), making them well suited for lightweight cryptographic algorithms, so suitable for limited resources application.