Concerning a bound on undetected error probability (Corresp.)

Abstract

In the past, it has generally been assumed that the probability of undetected error for an(n,k)block code, used solely for error detection on a binary symmetric channel, is upperbounded by2^{-(n-k)}. In this correspondence, it is shown that Hamming codes do indeed obey this bound, but that the bound is violated by some more general codes. Examples of linear, cyclic, and Bose-Chaudhuri-Hocquenghem (BCH) codes which do not obey the bound are given.