diff --git a/tests/test_util.py b/tests/test_util.py
index 25e1e318..8896e03e 100755
--- a/tests/test_util.py
+++ b/tests/test_util.py
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@
 import logging
 import tempfile
 import unittest
+import timeit
 
 import tuf
 import tuf.log
@@ -577,6 +578,48 @@ def test_c6_get_compressed_length(self):
 
 
 
+  def test_digests_are_equal(self):
+    digest = 'e3b0c44298fc1c149afbf4c8996fb92427ae41e4649b934ca495991b7852b855'
+
+    # Normal case: test for digests that are equal.
+    self.assertTrue(tuf.util.digests_are_equal(digest, digest))
+
+    # Normal case: test for digests that are unequal.
+    self.assertFalse(tuf.util.digests_are_equal(digest, '0a8df1'))
+
+    # Test for invalid arguments.
+    self.assertRaises(tuf.FormatError, tuf.util.digests_are_equal, 7,
+                      digest)
+    self.assertRaises(tuf.FormatError, tuf.util.digests_are_equal, digest,
+                      7)
+   
+    # Test that digests_are_equal() takes the same amount of time to compare
+    # equal and unequal arguments.
+    runtime = timeit.timeit('digests_are_equal("ab8df", "ab8df")',
+                            setup='from tuf.util import digests_are_equal',
+                            number=100000)
+
+    runtime2 = timeit.timeit('digests_are_equal("ab8df", "1b8df")',
+                             setup='from tuf.util import digests_are_equal',
+                             number=100000)
+
+    print('\nruntime1: ' + repr(runtime))
+    print('runtime2: ' + repr(runtime2))
+
+    runtime3 = timeit.timeit('"ab8df" == "ab8df"', number=100000)
+    
+    runtime4 = timeit.timeit('"ab8df" == "1b8df"', number=1000000)
+
+    # The ratio for the 'digest_are_equal' runtimes should be at or near 1.
+    ratio_digests_are_equal = abs(runtime2 / runtime)
+    
+    # The ratio for the variable-time runtimes should be (>1) & at or near 10?
+    ratio_variable_compare = abs(runtime4 / runtime3)
+
+    self.assertTrue(ratio_digests_are_equal < ratio_variable_compare)
+
+
+
 # Run unit test.
 if __name__ == '__main__':
   unittest.main()
diff --git a/tuf/pycrypto_keys.py b/tuf/pycrypto_keys.py
index 85521376..de5fe796 100755
--- a/tuf/pycrypto_keys.py
+++ b/tuf/pycrypto_keys.py
@@ -931,7 +931,7 @@ def _decrypt(file_contents, password):
                                                Crypto.Hash.SHA256)
   generated_hmac = generated_hmac_object.hexdigest()
 
-  if generated_hmac != hmac:
+  if not tuf.util.digests_are_equal(generated_hmac, hmac):
     raise tuf.CryptoError('Decryption failed.')
 
   # The following decryption routine assumes 'ciphertext' was encrypted with
diff --git a/tuf/util.py b/tuf/util.py
index fa8219a6..8d8a0b46 100755
--- a/tuf/util.py
+++ b/tuf/util.py
@@ -950,3 +950,45 @@ def load_json_file(filepath):
   
   finally:
     fileobject.close()
+
+
+
+def digests_are_equal(digest1, digest2):
+  """
+  <Purpose>
+    While protecting against timing attacks, compare the hexadecimal arguments
+    and determine if they are equal.
+
+  <Arguments>
+    digest1:
+      The first hexadecimal string value to compare.
+
+    digest2:
+      The second hexadecimal string value to compare.
+
+  <Exceptions>
+    tuf.FormatError: If the arguments are improperly formatted.
+
+  <Side Effects>
+    None.
+
+  <Return>
+    Return True if 'digest1' is equal to 'digest2', False otherwise.
+  """
+  
+  # Ensure the arguments have the appropriate number of objects and object
+  # types, and that all dict keys are properly named.
+  # Raise 'tuf.FormatError' if there is a mismatch.
+  tuf.formats.HEX_SCHEMA.check_match(digest1)
+  tuf.formats.HEX_SCHEMA.check_match(digest2)
+
+  if len(digest1) != len(digest2):
+    return False
+
+  are_equal = True
+  
+  for element in range(len(digest1)):
+    if digest1[element] != digest2[element]:
+      are_equal = False
+
+  return are_equal