Anonymous Authentication Service With Local Linkability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Anonymous authentication schemes face challenges in balancing user anonymity with the need for service providers to track usage patterns and differentiate between regular and malicious users, as existing methods either compromise anonymity or lack the ability to establish effective service strategies due to unlinkability.
Innovation Solution
An anonymous service method is introduced that employs local linkability, allowing service providers to manage anonymous users while maintaining anonymity by generating and verifying group signatures using a service terminal, anonymous authentication server, and service providing server, which enables secure local linkability within the same service domain.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If anonymous authentication schemes are used to protect user privacy, then user anonymity is improved, but service providers cannot track usage patterns or differentiate between regular and malicious users
Solution Approach 1:
The authentication system is segmented into multiple components: group signature mechanism for anonymity, virtual index generation for linkability, and separate verification paths. This segmentation allows the system to provide both anonymity and controlled linkability simultaneously, resolving the contradiction between protecting user privacy and enabling service tracking.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements local linkability where service providers can track usage patterns within their own service domain while users maintain anonymity across different services. The virtual index provides linkability locally within a service provider's domain without compromising global anonymity, thus resolving the information loss problem while maintaining anonymity.
2Reliability
If unlinkability is provided to maintain anonymity, then user privacy is improved, but service providers cannot establish service strategies or manage users effectively
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces virtual indices as intermediaries between users and service providers. These virtual indices enable service providers to manage users and track usage patterns without exposing real user identities. The virtual index acts as a mediator that provides the necessary information for service management while preserving user privacy, thus resolving the contradiction between privacy protection and service management ease.
3Reliability
If group signatures are used for anonymous authentication, then anonymity is maintained, but the ability to provide local linkability within the same service domain is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent dynamically adjusts the level of anonymity and linkability based on the service context. Within the same service domain, the system provides local linkability through virtual indices while maintaining anonymity. The group signature mechanism is enhanced with dynamic virtual index generation that adapts to different service requirements, resolving the contradiction between maintaining anonymity and providing local linkability.
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided an anonymous service method of providing local linkability. The anonymous service method providing local linkability according to exemplary embodiments of the invention, an anonymous authentication operation based on a short group signature is performed, for which the concept of a local linkability is introduced to secure linkability within the same service domain. Namely, in the interior of a service provider, a virtual index having a fixed value is calculated for each service user, and in this case, although a plurality of service providers collude with each other, they cannot calculate a virtual index having the same value, whereby the linkability can be secured within the same service domain but not within the interiors of different service domains.