Blockchain Key Exchange with Key Escrow Fallback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) techniques are vulnerable to 'man-in-the-middle' attacks and single points of failure due to the distribution and storage of public keys via key escrow systems.
Innovation Solution
Utilizing a private blockchain system to securely distribute and store public keys, ensuring only authorized entities can access the information, and implementing a key escrow system as a fallback when the blockchain is inaccessible.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional key escrow systems are used to distribute public keys, then key distribution is simplified, but security is compromised due to single point of failure and man-in-the-middle attacks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a blockchain system as an intermediary for key distribution, replacing traditional key escrow systems. The blockchain acts as a decentralized mediator that stores public keys in an immutable ledger, allowing entities to retrieve keys without relying on a centralized authority. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining ease of key distribution while eliminating the security vulnerabilities of single-point-of-failure systems through distributed consensus and cryptographic immutability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the centralized key escrow function into distributed blockchain nodes. Instead of one centralized authority holding all keys, the system divides key storage and verification across multiple independent nodes in a decentralized network. This segmentation eliminates the single point of failure, allowing key distribution to remain simple while significantly improving security through distributed redundancy and consensus mechanisms.
2Loss of time
If public keys are stored in centralized key escrow systems, then retrieval is efficient, but the system becomes vulnerable to attacks and compromise
Solution Approach 1:
The blockchain system serves as a decentralized intermediary for key retrieval, replacing centralized key escrow servers. Entities can retrieve public keys directly from the immutable blockchain ledger without contacting a centralized authority. This maintains efficient retrieval times through direct access to the distributed ledger while eliminating vulnerability to attacks by removing the centralized target that attackers would exploit.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements copying of the key escrow function across multiple blockchain nodes. Each node maintains a copy of the public key ledger, allowing entities to retrieve keys from any available node in the network. This copying approach ensures efficient retrieval by providing multiple access points while simultaneously protecting against attacks, as the distributed copies prevent single-point compromise from affecting the entire system.
3Ease of manufacture
If traditional key management systems are used, then implementation is straightforward, but security integrity cannot be guaranteed against unauthorized modification
Solution Approach 1:
The blockchain system acts as an intermediary layer between key generation and key usage, providing an immutable verification mechanism. Public keys are stored in the blockchain ledger with cryptographic proofs of their origin and integrity. This intermediary layer maintains straightforward implementation through standardized blockchain interfaces while guaranteeing security integrity through the blockchain's immutable ledger and consensus mechanisms that prevent unauthorized modification.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent copies the key verification function across all blockchain nodes, with each node maintaining an identical copy of the public key ledger. This distributed copying ensures that integrity verification can be performed independently by any node, making the system both easy to implement through standardized protocols and highly reliable against unauthorized modification, as any tampering would be detected by the distributed consensus mechanism.
Data Source
AI summary
A system described herein provides for the secure maintaining and providing of information, such as public keys used in Public Key Infrastructure (“PKI”) techniques or other techniques, using a distributed ledger (e.g., “blockchain”) system with a fallback to a key escrow system. A first device may encrypt a communication using a first key, and output the encrypted communication to a second device. The first device may attempt to record a second key, that is associated with the first key, to the blockchain system, and may determine that the second key was not recorded to the blockchain system based on the attempt. The first device may output the second key to a third device based on determining that the second key was not recorded to the blockchain system. The second device may obtain the second key from the third device, and use the second key to decrypt the encrypted communication.