Browser Applet Encryption for Secure Banking Authentication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electronic commerce security systems, such as those using SSL, expose user credentials in clear form during transmission and storage, making them vulnerable to insider threats like 'sniffing' software, and there is a need to encrypt credentials at the user's browser to prevent exposure until they reach the authentication server.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that uses an applet downloaded to the user's browser to encrypt user credentials, such as PINs, before transmission, utilizing a symmetric key and public/private key pair, ensuring that credentials remain encrypted through intermediate servers and are only decrypted at the authentication server, with a hardware security module managing key changes and verification.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If SSL is used to transmit user credentials, then transmission security is improved, but credentials are still exposed in clear form in server memory and vulnerable to insider threats
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by encrypting the PIN at the client terminal before transmission using a client-generated key. This encryption occurs before the data enters the server environment, preventing exposure in server memory. The encrypted PIN is transformed into an encrypted PIN block that cannot be read in clear form during transmission or while stored in server memory, thus resolving the contradiction between transmission security and insider threat vulnerability.
2Reliability
If credentials are encrypted at the user's browser, then security against interception is improved, but system complexity increases due to additional encryption layers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the encryption process into distinct components: client-side encryption using a client-generated key, transformation to encrypted PIN block format, and server-side processing. This segmentation allows each component to have a specific function, making the overall system more manageable despite the added security layer. The client terminal performs the encryption independently, and the server simply processes the already-encrypted data, reducing the complexity burden on the server side.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism by using a client-generated key as a mediator between the user's PIN and the server's processing system. This key enables encryption at the client terminal without requiring the server to have complex encryption capabilities. The encrypted PIN block serves as an intermediary form that can be transmitted and stored securely, then decrypted only when needed for authentication at the server, thus managing system complexity while maintaining high security.
3Reliability
If multiple encryption and decryption steps are performed, then security is improved, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by performing the encryption at the client terminal before transmission, so that the server receives already-encrypted data. This shifts the encryption processing time to the client side, where it occurs only once during login. The server then only needs to perform decryption and verification, which is faster than full encryption/decryption cycles. This preliminary encryption resolves the contradiction by maintaining high security while minimizing server processing time.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system for securely logging onto a banking system authentication server so that a user credential never appears in the clear during interaction with the system in which during a log on process, an encryption applet and the public key of a public/private key pair of a banking application server, the private key for which is known by a hardware security module (HSM) of the banking application, are downloaded by a user's browser. The applet contains code for generating a DES key and performing DES and PKI encryption. A user's credential is DES encrypted, and the DES key is PKI encrypted with the public key of the application server by the applet before being transmitted to the application server. Within the HSM of the application server, the HSM decrypts and re-encrypts the credential under a new DES key known to the authentication server, the re-encrypted credential is forwarded to the authentication server, decrypted with the new DES key known to the authentication server, and verified by the authentication server.