Certificateless Authentication for Executable Programs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing certificate-based authentication methods for executable programs face issues such as reliance on third-party certificate authorities, potential compromise leading to malicious certificates, and administrative burdens related to expiration and version tracking, which compromise security and control.
Innovation Solution
Implementing certificateless authentication using a secure program component that calculates and compares cryptographic hash function digests within a white-box data structure, eliminating the need for digital certificates by embedding protected objects and random data in executable programs, ensuring authentication without relying on external authorities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If certificate-based authentication is used, then authentication capability is provided, but security is compromised due to potential certificate authority compromise and third-party control
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the third-party certificate authority from the authentication system. Instead of relying on external CAs to issue and manage digital certificates, the system uses self-contained cryptographic key pairs where the private key never leaves the device. This eliminates the security vulnerability of centralized certificate management while maintaining authentication capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements self-service authentication where each device generates and manages its own cryptographic key pair independently. The private key remains confined within the device's secure element, and authentication is performed using only the public key and cryptographic signatures. This self-managed approach eliminates dependency on external certificate authorities and their associated security risks.
2Reliability
If digital certificates are used for authentication, then program authenticity can be verified, but administrative burdens increase due to expiration tracking and version management
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the certificate management infrastructure from the authentication process. Instead of using digital certificates that require issuance, expiration tracking, and renewal management, the system uses cryptographic key pairs with no expiration. The public key serves as the authentication credential without requiring any external management or validation infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces expensive, long-lived digital certificates that require ongoing management with simple, stateless cryptographic key pairs. The public key and signature mechanism provides equivalent authenticity verification without the administrative overhead of certificate lifecycle management. Each authentication event is self-contained and requires no prior setup or subsequent maintenance.
Data Source
AI summary
A process provides certificateless securely authentication of an executable program. The process includes launching an executable program, the executable program including a secure program component, in response to a post-launch authentication trigger, calculating using the secure component a cryptographic hash function (CHF) digest of at least a portion of the executable program, accessing using the secure component a previously-calculated CHF digest of said at least the portion of the executable program contained in a white-box data structure of the executable program, comparing using the secure component the CHF digest and the previously-calculated CHF digest, and in response to the comparing indicating equality of the CHF digest and the previously-calculated CHF digest, authorizing an operation of the executable program.