Challenge-Response Pairing for Low-Overhead Device Authentication
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems lack efficient methods for confirming the identity of components in secure communication, particularly in sensitive operations, and current authentication techniques are costly in terms of memory usage and computational time.
Innovation Solution
A processor device pairs with a programmable device by receiving a unique identifier and performs challenge-response authentication using cryptographic functions to verify the identity of the programmable device, storing response times and results to ensure secure communication.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional authentication techniques are used to confirm device identity, then security is improved, but memory usage and computational time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The authentication process is segmented into distinct phases: pairing phase where unique identifiers are exchanged and stored, and verification phase where challenge-response messages are used. This segmentation allows the system to use minimal memory during verification by only storing essential identifier data rather than large authentication tables.
Solution Approach 2:
Device identifiers are pre-exchanged and stored during the pairing phase before actual authentication occurs. This preliminary action enables the verification phase to use lightweight challenge-response messages without requiring extensive memory or computational resources during the actual authentication moment.
2Reliability
If traditional authentication techniques are used to confirm device identity, then security is improved, but computational time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The authentication protocol is divided into pairing (identifier exchange) and verification (challenge-response) segments. This segmentation allows the computationally intensive identifier setup to occur once during pairing, while verification uses minimal computational time for simple challenge-response validation.
Solution Approach 2:
Device identifiers are pre-shared during the pairing phase, so that during verification only lightweight challenge-response computation is needed. This preliminary establishment of trust relationships eliminates the need for repeated heavy computational authentication operations.
3Device complexity
If generic processing is used for system components, then device complexity is reduced, but the ability to confirm component identity is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system separates generic component processing from identity-specific verification. Most processing remains generic and simple, while identity confirmation is handled through a dedicated pairing mechanism that exchanges and stores unique identifiers, maintaining simplicity while enabling verification.
Solution Approach 2:
Unique identifiers act as intermediaries between generic processing and identity confirmation. These identifiers enable the system to maintain simple generic processing while providing a separate verification layer that confirms component identity without complicating the main processing flow.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods for system component pairing and authentication are described. A challenge message is transmitted to a device. A reply message is received from the device in response to the challenge message. A length of time between transmitting the challenge message and receiving the reply message is determined. The length of time between transmitting the challenge message and receiving the reply message is compared to an expected time. Whether the reply message was received from the device is determined based on the comparing the length of time to the expected time. Communication is enabled with the device based on the determining that the reply message was received from the device.