Chunk-Based Hash Digital Signature Bandwidth Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Digital communication networks, particularly those used in critical utility infrastructures and home utility metering devices, are vulnerable to cyber-attacks, which can disrupt services and compromise data security, leading to potential outages and financial frauds.
Innovation Solution
A secured digital communication system that employs a fixed length low computation complexity chunk-based hash function to compute cryptographic signature values, which are appended to digital bytes and sent over the network, ensuring secure communication between devices while minimizing bandwidth usage and computational resources.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If cryptographic signature values are appended to digital bytes for secure communication, then security against cyber-attacks is improved, but bandwidth usage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The message is divided into fixed-size chunks (e.g., 512 bytes each) before computing cryptographic signatures. Instead of computing one signature for the entire message, separate signatures are computed for each chunk. This segmentation allows the system to maintain security while managing bandwidth usage by processing messages in manageable segments rather than as a single large unit.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of signature length by using fixed-length hash functions (e.g., producing 256-bit signatures) regardless of the original message size. This ensures that the bandwidth overhead for signatures remains predictable and manageable, as each chunk receives a signature of consistent length rather than scaling with message size.
2Reliability
If cryptographic hash functions are applied to compute signature values, then data integrity and security are improved, but computational complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The message processing is segmented into fixed-size chunks, and cryptographic hash functions are applied independently to each chunk rather than to the entire message at once. This reduces the computational memory requirements and makes the process more manageable for devices with limited resources, while still ensuring data integrity through cryptographic verification of each segment.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of applying complex cryptographic operations to the entire message, the patent applies hash functions to partial segments (fixed-size chunks) of the message. This partial action approach reduces the computational burden on each individual processing step, allowing devices with limited computing resources to perform cryptographic operations more efficiently.
3Productivity
If fixed length chunk-based hash functions are used for cryptographic signatures, then processing throughput is maintained, but message length is constrained to fixed chunks
Solution Approach 1:
Messages of any length are segmented into fixed-size chunks (e.g., 512 bytes each), with the final chunk potentially being smaller if the message doesn't perfectly divide. This segmentation strategy maintains processing throughput by keeping each chunk at a manageable fixed size while still accommodating messages of arbitrary length through the chunking mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The fixed-size chunk processing approach serves multiple functions: it maintains processing throughput by limiting memory requirements, enables parallel processing of multiple chunks, and accommodates messages of any length. This universal approach to message handling makes the system adaptable to different message sizes while preserving performance characteristics.
Data Source
AI summary
A secured digital communication system, comprising: at least one secured network connected device, comprising at least one hardware processor connected to at least one digital communication network interface, and adapted for: in at least one of a plurality of iterations: appending an identified cryptographic key value to a first sequence of digital bytes to produce an extended sequence of digital bytes; computing a cryptographic signature value by applying a fixed length low computation complexity chunk-based hash function to the extended sequence of digital bytes; appending the cryptographic signature value to the first sequence of digital bytes to produce a signed sequence of digital bytes; and sending at least one message comprising the signed sequence of digital bytes to at least one other secured network connected device via the at least one digital communication network interface.