Cipher Message with Authentication Instruction for Reduced Ciphertext Access

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current computing environments lack a single instruction that can efficiently combine message ciphering and authentication, including authentication of additional authenticated data, leading to increased instruction fetches, decodes, and ciphertext accesses.

Innovation Solution

A single instruction, referred to as the Cipher Message with Authentication instruction, is introduced to perform both message authentication and ciphering, utilizing a hash technique and flags to handle first, intermediate, and final blocks of data, reducing the number of operations and improving system performance.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If separate instructions are used for ciphering and authentication operations, then the system can perform distinct security functions, but the number of instructions to be fetched, decoded and executed increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesecurity function separationVSAvoidinstruction execution efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent combines separate ciphering and authentication instructions into a single integrated instruction that can perform both message authentication and ciphering operations. This merging reduces the total number of instructions that need to be fetched, decoded, and executed, thereby improving processing efficiency while maintaining the distinct security functions through separate operational modes within the unified instruction structure.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The integrated instruction is designed with multi-functionality, capable of performing both authentication and ciphering operations depending on control parameters. By embedding multiple functions within a single instruction, the system eliminates the need for separate instruction sequences, reducing overhead and improving productivity without compromising the reliability of individual security operations.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Ease of manufacture

If separate instructions are used for ciphering and authentication, then each function can be optimized independently, but the number of ciphertext fetches increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinstruction optimizationVSAvoidciphertext access time
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of manufactureVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

By merging ciphering and authentication into a single instruction, the patent eliminates redundant ciphertext fetches that would occur if separate instructions were used. The integrated instruction can process ciphertext once and simultaneously perform both authentication verification and ciphering operations, thereby reducing access time and eliminating the time loss associated with multiple separate operations.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

3Productivity

If a single instruction performs both authentication and ciphering, then system performance improves, but the instruction complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveprocessing efficiencyVSAvoidinstruction structure complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements a universal instruction structure that can perform multiple functions (authentication and ciphering) through control parameters and operational modes rather than through structural complexity. This approach maintains relatively simple instruction encoding while achieving multi-functionality, thus improving productivity without proportionally increasing device complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

4Reliability

If multiple instructions are used for data blocks, then each block can be processed individually, but the number of instructions and operations increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveblock processing accuracyVSAvoidoperation count
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent enables a single integrated instruction to process multiple data blocks sequentially, combining what would otherwise require multiple separate instructions. This approach maintains the accuracy and reliability of individual block processing while significantly reducing the total operation count, as the same instruction can be applied iteratively across multiple blocks without requiring separate instruction fetches and decodes for each block.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentEP3526927B1Cipher message with authentication instruction
Publication Date: 2021.02.17 INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINE CORPORATION
  • EP3526927B1 patent drawingFigure 1A
  • EP3526927B1 patent drawingFigure 1B
  • EP3526927B1 patent drawingFigure 2A~2B

AI summary

An instruction to perform ciphering and authentication is executed. The executing includes ciphering one set of data provided by the instruction to obtain ciphered data and placing the ciphered data in a designated location. It further includes authenticating an additional set of data provided by the instruction, in which the authenticating generates at least a part of a message authentication tag. The at least a part of the message authentication tag is stored in a selected location.