Component Authentication Using Preimage-Hash Challenge Pairs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing authentication methods for interchangeable components in electronic devices require large memory capacity and are vulnerable to fraud due to the exposure of authentication values, making it difficult to prevent the connection of non-genuine components.
Innovation Solution
An authentication mechanism using preimage and verification value pairs, where intermediate image values are derived through cryptographic hash functions, reducing memory requirements and enhancing security by limiting exposure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the total number of authentication values stored in the cartridge is increased to reduce exposure ratio and prevent fraud, then authentication security is improved, but memory capacity requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The authentication value is segmented into two parts: a preimage value stored in the cartridge and a verification value stored in the authentication host. Only the preimage value (a small fixed amount) is stored in the cartridge memory, while the verification value (which would require large storage if all authentication values were kept) is generated and stored externally. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by maintaining security through the preimage-verification pair mechanism without requiring large cartridge memory capacity.
2Quantity of substance
If the size of each authentication value is reduced to decrease memory requirements, then memory capacity is reduced, but vulnerability to guessing attacks increases
Solution Approach 1:
A cryptographic hash function is introduced as an intermediary mechanism between the preimage value and the verification value. The preimage value (small size) is transformed through the hash function to generate the verification value (larger size with high entropy). This intermediary function allows the system to maintain small memory capacity in the cartridge while ensuring resistance to guessing attacks, as the hash function provides one-way transformation with high computational difficulty for reverse engineering.
Data Source
AI summary
An authentication target apparatus includes a memory that stores N value pairs each of which includes a preimage value and a verification value used for verification on an intermediate image value derived based on the preimage value. Each verification value is a mapped value that is derived by applying a corresponding preimage value to a function to derive an intermediate image value and then applying the intermediate image value to another function. The apparatus reads the N verification values from the memory, transmits the read N verification values to an authentication system, receives a challenge index from the authentication system, reads a first preimage value corresponding to the challenge index from the memory, derives a first intermediate image value based on the read first preimage value, and transmits the derived first intermediate image value to the authentication system.