Credential-Cipher Key for Zero-Knowledge Session Resumption
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Solution Overview
Problem
In a zero-knowledge environment, implementing session-resume functionality is challenging due to security risks associated with locally storing session tokens, which can compromise user data access and violate the zero-knowledge privacy.
Innovation Solution
A credential-cipher key is used to encrypt user authentication credentials, stored on the computing service rather than the user's device, allowing session resumption without requiring users to re-enter credentials while maintaining the zero-knowledge environment's security benefits.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If session tokens are stored locally on the user's device to enable session resumption, then the user can resume sessions without re-authenticating, but the security of the zero-knowledge environment is compromised and user data becomes accessible to bad actors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces session-resume data as an intermediary element that enables session resumption without storing actual session tokens locally. This data structure acts as a mediator between the user's authentication state and the service, allowing the user to resume sessions while the service never possesses the actual authentication credentials. The session-resume data contains encrypted authentication information that can be decrypted only when the user provides their current credentials, thus maintaining security while enabling convenience.
2Ease of operation
If authentication credentials are stored server-side to enable session resumption, then the computing service can access user data, but the zero-knowledge nature of the environment is eliminated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the authentication credentials from the service's knowledge base while still enabling session resumption. Instead of the service storing or accessing the actual credentials, the system creates session-resume data that contains encrypted representations of these credentials. The encryption keys remain exclusively with the user, effectively taking out the credentials from the service's reach while maintaining the functional capability of session resumption.
3Reliability
If session tokens are stored locally with time limitations, then security is improved compared to unlimited storage, but the session resumption feature becomes less useful
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic session resumption where the validity and decryption capability of session-resume data changes based on the user's current authentication state. Rather than static time-limited tokens, the system allows session resumption at any time provided the user can provide their current authentication credentials. The decryption capability dynamically adapts to the user's credentials, enabling both long-term storage security and flexible resumption convenience.
Data Source
AI summary
Examples of the present disclosure describe systems and methods relating to user-session management in a zero-knowledge environment. When a user authenticates with a computing service to begin a session, a credential-cipher key is used to encrypt the user's authentication credentials, thereby generating session-resume data. The computing service stores the credential-cipher key, such that it is not retained by the user's computing device. Accordingly, when the user resumes the session, a resume request is generated to retrieve the credential-cipher key from the computing service, wherein the request is validated before providing the key. Upon successful validation, the computing service provides the credential-cipher key, which is then used to decrypt the session-resume data and regain access to the user's authentication credentials. The encrypted user data may then be decrypted, thereby obviating the need for the user to re-authenticate, while still retaining the privacy and security benefits of the zero-knowledge environment.