Crosschecked Certificate Authorities for MITM Attack Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional secured communication channels between organizations and client devices are vulnerable to fraudulent certificate issuance by compromised certificate authorities, allowing malicious attackers to perform Man-In-The-Middle attacks.
Innovation Solution
A certificate authority system using multiple distinct certificate authorities to generate crosschecked authentication certificates, where each certificate includes identifying information and a signature, minimizing the likelihood of fraudulent certificate creation and infiltration by requiring simultaneous compromise of both authorities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a single certificate authority is used to issue authentication certificates, then the certificate verification process is simple and fast, but the system becomes vulnerable to fraudulent certificate issuance when the certificate authority is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the single certificate authority into multiple independent certificate authorities (at least two). Each certificate authority issues a separate certificate, and the system requires verification of multiple certificates instead of one. This segmentation reduces the risk that a single compromised authority can issue fraudulent certificates, as an attacker would need to compromise multiple independent authorities simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a cross-checking dimension to certificate verification. Instead of verifying a single certificate chain, the system verifies multiple certificate chains from different certificate authorities and cross-checks them against each other. This adds a dimensional layer of verification where certificates from one authority are validated against certificates from another authority, creating a multi-dimensional verification matrix that enhances security.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If multiple certificate authorities are used to issue crosschecked certificates, then the security against fraudulent certificates is improved, but the certificate verification process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where certificate authorities cross-validate each other's certificates. Each certificate authority receives and verifies certificates issued by other certificate authorities in the system. This mutual verification creates a feedback loop where fraudulent certificates are detected and rejected by the cross-checking process, providing real-time validation that enhances security against fraudulent certificate attacks.
3Speed
If conventional single certificate authority systems are used, then the establishment of secured communication channels is fast, but the system is vulnerable to Man-In-The-Middle attacks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary verification actions by having multiple certificate authorities pre-verify each other's certificates before actual communication occurs. The certificate cross-checking mechanism is established in advance, creating a pre-validation layer that quickly identifies and blocks potential Man-In-The-Middle attack vectors before they can compromise the secured communication channel.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments relate to a method for generating a set of authentication certificates by a set of certificate authority devices. The method includes receiving, by the set of certificate authority devices, a set of certificate requests from a user device. The method includes generating, by the set of certificate authority devices, a set of crosschecked certificates, each crosschecked certificate of the set of crosschecked certificates being configured to cryptographically verify the remaining crosschecked certificate of the set of crosschecked certificates. The method includes transmitting, by the set of certificate authority devices, the set of crosschecked certificates to the user device, the set of crosschecked certificates configured to be utilized by the user device in establishing a secured communication channel over a network between the user device and a client device.