Distributed Digital Signature Service Using Hash Tree Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional digital signature methods, especially those based on public key encryption, require significant computational resources and are unsuitable for generating digital signatures for large-scale data in IoT environments, and they lack stability due to reliance on centralized processing and hierarchical hash trees, which can fail if a high-level server fails.
Innovation Solution
A large-scale simultaneous digital signature service system using a hash function and hash tree, where digital signatures are generated through distributed processing across multiple servers, with a digital signature service configuration server constructing a hierarchical hash tree and a relay server directing requests to available servers, ensuring stability and efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If public key-based digital signature method is used, then security and authenticity are improved, but computational resource consumption increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the digital signature generation process into two parts: (1) hash value computation performed locally by IoT devices on their data, and (2) signature generation performed centrally by the server using the hash values. This segmentation reduces the computational burden on resource-constrained IoT devices while maintaining security through the server's cryptographic operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces hash values as an intermediary between the original data and the digital signature. Instead of directly signing the entire data set, the system computes hash values of the data and signs these condensed representations. This intermediary approach maintains authentication reliability while dramatically reducing computational resources required for the signing operation.
2Device complexity
If centralized digital signature processing is used, then service management is simplified, but system reliability deteriorates due to single point of failure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the centralized signature generation function into multiple independent signature generation servers. Instead of relying on a single centralized service, the system distributes the signature generation capability across multiple servers, eliminating the single point of failure while maintaining manageable service architecture through modular deployment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the system parameter from single-server architecture to multi-server architecture. By introducing multiple signature generation servers that can independently process requests, the system transforms from a vulnerable centralized structure to a resilient distributed structure, improving reliability while keeping service management complexity manageable through standardized interfaces.
3Device complexity
If hierarchical hash tree structure is used, then digital signature organization is improved, but system stability deteriorates when high-level servers fail
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the traditional hierarchical approach by making the hash tree structure independent of server hierarchy. Instead of organizing hash trees according to server levels where high-level servers control low-level servers, the system allows any signature generation server to independently construct and manage hash trees. This inversion eliminates the stability issue caused by high-level server failures while maintaining organized signature structures through the mathematical properties of hash trees.
4Reliability
If digital signatures are generated for large-scale data, then data integrity coverage is improved, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by having IoT devices compute hash values of their data before transmitting to the server. This preprocessing step condenses large amounts of data into fixed-size hash values, enabling the server to efficiently generate signatures for multiple data sets simultaneously. The preliminary hashing action maintains comprehensive data integrity coverage while significantly reducing the time required for signature generation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses partial action by signing only the hash values rather than the entire original data sets. Since hash values are fixed-size representations regardless of the original data size, the system achieves coverage for large-scale data while the actual cryptographic operation operates on small, constant-size inputs, thereby reducing processing time while maintaining integrity verification capability.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are a system and method of a large-scale simultaneous digital signature service based on a hash function. According to the system and method, the main agent that requires the generation of a digital signature does not itself generate the digital signature, and digital signatures may be simultaneously and stably generated for large-scale data such as multiple electronic documents and digital data, using a hash function and a hash tree, which are known as a simple and secure method, to guarantee the integrity of the data in a digital signature-based structure based on multiple servers.