Distributed Ledger Certificate Authority Key Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current communication systems face issues with data interception and unauthorized access due to the limitations of end-to-end encryption and vulnerabilities in certificate systems, particularly when intermediate parties are required to process or read data, and certificate authorities can be compromised, leading to fake certificate generation.
Innovation Solution
A digital messaging system utilizing a distributed ledger-based certificate authority that generates and manages master key pairs and derives domain-specific keys, eliminating the need for trusted intermediaries and enhancing security through decentralized validation and redundancy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If end-to-end encryption is used to mask data traveling through transmission channels, then data security is improved, but it prevents intermediate parties from pre-processing and reading restricted portions of the data
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the encryption key into multiple parts and distributes them among different intermediate parties. Each party holds a portion of the key and can perform limited processing operations on their segment without being able to decrypt the full data, thus maintaining security while enabling controlled intermediate processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces trusted intermediary parties who act as mediators between the communicating endpoints. These intermediaries can perform specific processing functions on encrypted data using their key segments, allowing controlled access and processing while maintaining overall data confidentiality through the distributed key architecture.
2Ease of operation
If trusted third parties are used to issue and maintain authentication certificates, then certificate validation is simplified, but the system becomes vulnerable to certificate theft and compromise
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the certificate authority's private key into multiple parts and distributes them across different nodes in a distributed ledger system. No single node holds the complete private key, making it impossible for any individual node to compromise the entire certificate authority. The segmentation is achieved through cryptographic key splitting techniques where the private key is divided into shares that require a threshold number to reconstruct.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a distributed ledger as an intermediary layer between certificate issuers and validators. The ledger maintains a transparent and immutable record of all certificate operations, providing a trusted mediation mechanism that eliminates the need for a single centralized certificate authority while simplifying validation through the ledger's consensus mechanism.
3Device complexity
If a centralized certificate authority is used to generate certificates, then certificate management is centralized and simplified, but the system is vulnerable to single points of failure and compromise
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the centralized certificate authority into multiple distributed nodes, each holding a segment of the authority's private key. The segmentation is implemented through cryptographic techniques where the master private key is split into multiple shares distributed across different nodes. This maintains the logical structure of a certificate authority while physically distributing the trust across multiple independent entities.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges multiple distributed nodes into a unified certificate authority system through the distributed ledger. Each node operates independently but contributes to the overall certificate authority function. The merging is achieved through cryptographic consensus mechanisms where the combined power of multiple nodes provides the same certificate authority functions as a single centralized system, but with enhanced security and fault tolerance.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for use in a digital messaging system includes a storage device and a processor coupled to the storage device. The storage device storing software instructions for controlling the processor that when executed by the processor configured the processor to: generate a master private and public key pair; associate the master private and public key pair with a first certificate; and derive at least one domain-specific key from the one of the master private and public key pair. The first certificate is registered to a group comprising a plurality of domains. The domain-specific key is associated with one of the plurality of domains.