Epoch-Based Key Views for Authentication Token Security
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional authentication tokens are vulnerable to cloning attacks, as their keys can be compromised, especially when not periodically refreshed, leading to security breaches.
Innovation Solution
A cryptographic device computes and transmits views of a set of keys over multiple epochs, ensuring that the second device can confirm the authenticity of the current key set by utilizing previous views, using pseudorandom vectors to generate views that contain significant new information, thereby enhancing detectability of cloned devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If keys are periodically refreshed in authentication tokens, then security against cloning attacks is improved, but the complexity of key management and verification increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the key verification process into multiple epochs, where each epoch uses a different key version. The authentication token and server both maintain history of key versions across epochs, allowing incremental verification rather than complete re-verification. This segmentation reduces the computational burden and complexity of key management while maintaining security through periodic key rotation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-establishing key version history on both the authentication token and the server before actual authentication occurs. This allows the verification process to efficiently check against pre-stored key versions rather than computing from scratch, reducing real-time complexity while maintaining security.
2Measurement precision
If complete key sets are transmitted for verification, then authentication accuracy is improved, but transmission bandwidth and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential verification information needed for authentication rather than transmitting complete key sets. By using segmented key versions and comparing only relevant portions across epochs, the system achieves accurate authentication while minimizing data transmission and processing time.
3Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If key refresh frequency is increased, then detectability of cloned devices is improved, but the overhead of key management operations increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic key refresh operations at defined epoch boundaries rather than continuously. This periodic action maintains detectability of cloned devices by regularly updating key versions while avoiding the overhead of continuous key management operations. The segmented approach allows efficient batch processing of key updates.
Data Source
AI summary
A first cryptographic device is configured to store a set of keys that is refreshed in each of a plurality of epochs. The first cryptographic device computes for each of at least a subset of the epochs at least one view based on at least a portion of the set of keys for that epoch, and transmits the views to a second cryptographic device in association with their respective epochs. At least one view computed for a current one of the epochs is configured for utilization in combination with one or more previous views computed for one or more previous ones of the epochs to permit the second cryptographic device to confirm authenticity of the set of keys for the current epoch. The first cryptographic device may include an authentication token and the second cryptographic device may include an authentication server.