Group Public Key for Secure Network Printing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users face difficulties in securely printing to a group of printers without knowing the exact identities or public keys of the printers, especially in scenarios where they don't trust a print server, as existing methods require knowledge of all printers in the group for encryption and may compromise confidentiality.
Innovation Solution
An asymmetric broadcast encryption scheme is used to generate a single 'group public key' for a defined group of printers, allowing users to encrypt print jobs that can only be decrypted by members of the group, with an administrator managing key pairs and distributing group public keys to users.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If individual printer public keys are used for encryption, then confidentiality is maintained, but users must know the exact identities and public keys of all printers in the group
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple individual printer public keys into a single group public key. Instead of requiring users to obtain and use separate public keys for each printer in the group, the system creates a consolidated group public key that represents all printers in the group. This is achieved by combining the individual public keys through a cryptographic operation, allowing users to encrypt print jobs once using the group public key, and any printer in the group can decrypt using its individual private key.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a group public key as an intermediary between the user and the individual printer public keys. This intermediary element allows users to interact with the printer group without needing to know or manage the individual identities and public keys of each printer. The group public key serves as a mediator that simplifies the encryption process while maintaining security through the individual private keys held by each printer.
2Reliability
If individual printer public keys are used for encryption, then confidentiality is maintained, but the system complexity increases due to key management requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the key management complexity by consolidating multiple individual public keys into a single group public key. This reduces the number of keys that users must manage and obtain from the print server. The group public key acts as a unified interface for encryption, eliminating the need for users to track which specific printer public keys are available or change over time.
Solution Approach 2:
The group public key serves multiple functions: it represents all printers in the group, enables encryption for any printer in the group, and simplifies key distribution. Instead of distributing individual public keys to users, the system distributes only the group public key, which can then be used to encrypt print jobs for any member of the group without requiring additional key management.
3Ease of operation
If a print server manages printer keys, then key distribution is simplified, but user trust in the print server is required
Solution Approach 1:
The group public key acts as an intermediary that allows users to obtain encryption keys without direct trust in the print server for key distribution. Users can obtain the group public key from any printer in the group or through other trusted means, eliminating the need to trust the print server with key distribution. The group public key mediates between the user and the print server, allowing secure encryption without requiring user trust in the server's key management.
4Adaptability or versatility
If printers are added or removed from the group, then system flexibility is improved, but existing encrypted print jobs may become invalid
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic updates to the group public key when printers are added or removed from the group. The group public key is not static but can be regenerated to reflect the current composition of the printer group. This dynamic approach allows the system to adapt to changing printer configurations while maintaining the validity of encrypted print jobs, as the group public key is updated to include only the currently active printers in the group.
Data Source
AI summary
According to aspect of the present disclosure there are provided methods and apparatus for printing to a group of printers in a network, including a method comprising provisioning each printing device of the plurality of printing devices with a respective private cryptographic key, defining a first group of printing devices comprising a first subset of the plurality of printing devices, generating a first group public key for the defined first group of printing devices, the first group public key generated based on public cryptographic keys corresponding to the respective private cryptographic keys provisioned to the first subset of the plurality of printing devices, and providing the first group public key to a user.