Hierarchical Hash-Tree Authentication for Data Stream Integrity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for authenticating video or audio streams, such as digital signatures, are inadequate due to packet loss issues and lack of flexibility, as they often require verification of the entire data stream and increase communication overhead.
Innovation Solution
A method using a hierarchical authentication structure, like a hash-tree, where data fragments are divided into multiple granularity levels, with hash values on lower levels used to generate values on higher levels, allowing for partial authentication and reduced transmission overhead by selecting and transmitting only necessary hash values.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If digital signatures are applied directly on video stream clips, then authentication is provided, but packet loss causes authentication failure and flexibility is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The video stream is divided into individual packets, and each packet is authenticated independently through hash computation. This segmentation allows partial authentication of received packets without requiring the entire stream, providing both reliability against packet loss and flexibility for partial verification.
Solution Approach 2:
A hash function serves as an intermediary between the video stream and digital signature authentication. Instead of directly signing the entire video stream, the system computes hash values of individual packets and signs these hash values, enabling efficient and flexible authentication that tolerates packet loss.
2Reliability
If chaining signing technique is used with packet hashes duplicated and appended, then authentication becomes robust against packet loss, but communication overhead is significantly increased
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the essential authentication information (hash values of received packets) needed for verification, rather than transmitting all packet hashes or authentication data. The receiver computes hashes of received packets and compares them with signed hash values, minimizing communication overhead while maintaining robustness against packet loss.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of requiring complete transmission of all authentication data for every packet, the system uses partial authentication where only the necessary hash values are transmitted and verified. This allows authentication to proceed with partial data, reducing communication overhead while maintaining security.
3Reliability
If conventional authentication methods verify the entire data stream, then complete authentication is achieved, but flexibility for partial authentication is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The authentication system processes video packets individually through hash computation rather than requiring complete stream verification. Each received packet can be independently authenticated by computing its hash and comparing with the signed hash value, enabling flexible partial authentication while maintaining complete authentication capability when all packets are received.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for authenticating a data stream includes selecting a number of data fragments of the data stream, defining at least two granularity levels for the selected data fragments, dividing each of the selected data fragments according to the granularity levels, generating a hierarchical authentication structure including elements representing hash values of the divided selected data fragments on the different granularity levels, selecting at least a portion of the hash values of the hierarchical authentication structure for transmission to a receiver, reconstructing the granularity value on the top level of the hierarchical authentication structure based on the transmitted hash values, and performing authentication of the data fragments of the data stream based on comparing the reconstructed value on the top granularity level of the hierarchical authentication structure with the signed value on the top granularity level of the generated hierarchical authentication structure.