Identity-Based Ticketing Using Pre-Generated Tokens
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Solution Overview
Problem
Identity-based ticketing systems using near-field communication (NFC) face challenges in securing user identities from eavesdropping and man-in-the-middle attacks, particularly during high-density situations like rush hours in metro trains, where proximity to other NFC chip cards increases the risk of identity theft.
Innovation Solution
The system employs a user device with a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) for cryptographic operations, using RSA key pairs generated locally, with the public key certified by an authentication server, and a blacklist to validate user identities, allowing abbreviated authentication signaling and minimizing authentication traffic through optimized certificate exchange and transaction record protocols.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If standardized cryptographic techniques such as PKI, challenges, responses, common time references and one-directional hashing are used for chip card authentication, then security against eavesdropping is improved, but authentication time and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-generating multiple valid ticket tokens with different expiration times and storing them in the NFC chip card before authentication is needed. During authentication, the reader simply validates these pre-computed tokens against the server, eliminating the need for real-time cryptographic challenge-response computations and significantly reducing authentication time while maintaining security.
Solution Approach 2:
The authentication process is segmented into two phases: an offline phase where ticket tokens are pre-generated and stored in the NFC chip card, and an online phase where the reader only needs to validate these tokens. This segmentation separates the computationally intensive cryptographic operations from the time-critical authentication moment, resolving the contradiction between security and speed.
2Reliability
If full cryptographic authentication protocols are implemented between chip card and reader, then security against man-in-the-middle attacks is improved, but communication overhead and processing complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and removes the complex cryptographic challenge-response protocol from the authentication flow between the NFC chip card and reader. Instead, it uses a simplified token validation approach where the reader only needs to verify pre-generated tokens against the authentication server, eliminating the need for real-time cryptographic exchanges and reducing system complexity while maintaining security through the token's inherent cryptographic protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses disposable, short-lived ticket tokens that are pre-generated with embedded expiration times and unique identifiers. These tokens are single-use credentials that expire after validation or after a specific time, eliminating the need for complex ongoing authentication protocols and reducing system complexity while maintaining security through their ephemeral nature.
3Speed
If user identity is stored on the chip card for quick authentication, then authentication speed is improved, but the risk of identity theft through eavesdropping increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of storing the actual user identity on the chip card, the system stores cryptographic copies in the form of pre-generated ticket tokens that authenticate the user without revealing their identity. These tokens are mathematical representations that prove identity without containing the identity itself, enabling fast authentication while preventing identity theft through eavesdropping.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies asymmetry by using one-way cryptographic functions where the user identity can be transformed into authentication tokens, but the tokens cannot be reverse-engineered to reveal the identity. This asymmetric relationship allows the chip card to store authentication credentials without storing the actual identity, achieving both speed and security.
Data Source
AI summary
A method, apparatus, system and computer program where an apparatus stores user specific credentials, receives a certificate via the communication interface from a certificate authority and stores the certificate in the memory. The apparatus further stores a private key and a public key in the memory and attempts authenticating of the apparatus to a ticket reader for accessing a service, by transmission of one or more messages, wherein the messages contain an authenticator that has at least one of the following: the certificate or its cryptographic derivative; one or more data items contained by the certificate or a cryptographic derivative thereof. The messages are prepared such that the public key is not recoverable from outside of the authenticator.