Encrypted Message Redundancy Placement for Tamper Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electronic message redundancy techniques are ineffective in detecting tampering, as an intercepting party can maliciously alter the message content while preserving the redundancy value, rendering the CRC or hash comparison useless.
Innovation Solution
A method that determines a varying locating value for each message, allowing the redundancy value to be placed in multiple locations within the message, rather than fixed at the end, and encrypts the message using a session key, making it harder for interceptors to alter the content without recalculating the redundancy value.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the redundancy value is appended at the end of the message file, then the message structure is simple and easy to process, but the redundancy value can be easily located and manipulated by intercepting parties, rendering the tampering detection ineffective
Solution Approach 1:
The message file is divided into multiple blocks, and the redundancy value is distributed across different blocks rather than concentrated at the end. This segmentation makes it difficult for intercepting parties to locate and manipulate the redundancy value without detecting the tampering, while still maintaining efficient processing through structured block organization.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of placing the redundancy value in a single fixed location (one-dimensional approach), the patent distributes the redundancy value across multiple locations within the message blocks (multi-dimensional approach). This dimensional change from a single endpoint to multiple distributed positions within the message structure enhances security while preserving operational efficiency.
2Reliability
If the redundancy value is distributed in multiple locations within the message, then tampering detection becomes more effective, but the message structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The message is organized into standardized blocks with the redundancy value distributed across specific blocks. This segmentation approach, while distributing the redundancy value, actually reduces complexity by providing a structured framework that simplifies both storage and processing compared to arbitrary distribution.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of redundancy value placement from a fixed position to multiple positions determined by message characteristics. This parameter change is managed through systematic rules that balance enhanced detection capability with controlled structural complexity, preventing excessive complication.
3Ease of operation
If an intercepting party can locate the redundancy value at the end of the message, then they can alter the message content while preserving the redundancy value, but this requires the redundancy value to be easily accessible
Solution Approach 1:
The redundancy value is segmented and distributed across multiple message blocks rather than concentrated at the end. This segmentation prevents intercepting parties from easily locating and manipulating the complete redundancy value, as they would need to access and modify multiple distributed locations simultaneously, significantly increasing the difficulty of undetected tampering.
Solution Approach 2:
The message blocks serve as intermediaries that distribute and protect the redundancy value. By placing the redundancy value within the structured block system rather than at a readily accessible endpoint, the blocks act as intermediaries that obscure the redundancy value's location and protect it from easy manipulation while maintaining its functional accessibility for verification.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for adding a redundancy check to an electronic message to discourage tampering and facilitate identification of altered messages provides a communication device for composing message content, a messaging module with a formatting and encoding layer for encoding the message content with header information in a series of message blocks, and an encryption layer for calculating a redundancy check value and inserting the value in one or more locations within the series of message blocks according a rule defined by a characteristic of the message content or the header information, and encrypting the message for delivery to a recipient. Upon receipt, the recipient communication device decrypts the message, extracts the redundancy check value from the message, and compares a calculated redundancy check value with the extracted redundancy check value to determine if the message had been altered before receipt.