Non-repudiation via Trusted Third-Party Timestamping

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Solution Overview

Problem

In communication systems, ensuring the authenticity and non-repudiation of messages in broadcast messaging is challenging, particularly in scenarios where multiple recipients need assurance that messages are authentic and cannot be disputed by the sender, and vice versa.

Innovation Solution

A method and system utilizing a trusted third party, such as a Java Message Service (JMS) server, to provide non-repudiation evidence by time-stamping and storing evidence of message origin and receipt, ensuring that neither the publishing nor subscribing entities can dispute the authenticity of message transmission.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If digital signatures are used to provide non-repudiation evidence, then message authenticity is improved, but system complexity increases due to trusted third party involvement

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemessage authenticityVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a trusted third party (message broker) as an intermediary that collects, time-stamps, and stores non-repudiation evidence from both senders and receivers. This mediator resolves the contradiction by providing a centralized authority that simplifies the distribution of digital signatures while maintaining cryptographic security, thus improving reliability without proportionally increasing system complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If non-repudiation evidence is exchanged between sender and receiver, then authenticity assurance is improved, but communication time increases due to evidence exchange protocols

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveauthenticity assuranceVSAvoidcommunication time

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by having the trusted third party pre-collect and time-stamp non-repudiation evidence at the moment messages are sent and received. This eliminates the need for time-consuming evidence exchange protocols later, as the evidence is already prepared and stored by the intermediary, thus reducing communication time while maintaining authenticity assurance.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Reliability

If a trusted third party stores non-repudiation evidence, then dispute resolution capability is improved, but storage requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedispute resolution capabilityVSAvoidstorage requirements

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts only the essential non-repudiation evidence (digital signatures and time-stamps) from the complete message exchange, storing only these critical elements in the trusted third party's storage system. This selective extraction approach provides sufficient dispute resolution capability while minimizing storage requirements by excluding redundant message content.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Data Source

PatentUS10783236B2Non-repudiation of broadcast messaging

Publication Date: 2020.09.22 RED HAT INC

AI summary

A method performed by a computing system includes receiving from a publishing entity a message and a first piece of evidence that the message was sent by the publishing entity, time-stamping the first piece of evidence, storing the time-stamped first piece of evidence, sending the message to a first subscribing entity, receiving from the first subscribing entity a second piece of evidence that the message was received by the first subscribing entity, time-stamping the second piece of evidence, and storing the time-stamped second piece of evidence.