Pre-signed Cryptographic Responses with Variable TTL
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems that pre-sign cryptographic responses, such as OCSP and DNS, face a trade-off between efficiency and security due to the use of long Time-To-Live (TTL) periods, which can delay the detection of revoked certificates, potentially allowing nefarious activities to continue undetected for an extended duration.
Innovation Solution
Generating and using multiple pre-signed cryptographic responses with different validity periods, allowing for the identification and provision of the cryptographic dataset with the shortest remaining validity period upon user request, thereby balancing efficiency and security.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a long TTL is used for pre-signed cryptographic responses, then system efficiency is improved by avoiding re-signing operations, but security deteriorates because revoked certificates cannot be detected for an extended period
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the single long-lived cryptographic response into multiple shorter-lived responses with different TTL values. Each response has a specific validity period, allowing the system to provide both long-term efficiency (through pre-signed responses) and short-term security (through multiple responses with expiresAt timestamps that enable timely detection of revocations).
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of TTL from a single fixed value to multiple varying values. By generating cryptographic responses with different expiresAt timestamps, the system creates a distribution of validity periods, allowing clients to receive responses appropriate to their security requirements while maintaining system efficiency through pre-signing.
2Reliability
If a short TTL is used for pre-signed cryptographic responses, then security is improved by enabling timely detection of revoked certificates, but system efficiency deteriorates due to frequent re-signing operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-signing multiple cryptographic responses in advance with different TTL values stored in a data structure. This allows the system to have security-conscious responses ready beforehand, so when a client requests validation, they receive an appropriate pre-signed response without requiring immediate re-signing, thus maintaining efficiency while ensuring security.
3Reliability
If multiple cryptographic responses with different validity periods are generated, then the balance between efficiency and security is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal data structure (e.g., a list or array) that can store multiple cryptographic responses with different validity periods. This single data structure serves multiple functions: storing responses, tracking their validity, and enabling selection based on security requirements. The same mechanism works for different types of cryptographic validations, reducing overall system complexity despite handling multiple responses.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods are disclosed for generating and using multiple pre-signed cryptographic responses. In one implementation, the method includes generating multiple cryptographic datasets. Each cryptographic dataset has a different validity period. The method further includes upon a user request, identifying one or more cryptographic datasets that are still valid among the multiple cryptographic datasets. The method further includes identifying a cryptographic dataset having the shortest validity period among the one or more cryptographic datasets that are still valid. The method also includes providing the identified cryptographic dataset to the user.