Short-Term X.509 Certificate Queueing System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional X.509 digital certificates pose security risks due to long-term private keys that, if stolen, can compromise the entire public key infrastructure, and existing systems lack efficient methods for distributing and managing short-term or one-time-use certificates.
Innovation Solution
The method involves generating short-term private key-public key pairs that expire within a year, requesting and storing these pairs with a Certificate Authority (CA), and efficiently distributing signed public key certificates to multiple third-party addresses, utilizing a queueing system for rapid retrieval and replacement of key pairs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If long-term private keys are used in traditional X.509 digital certificates, then the certificates provide continuous validity and stability, but the security risk increases because stolen private keys can compromise the entire public key infrastructure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the traditional long-term certificate into multiple short-term certificates. Instead of using a single long-validity certificate, the system issues a series of certificates with short expiration periods (e.g., one day or less). This segmentation limits the impact window of a potential key theft to only the duration of the short-term certificate, thereby resolving the contradiction between continuous validity and security risk.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dynamic certificate issuance where certificates are generated on-demand with short validity periods rather than static long-term certificates. The system dynamically creates new key pairs and certificates for each transaction or time period, making the certificate lifecycle adaptive and time-limited. This dynamic approach ensures that even if a private key is stolen, the compromise is temporary and limited in scope.
2Reliability
If short-term private key-public key pairs are generated and managed, then the security risk from key theft is minimized, but the system complexity increases due to frequent key generation, storage, and distribution
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary actions by pre-generating and storing multiple short-term private key-public key pairs in a queue before they are needed. When a certificate is required, the system retrieves a pre-generated key pair from the queue rather than generating it at the moment of need. This preliminary preparation reduces the computational overhead and complexity of real-time key generation while maintaining the security benefits of short-term keys.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs self-service mechanisms where the Certificate Authority automatically manages the issuance, distribution, and expiration of short-term certificates without requiring manual intervention. The automated queue-based system handles key pair generation, certificate signing, and distribution as a self-contained process, reducing the operational complexity and manual workload associated with managing numerous short-term certificates.
3Productivity
If traditional long-term certificates are used, then the system is simpler to manage, but the speed of certificate distribution and renewal is slower compared to short-term certificates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses preliminary action by pre-generating key pairs and preparing certificates in advance within the queue system. When a certificate is needed, it can be immediately retrieved and distributed without waiting for generation or renewal processes. This pre-preparation significantly accelerates certificate distribution speed compared to traditional long-term certificates that require renewal requests and processing, while the automated nature of the system keeps management relatively simple.
Data Source
AI summary
A method includes receiving a request from a certificate user to utilize a short-term private key-public key pair. The short-term private key-public key pair includes a short-term private key and a public key. The short-term private key may expire after a period less than a year in length. The method further includes generating, using a processor, the short-term private key and generating, using the processor, the public key. The method further includes requesting a public key certificate from a Certificate Authority (CA). The method also includes receiving the public key certificate from the CA and pairing the short-term private key with the public key certificate. The public key certificate may include the public key that corresponds to the short-term private key. The method further includes storing the short-term private key-public key pair to a storage.