Small Public-Key Digital Signatures for Authentication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Public-key cryptographic systems, while secure, often require large digital signatures that are computationally intensive, leading to increased costs, power consumption, and size in devices, making them unsuitable for small authentication devices. These devices have thus relied on symmetric-key cryptography, but with advancing processor capabilities, there is a renewed need for smaller digital signatures.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus for authentication using a common modulus N, which generates a pseudorandom string value, a public key, and a private key, and calculates a shared secret value to produce a smaller authentication signature, allowing for efficient and secure authentication between entities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If public-key cryptographic systems are used for authentication, then security and key management are improved, but computational intensity, device size, and power consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the authentication process into two distinct phases: a key exchange phase where computational intensity is concentrated but transient, and an authentication phase where lightweight operations are performed. By separating these functions, the system achieves high security through public-key cryptography during key exchange while maintaining low power consumption during actual authentication operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary action by establishing a shared secret key through public-key cryptography before the actual authentication occurs. This pre-computed shared key is then used for subsequent lightweight authentication operations, allowing the computationally intensive public-key operations to be performed once in advance rather than repeatedly during authentication.
2Reliability
If public-key cryptographic systems are used for authentication, then key management is improved, but digital signature size increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the computationally intensive public-key operations from the authentication signature generation process. Instead of using public-key cryptography directly for signature creation, the system uses public-key methods only for key exchange and then employs symmetric operations for signature generation, thereby removing the source of large signature sizes while preserving key management advantages.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the cryptographic parameters used in the authentication phase from public-key based to symmetric key based. This parameter change allows the system to leverage the security benefits of public-key cryptography for key establishment while using more efficient symmetric operations for actual authentication, resulting in smaller signature sizes.
3Weight of moving object
If symmetric-key cryptography is used for authentication in small devices, then device size and power consumption are reduced, but computational requirements become less suitable for advancing processors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces dynamics by allowing the authentication system to adapt its computational requirements based on the device capabilities and authentication context. The system can dynamically switch between different authentication methods or adjust the intensity of computational operations, making it versatile enough to work on devices with varying processor capabilities while maintaining security.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent achieves universality by designing an authentication system that can function across multiple device types and computational capabilities. By combining public-key and symmetric-key cryptography in a layered approach, the system provides universal applicability from low-power constrained devices to more powerful processors, making it adaptable to various computational environments.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments disclosed allow authentication between two entities having agreed on the use of a common modulus N. The authentication includes generating a pseudorandom string value; generating a public key value based on the modulus N and the pseudorandom string value; generating a private key value corresponding to the public key value; receiving a verifier's public key value; generating a shared secret value based on the modulus N, the private key value and the verifier's public key value; calculating an authentication signature value using the shared secret value; and transmitting the authentication signature value for authentication. When the authentication signature is received, the public key value and the shared value are generated to calculate an authentication signature value. Thereafter, the authentication signature values are compared and authenticated.