Thin Client Encryption for Secure Secret Transmission
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional secure input units and cloud-based secure data processing systems face limitations in providing secure and standardized security mechanisms for protecting user secrets, such as biometrics and PINs, especially in commercially available mobile devices that were not provisioned with special cryptographic keys.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that utilize a thin client on a communication device to securely encrypt and transmit user secrets to a server computer, where the first cryptographic key is encrypted with a second cryptographic key and sent to the thin client, allowing the user secret to be encrypted with the first cryptographic key and transmitted securely.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional secure input units are provisioned with cryptographic keys at manufacture, then security protection for user secrets is improved, but device availability and ease of manufacture are reduced due to specialized manufacturing requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The server computer performs preliminary actions by generating and storing encrypted cryptographic keys before the user needs them. When a user inputs a secret, the system retrieves a pre-generated encrypted key, decrypts it, and uses it to encrypt the secret. This eliminates the need for specialized manufacturing of secure input units with pre-provisioned cryptographic keys.
Solution Approach 2:
The server computer acts as an intermediary that provides cryptographic keys to the communication device only when needed. Instead of embedding keys in the device during manufacture, the server generates and delivers encrypted keys on-demand, mediating between the user's secret input and the encryption process.
2Reliability
If cloud-based secure data processing units are used, then security mechanisms are provided, but local client units lack sufficient secure and standardized security mechanisms to protect secrets
Solution Approach 1:
The complex cryptographic key management functionality is extracted from the communication device and placed on the server computer. The device only needs to handle simple operations: receiving encrypted keys from the server, decrypting them with a second cryptographic key, and using them to encrypt secrets. This extraction eliminates the need for complex security mechanisms in the local client unit.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of requiring the communication device to have built-in cryptographic capabilities, the system uses a thin client application that copies the necessary cryptographic operations to the device temporarily. The thin client retrieves encrypted keys from the server, decrypts them locally, and uses them for encryption, without needing permanent cryptographic hardware or complex security mechanisms.
3Reliability
If cryptographic keys are transmitted to thin clients, then secure encryption of user secrets is enabled, but key exposure during transit creates security vulnerabilities
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies preliminary anti-action by encrypting the first cryptographic key with a second cryptographic key before transmitting it to the thin client. This pre-encryption protects the key from exposure during transit. The thin client receives only the encrypted key, cannot use it without the second cryptographic key, and thus the key is protected against interception and misuse.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the state of the cryptographic key by encrypting it with a second cryptographic key before transmission. This parameter change (from plaintext to encrypted form) ensures that even if the key is intercepted during transit, it cannot be used without the corresponding decryption key, which remains secure on the server.
Data Source
AI summary
A method includes receiving, by a server computer, a thin client identifier from a thin client on a communication device. The server computer can then retrieve an encrypted first cryptographic key based on the thin client identifier. The encrypted first cryptographic key is a first cryptographic key that is encrypted with a second cryptographic key. The server computer can initiate the sending of the encrypted first cryptographic key to the thin client. The server computer then receives an encrypted secret from the thin client, the encrypted secret being a secret encrypted with the first cryptographic key.