Token Location Verification via ECC Challenge Response
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Solution Overview
Problem
In multi-user processing environments, conventional systems struggle to verify that a digital signature was generated by a specific token rather than by an unauthorized or malicious process, leading to improper issuance of certificates and lack of trust for higher privileges.
Innovation Solution
A server uses elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) to encrypt and decrypt challenges with a token, manipulating the challenge to obtain a signed manipulated challenge, which is verified using the ECC public key to ensure the signature was generated at the token, thereby preventing unauthorized access.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the server accepts digital signatures from tokens in a multi-user environment, then authentication capability is improved, but the risk of unauthorized certificate issuance increases because the server cannot verify whether the signature was generated by the token or by a malicious process that obtained the key
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary verification mechanism where the server acts as a mediator to verify the origin of digital signatures. The server receives signed challenges from tokens and verifies them using public keys, ensuring that signatures originate from genuine tokens rather than malicious processes. This intermediary verification layer resolves the contradiction by enabling reliable authentication while preventing unauthorized certificate issuance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by having the server issue challenges to tokens before authentication occurs. The server sends a challenge to the token, which then signs it with its private key. This preliminary challenge-response mechanism ensures that the token is actively present and authentic before any certificate issuance, preventing unauthorized access while maintaining authentication capability.
2Productivity
If the server issues certificates to tokens without verifying signature origin, then certificate issuance speed is improved, but system security deteriorates because malicious processes can deceive the server into issuing certificates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback by creating a challenge-response loop between the server and token. The server sends a challenge, the token signs it, and the server verifies the signature before issuing a certificate. This feedback mechanism ensures that each certificate issuance is authenticated, maintaining system security while keeping the process efficient through automated verification.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies self-service by enabling the token to autonomously sign challenges received from the server using its embedded private key. The token independently generates the digital signature without requiring external intervention, and the server automatically verifies it using the public key. This self-service mechanism maintains high certificate issuance speed while ensuring security through cryptographic verification.
Data Source
AI summary
A server, method and/or computer-readable medium verifies a location factor associated with a token. The server generates a challenge and encrypts the challenge by a key commonly shared by the server and the token, and transmits the encrypted challenge to the token. The token decrypts the encrypted challenge by the commonly shared key and manipulates the challenge by an elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) procedure so that the server can verify that the signed manipulated challenge was generated at the token based upon the ECC public key.