ZUC Authentication Tag Update Using Carry-Less Multiply
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The ZUC cipher and authentication, part of the 3GPP standard for Radio Access Network (RAN) in 3G, 4G, and 5G, faces challenges in achieving efficient and secure software solutions due to high throughputs and the transition to virtual network features and cloud-based deployments, with existing software implementations being inefficient and hardware accelerators complicating deployments.
Innovation Solution
The implementation replaces 'for' loops in ZUC authentication computations with carry-less multiply operations using the PCLMULQDQ instruction, optimizing phases 3-5 of the Message Authentication Code (MAC) Generation algorithm by utilizing carry-less multiply instructions to compute tag updates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional software implementations of ZUC authentication are used, then deployment flexibility is maintained, but computational efficiency is insufficient for high throughput requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the computational parameters by replacing iterative 'for' loop operations with carry-less multiply instructions (PCLMULQDQ). This transforms the authentication computation from a sequential iterative process to a parallel vectorized operation, achieving 124x improvement for ZUC-128 and 228x for ZUC-256 without requiring hardware accelerator deployment
2Productivity
If hardware accelerators are deployed to improve ZUC authentication performance, then computational speed increases, but deployment complexity and hardware costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes the mechanical hardware accelerator system with a software-based solution utilizing CPU carry-less multiply instructions. This replacement eliminates the need for dedicated hardware acceleration while achieving superior throughput performance, thereby reducing hardware costs and deployment complexity in VNF/cloud environments
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatus relating to an efficient implementation of ZUC authentication are described. In one embodiment, a processor computes a tag update, based at least in part on stored data, for an authentication operation. The tag update is computed by replacing a ‘for’ loop with a carry-less multiply operation. Other embodiments are also claimed and disclosed.