Exchanging a secret over an unreliable network
US6182214A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 8, 1999 |
| Grant date | Jan 30, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 8, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L9/085
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Threshold cryptography (secret sharing) is used for exchanging a secret between a server and a client over an unreliable network. Specifically, a secret is computationally divided into N shares using a threshold encryption scheme such that any M of the shares (M less than or equal to N) can be used to reconstruct the secret. The N shares are spread over a number of transmitted messages, with the assumption that some number of the messages including a total of at least M shares will be received by the client. Upon receiving at least M shares, the client uses the at least M shares to reconstruct the secret using the threshold encryption scheme.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.