Auto-recoverable and auto-certifiable cryptostem using zero-knowledge proofs for key escrow in general exponential ciphers
US6282295A · kind A · utility
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 28, 1997 |
| Grant date | Aug 28, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 28, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L9/3013
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method is provided for an escrow cryptosystem that is essentially overhead-free, does not require a cryptographic tamper-proof hardware implementation (i.e., can be done in software), is publicly verifiable, and cannot be used subliminally to enable a shadow public key system. A shadow public key system is an unescrowed public key system that is publicly displayed in a covert fashion. The keys generated by the method are auto-recoverable and auto-certifiable (abbrev. ARC). The ARC Cryptosystem is based on a key generation mechanism that outputs a public/private key pair, and a certificate of proof that the key is recoverable by the escrow authorities. Each generated public/private key pair can be verified efficiently to be escrowed properly by anyone. The verification procedure does not use the private key. Hence, the general public has an efficient way of making sure that any given individual's private key is escrowed properly, and the trusted authorities will be able to access the private key if needed. Since the verification can be performed by anyone, there is no need for a special trusted entity, known in the art as a "trusted third party". The proof and verification method …
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.