Method and apparatus for secure and small credits for verifiable service provider metering
OwnerCraig B. Gentry, Zulfikar Amin Ramzaninventors
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for obtaining access to services of service providers. In one embodiment, the method comprises requesting a desired service through a foreign service provider, generating a hash tree and generating a digital signature on a root value of the hash tree, sending the digital signature and the root value to the foreign service provider, providing one or more tokens to the foreign service provider with the next packet if the foreign service provider accepts the signature and continuing to use the service while the foreign service provider accepts tokens.
Claims4
A method comprising:
- determining a number of packets that are to be transmitted;
- generating a binary tree having a number of leaves equal to the number of packets;
- assigning a random value to each leaf on the binary tree;
- assigning, to each internal node, a value to be the output of the hash of the concatenation of values of children;
- and
- assigning numbers to nodes that are the all left children in relation to the root.
An apparatus comprising:
- an external network interface through which a request for a desired service of a foreign service provider is made;
- a memory to store program instructions;
- a processor coupled to the external network interface and the memory, wherein the processor executes the program instructions to determine a number of packets that are to be transmitted, generate a binary tree having a number of leaves equal to the number of packets, assigns a random value to each leaf on the binary tree, assign, to each internal node, a value to be the output of the hash of the concatenation of values of children, and assigns numbers to nodes that are the all left children in relation to the root.
An apparatus comprising:
- means for determining a number of packets that are to be transmitted;
- means for generating a binary tree having a number of leaves equal to the number of packets;
- means for assigning a random value to each leaf on the binary tree;
- means for assigning, to each internal node, a value to be the output of the hash of the concatenation of values of children;
- and
- means for assigning numbers to nodes that are the all left children in relation to the root.
An article of manufacture having one or more recordable media storing instructions thereon which, when executed by a system, cause the system to perform a method comprising:
- determining a number of packets that are to be transmitted;
- generating a binary tree having a number of leaves equal to the number of packets;
- assigning a random value to each leaf on the binary tree;
- assigning, to each internal node, a value to be the output of the hash of the concatenation of values of children;
- and
- assigning numbers to nodes that are the all left children in relation to the root.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.