Keyed PV Signatures
AssigneesResearch In Motion Limited, Certicom Corp.
InventorsGregory Marc ZAVERUCHA, Scott Alexander VANSTONE
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system and method enabling a recipient correspondent of a keyed PV signature to convert it to a signature with properties similar to a traditional signature (i.e., where the message is public and may be verified by anyone), removing the keyed aspect of the signature. The recipient correspondent may transfer the converted signature to a third party and provide the third party with a proof of knowledge such that the third party may be convinced that the originator of the signature signed the message.
Claims20
A method of enabling a second correspondent device to prove to a third party the authenticity of a signed message received from a first correspondent device, the method comprising:
- (a) obtaining the signed message comprising a confidential component;
- (b) operating upon at least a portion of the signed message comprising the confidential component to generate a first value;
- (c) generating a second value using the first value, a public value of the first correspondent device, and a private value of the second correspondent device;
- (d) sending the second value to the third party;
- and
- (e) proving knowledge to the third party of the private value.
A device for proving to a third party the authenticity of a signed message received from a first correspondent, the device being associated with a second correspondent, the device comprising a processor configured for:
- (a) obtaining the signed message comprising a confidential component;
- (b) operating upon at least a portion of the signed message comprising the confidential component to generate a first value;
- (c) generating a second value using the first value, a public value of the first correspondent device, and a private value of the second correspondent device;
- (d) sending the second value to the third party;
- and
- (e) proving knowledge to the third party of the private value.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.