Key agreement in wireless networks with active adversaries

A computer-based network with error correction code configured to transmit a key pool secretly and securely by:

• dividing a key pool into a plurality of individual keys,
• forwarding the plurality of individual keys to one or more computer-based workstations within a plurality of computer-based workstations to be encoded such that a particular computer-based workstation within the plurality of computer-based workstations receives one or more of the individual keys of the key pool but less than all of the individual keys of the key pool,
• encoding, within each computer-based workstation of the plurality of computer-based workstations, received individual keys to be forwarded upon request to a single computer-based workstation, and
• decoding a plurality of encoded keys on the single computer-based workstation using a decoding algorithm to retrieve a specified subset of the key pool.

A computer-based method for transmitting a key secretly and securely over a network, the network comprising a plurality of computer-based intermediate nodes configured to transmit the key from a computer-based source node to a computer-based receiver node, the method, comprising:

• providing a first computer-based workstation operating as a source node and configured to encode a key and forward, via a first plurality of intermediate transmission links, a distinct encoded file for each Intermediate node within a plurality of intermediate nodes of the network,
• providing a plurality of computer-based workstations operating as intermediate nodes and configured to receive, via the first plurality of intermediate transmission links, the encoded, files from the source node and forward, via a second, plurality of intermediate transmission links, the encoded files to a receiver node when requested, and
• providing a second computer-based workstation operating as the receiver node and configured to receive, via the second plurality of intermediate transmission links. encoded tiles from the plurality of intermediate nodes and decode the encoded flies to retrieve the key,
• wherein a particular intermediate node, with corresponding intermediate transmission links from the first and second plurality of intermediate transmission links, forms a two-hop path between the source node and the receiver node, and
• wherein one or more of the encoded flies received by the receiver node may be erroneous due to an erroneous intermediate transmission link and/or an erroneous intermediate node.

A computer-based method for transmitting a key pool secretly and securely over a network, the network comprising a plurality of computer-based intermediate nodes configured to transmit a plurality of individual keys of the key pool to a single computer-based receiver node, the method comprising:

• providing a first plurality of computer-based workstations operating as a plurality of source nodes, each computer-based workstation of the first plurality of computer-based workstations corresponds to an individual key of a key pool and configured to forward the corresponding individual key, via a first plurality of intermediate transmission links, to one or more intermediate nodes within the plurality of intermediate nodes such that a particular intermediate node can have one or more of the individual keys but not all of the individual keys of the key pool,
• providing a plurality of computer-based workstations operating as a plurality of intermediate nodes, each intermediate node is configured to receive, via the first plurality of intermediate transmission links, one or more of the individual keys but not all of the individual keys of the key pool, to encode the one or more received individual keys of the key pool and to forward, via a second plurality of intermediate transmission links, encoded keys to a receiver node when requested, and
• providing a computer-based workstation operating as the receiver node and configured to receive, via the second plurality of intermediate transmission links, encoded keys from the plurality of intermediate nodes and decode the encoded keys to retrieve the key pool.
• wherein one or more of the encoded keys received by the receiver node may be erroneous due to an erroneous intermediate transmission link and or an erroneous intermediate node.