Cryptographic key escrow system having reduced vulnerability to harvesting attacks
AssigneeRSA Data Security, Inc.
InventorBurton S. Kaliski, Jr.
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A public key escrow system is adapted to have a proof of knowledge protocol for a certificate. The certificate is signed with RSA and is proved using a protocol based on the Guillou-Quisquater proof of knowledge scheme, or other proof of knowledge protocol. Interactive and non-interactive protocols are disclosed.
Claims20
A method of preventing certificate harvesting in a public key escrow system with verification of escrow protocol between communicating members comprising:
- sending by a sending member an escrow verification string containing the sending member's public escrow key but not containing a certificate;
- and
- engaging in a proof of knowledge protocol with a receiving member to prove to the receiving member that said sending member has a valid certificate.
A public key escrow program embedded in a software product medium for communicating to a receiving program comprising:
- an encrypting session key;
- a law enforcement access field comprising the session key encrypted by an escrow key with both encrypted by a family key;
- a verification string including the escrow key;
- and
- a sending member's components of a proof of knowledge protocol for establishing the proof of the sending member's certificate.
A public key escrow program embedded in a software product medium for responding to communications from a sending program having a certificate comprising:
- a routine for receiving a law enforcement access field and a verification string, for reconstructing a law enforcement access field from the received verification string, and for comparing the received law enforcement access field with the reconstructed law enforcement access field;
- and
- a routine with a proof of knowledge protocol for establishing the proof of the sending program's certificate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.