Method and apparatus for time-lapse cryptography
AssigneePresident and Fellows of Harvard College
InventorsMichael O. Rabin, Christopher A. Thorpe
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Abstract
In one embodiment, a Time-Lapse Cryptography Service is provided based on a network of parties. Senders encrypt their messages with this public key whose secret key is not known to anyone—not even a trusted third party—until a predefined and specific future time T+.delta., at which point the secret key is constructed and published. In one example, the secret key can only be known after it is constructed. At or after that time, anyone can decrypt the cipher text using this secret key. In one embodiment, a method for cryptographic encoding is provided, including generation of cryptographic key components by a plurality of parties, where participation of the parties is verified. A public key is constructed from a plurality of key components.
Claims27
A computer implemented method for cryptographic key creation, the method comprising the acts of:
- accepting a plurality of cryptographic key components generated on a respective computer system of a plurality of parties thereby yielding a plurality of candidate cryptographic key components;
- verifying proper participation of the plurality of parties, wherein the act of verifying proper participation of the plurality of parties includes an act of:
- establishing submission of a public key component and information to establish a corresponding secret key component, wherein the public key component is derived from the corresponding secret key component;
- and
- constructing, by a computer processor, a public key based on a plurality of public key components from the plurality of candidate cryptographic key components submitted by parties determined to be proper;
- and
- generating, after a predetermined time, a secret key based on the secret key components corresponding to the plurality of public key components from the plurality of candidate cryptographic key components, wherein at least some of the secret key components are revealed after the predetermined time.
A non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-readable signals stored thereon that define instructions that, as a result of being executed by a computer, instruct the computer to perform a method for cryptographic encoding, the method comprising:
- accepting a plurality of cryptographic key components generated on a respective computer system of a plurality of parties to yield a plurality of candidate cryptographic key components;
- verifying proper participation of the plurality of parties, wherein the act of verifying proper participation of the plurality of parties includes an act of:
- establishing submission of a public key component and information to establish a corresponding secret key component, wherein the public key component is derived from the corresponding secret key component;
- constructing a public key based on a plurality of public key components from the plurality of candidate cryptographic key components submitted by parties determined to be proper;
- and
- generating, after a predetermined time, a secret key based on the secret key components corresponding to the plurality of public key components from the plurality of candidate cryptographic key components, wherein at least some of the secret key components are revealed after the predetermined time.
A system for cryptographic encoding, the system comprising:
- at least one processor operatively connected to a memory, the processor when executing is configured to provide a plurality of system components, the system components comprising:
- a cryptographic key generation component adapted to accept a candidate cryptographic key component from a plurality of parties to yield a plurality of candidate cryptographic key components;
- a communication component for communicating between the plurality of parties;
- a construction component adapted to construct a public key based on a plurality of public key components from the plurality of candidate cryptographic key components submitted by parties determined to be proper, wherein the construction component is further adapted to generate, after a predetermined time, a secret key, based on the plurality of cryptographic key components;
- and
- a verification component adapted to verify proper participation of the plurality of parties, wherein the verification component is further adapted to establish submission of a public key component and information to establish a corresponding secret key component, wherein the public key component is derived from the corresponding secret key component.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.