Authenticated Key Exchange (AKE) is a cryptographic scheme with the aim to establish a high-entropy and secret session key over a insecure communications network. Password-Authenticated Key Exchange (PAKE) assumes that the parties in play share a simple password, which is cheap and human-memorable and is used to achieve the authentication. PAKEs are practically relevant as these features are extremely appealing in an age where most people access sensitive personal data remotely from more-and-more pervasive hand-held devices. Theoretically, PAKEs allow the secure computation and authentication of a high-entropy piece of data using a low-entropy string as a starting point. In this paper, we apply the recently proposed technique introduced in [19] to construct two lattice-based PAKE protocols enjoying a very simple and elegant design that is an parallel extension of the class of Random Oracle Model (ROM)-based protocols \(\mathsf {PAK}\) and \(\mathsf {PPK}\) [13, 41], but in the lattice-based setting. The new protocol resembling \(\mathsf {PAK}\) is three-pass, and provides mutual explicit authentication, while the protocol following the structure of \(\mathsf {PPK}\) is two-pass, and provides implicit authentication. Our protocols rely on the Ring-Learning-with-Errors (RLWE) assumption, and exploit the additive structure of the underlying ring. They have a comparable level of efficiency to \(\mathsf {PAK}\) and \(\mathsf {PPK}\), which makes them highly attractive. We present a preliminary implementation of our protocols to demonstrate that they are both efficient and practical. We believe they are suitable quantum safe replacements for \(\mathsf {PAK}\) and \(\mathsf {PPK}\).

Provably Secure Password Authenticated Key Exchange Based on RLWE for the Post-QuantumWorld.

In this paper we present a general framework for password-based authenticated key exchange protocols, in the common reference string model. Our protocol is actually an abstraction of the key exchange protocol of Katz et al. and is based on the recently introduced notion of smooth projective hashing by Cramer and Shoup. We gain a number of benefits from this abstraction. First, we obtain a modular protocol that can be described using just three high-level cryptographic tools. This allows a simple and intuitive understanding of its security. Second, our proof of security is significantly simpler and more modular. Third, we are able to derive analogues to the Katz et al. protocol under additional cryptographic assumptions. Specifically, in addition to the DDH assumption used by Katz et al., we obtain protocols under both the Quadratic and N-Residuosity assumptions. In order to achieve this, we construct new smooth projective hash functions.

A framework for password-based authenticated key exchange

Nowadays, vehicle theft has been increased drastically all over the world. The prevention of vehicle theft is essential to enhance vehicle security. A large number of vehicles have been stolen for the lack of essential foundation and administration of a secure platform. Several existing systems were developed to protect the vehicle from unauthorized access. But, they suffer from various limitations such as data security, the possibility of cybercriminals activities, leakage of personal information, and centralized System. We propose a vehicle theft detection framework using a decentralized and secure platform to increase the security level of the vehicle. Blockchain and smart contracts are used to provide the security of the stored data on the ledger and authenticate a genuine user automatically with greater accuracy. In this paper, we present 2-Step Authentication (2SA) and unauthorized access detection algorithms. The 2SA ensures the secure accessibility of the application by providing the randomly token chosen by the user. The proposed framework can provide vehicle security and owner’s privacy. In this proposed framework, more than one person can drive the vehicle authorizing by the vehicle owner without hampering stored data in the vehicle device.

A secure vehicle theft detection framework using Blockchain and smart contract

Since the last few decades, information security has become a significant challenge for organizations’ system administrators. However, the Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) model has emerged as a viable solution for organizations to meet the security requirement due to its less administrative overhead. Blockchain technology is distributive and can be used effectively in user authentication and authorization challenges. This paper proposes an RBAC model using a blockchain-based smart contract for managing user-role permissions in the organization. We design a threat and security model to resist attacks such as man-in-the-middle attacks in an organization scenario. The proposed approach uses the Ethereum blockchain platform and its smart contract functionalities to model user-resource communications. The proposed method is tested on Ropsten Ethereum Test Network and evaluated to analyze user authentication, verification, cost, and security.

User authentication using Blockchain based smart contract in role-based access control

We present session-key generation protocols in a model where the legitimate parties share only a human-memorizable password. The security guarantee holds with respect to probabilistic polynomial-time adversaries that control the communication channel (between the parties), and may omit, insert and modify messages at their choice. Loosely speaking, the effect of such an adversary that attacks an execution of our protocol is comparable to an attack in which an adversary is only allowed to make a constant number of queries of the form is w the password of Party A. We stress that the result holds also in case the passwords are selected at random from a small dictionary so that it is feasible (for the adversary) to scan the entire directory. We note that prior to our result, it was not clear whether or not such protocols were attainable without the use of random oracles or additional setup assumptions.

Session-key generation using human passwords only

Ethereum is a public, open-source, decentralized, and peer-to-peer blockchain-based computing network which is involving to the usefulness of smart contract. It gives a distributed Turing-complete virtual machine in which some codes can be executed by utilizing a worldwide and public network of nodes. The compelled certificate creation and Man-In-The-Middle (MITM) attacks are two major attacks on End-to-End Encryption (EEE) and SSL/TLS. A portion of the real attacks on end-to-end encryption and SSL/TLS is IP/ARP poisoning and the phishing attack. MITM attack makes the client difficult to understand, whether they are associated with a unique verified and secured connection or not. Since the certificate and public-key that is being passed during the connection setup is unreliable and insecure, the attacker can undoubtedly change the data in the certificate and leaves the endorsement of the certificate and public-key to the client. The purpose of this paper is to present a solution of providing the legitimacy and authenticity of freely shared and published online digital data, e.g., digital certificates, cryptographic keys, and common reference strings such as shared passwords using a mix of recently developed innovations which primary include blockchain, smart contract, InterPlanetary File System (IPFS), and quantum-resistant Password-based Authenticated Key Exchange (PAKE) protocol over rings and ideal lattices. Ethereum smart contract is utilized to manage, surveil, and give detectability and visibility into the history of digital data from its beginning to the most recent variant, in a way that it is decentralized and internationally accessed with high integrity, resiliency, and transparency, that we should thank to the immutability and irreversibility of the blockchain. The full code of our smart contract is given, with a discourse on the execution and testing of its key functionalities.

A post-quantum end-to-end encryption over smart contract-based blockchain for defeating man-in-the-middle and interception attacks

For many systems, safe connectivity is an important requirement, even if the transmitting machines are resource-constrained. The advent of the Internet of Things (IoT) has also increased the demand for low-power devices capable of connecting with each other or sending data to a central processing site. The IoT allows many applications in a smart environment, such as outdoor activity control, smart energy, infrastructure management, environmental sensing, or cyber-security issues. Security in such situations remains an open challenge because of the resource-constrained design of sensors and objects, or the multi-purpose adversaries may target the process during the life cycle of a smart sensor. This paper discusses widely used protocols that provide safe communications for various applications in IoT and also different attacks are defined. In this paper, to protect the IoT objects and sensors, we propose a comprehensive and lightweight security protocol based on Cryptographic Ratchets. That is, an encrypted messaging protocol using the Double Ratchet Algorithm is defined which we call Singleton, and the implementation of protocol is tested and compared to the implementation of the IoT standard protocols and a post-quantum version of the protocol. Various cryptographic primitives are also evaluated, and their suitability for use in the protocol is tested. The results show that the protocol as the building stone not only enables efficient resource-wise protocols and architectures but also provides advanced and scalable IoT sensors. Our design and analysis demonstrate that Singleton security architecture can be easily integrated into existing network protocols such as IEEE 802.15.4 or OMA LWM2M, which offers several benefits that existing approaches cannot offer both performance and important security services. For chat applications such as WhatsApp, Skype, Facebook Private Messenger, Google Allo, and Signal, a cryptographic ratchet-based protocol provides end-to-end encryption, forward secrecy, backward secrecy, authentication, and deniability.

Siyamak Shahpasand

Papers

A post-quantum end-to-end encryption over smart contract-based blockchain for defeating man-in-the-middle and interception attacks

SINGLETON: A lightweight and secure end-to-end encryption protocol for the sensor networks in the Internet of Things based on cryptographic ratchets