Protocols for Data Security

TLDR: The methods the authors will describe in this article require the participants to execute communications algorithms, called protocols, which must maintain the properties that Alice and Bob's protocol must maintain in order to guard against cheating by either side.

Abstract: Aice lives in Atlanta and Bob lives in Detroit. They have never met, but they vvish to play poker. After some negotiation, they decide to play cards over the telephone. The first problem that arises is how to deal the cards fairly. If, for instance, Bob deals to Alice, how will Alice know that Bob has not cheated? On the other hand, if Bob manages to somehow deal a fair hand to Alice, without looking at her cards, what wvill stop Alice from changing her hand to a more favorable one? The problem confronting Alice and Bob is very similar to problems confronting users of modern communications systems such as electronic funds transfer systems, military communication networks, and distributed database systems. Such systems operate by series of message exchanges, and the possibility always exists that one or more of the participants in the exchanges will cheat to gain some advantage, or that some external agent will interfere w\\ith normal communications. Security in this context refers to the ability of such a system to withstand attacks by determined cheaters or enemies. Although other methods have been proposed for withstanding such attacksk. the methods we will describe in this article require the participants to execute communications algorithms, called protocols. W'hat are the properties that Alice and Bob's protocol must maintain in order to guard against cheating by either side? The card game they play should have rules just like the ordinary game of poker, except that no cards are actually exchanged. Alice and Bob must know the cards in their own hand, but neither can have any information about the other's hand. The deal must distribute all possible hands w'ith equal probability and should not allow the same card to appear in two hands simultaneously. A player should be able to discard from his own Can two mutually suspicious participants play poker over the telephone? Certainly, if they are clever enough to institute a secure protocol.