Authentication using an ephemeral asymmetric keypair

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12362948-B2
Application number	US-202117915367-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 26, 2021
Priority date	Apr 7, 2020
Publication date	Jul 15, 2025
Grant date	Jul 15, 2025

Abstract

A prover chip uses a key multiplier value generated by a proof-of-work function from a challenge value, a random number, and elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) techniques to generate a one-time (or ephemeral) use private key. Similarly, a verifier chip uses the key multiplier value generated by an equivalent proof-of-work function, a public key received from the prover, and ECC techniques to derive a one-time use public key that corresponds to the ephemeral private key generated by the prover chip. The prover chip uses the ephemeral private key to sign the second challenge value and send this signed second challenge value to the verifier chip. The verifier verifies the value it receives using the one-time use public key and if the signature on the second challenge value is valid, authenticates the prover chip to a system.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An at-risk system component, comprising:
an interface to communicate with a system when the at-risk system component is installed in the system, the interface to receive, via the system, a first challenge value;
a first memory to provide a first keysplit value to an ephemeral key calculator;
a proof-of-work function to, based on the first challenge value, provide a key multiplier value to the ephemeral key calculator;
the ephemeral key calculator to, based on at least the first keysplit value and the key multiplier value, calculate an ephemeral key value; and
public key encryption circuitry to calculate, based at least on the ephemeral key value and a second challenge value, a response value to be communicated to the system via the interface.

2. The at-risk system component of claim 1 , further comprising:
a physically unclonable function to provide a second keysplit value to the ephemeral key calculator, the ephemeral key calculator to calculate the ephemeral key value further based on the second keysplit value.

3. The at-risk system component of claim 1 , further comprising:
a random number generator to provide a random mask value to the ephemeral key calculator.

4. The at-risk system component of claim 3 , wherein the ephemeral key calculator is to use the random mask value to obscure the key multiplier value from potential side channel analysis attacks.

5. The at-risk system component of claim 1 , wherein the first challenge value and the second challenge value are to be equal.

6. The at-risk system component of claim 1 , wherein the proof-of-work function is to, based on the first challenge value, provide the second challenge value to the public key encryption circuitry.

7. The at-risk system component of claim 1 , wherein the ephemeral key calculator uses elliptic curve cryptography to calculate the ephemeral key value.

8. The at-risk system component of claim 1 , wherein the system is configured to be a printing system and the replaceable system component is a cartridge to be installed in the printing system.

9. A verifier integrated circuit, comprising:
an interface to communicate with a system, and communicate with, via the system, a replaceable system component, the interface to communicate to the replaceable system component a first challenge value and to receive, from the replaceable system component a public key value and a response value;
an ephemeral key calculator;
a proof-of-work function to, based on the first challenge value, provide a key multiplier value to the ephemeral key calculator;
the ephemeral key calculator to, based on at least the public key value and the key multiplier value, calculate an ephemeral public key value; and
public key encryption circuitry to determine, based at least on the ephemeral public key value, the response value, and a second challenge value, whether the replaceable system component is indicated to be authentic.

10. The verifier integrated circuit of claim 9 , wherein the first challenge value and the second challenge value are to be equal.

11. The verifier integrated circuit of claim 9 , wherein the proof-of-work function is to, based on the first challenge value, provide the second challenge value to the public key encryption circuitry.

12. The verifier integrated circuit of claim 9 , wherein the ephemeral key calculator uses elliptic curve cryptography to calculate the ephemeral public key value.

13. The verifier integrated circuit of claim 9 , wherein the system is configured to be a printing system and the replaceable system component is a cartridge to be installed in the printing system.

14. A challenge-response authentication system, comprising:
a prover integrated circuit that includes first proof-of work circuitry and a memory storing a first private keysplit value;
a verifier integrated circuit that includes second proof-of-work circuitry, the verifier integrated circuit to communicate with the prover integrated circuit;
the prover integrated circuit to receive a first challenge value transmitted by the verifier integrated circuit;
the prover integrated circuit to transform the first challenge value into a second challenge value using the first proof-of-work circuitry;
the verifier integrated circuit to transform the first challenge value into the second challenge value using the second proof-of-work circuitry;
the prover integrated circuit to calculate an ephemeral private key value based at least in part on the second challenge value and the first private keysplit value;
the verifier integrated circuit to calculate an ephemeral public key based at least in part on the second challenge value and a public key transmitted by the prover integrated circuit;
the prover integrated circuit encrypting the second challenge value to generate a response value; and
the verifier integrated circuit to determine an authenticity of the prover integrated circuit at least in part on a version of the response value that has been decrypted using the ephemeral public key.

15. The challenge-response authentication system of claim 14 , wherein the prover integrated circuit further includes a physically unclonable function to generate a second private key value.

16. The challenge-response authentication system of claim 15 , wherein the ephemeral private key value is to be further based on the second private key value.

17. The challenge-response authentication system of claim 14 , wherein the prover integrated circuit further generates a random mask value.

18. The challenge-response authentication system of claim 17 , wherein the random mask value is used by the prover integrated circuit to obscure calculation of the ephemeral private key value from potential side channel analysis attacks.

19. The challenge-response authentication system of claim 14 , wherein the first proof-of-work circuitry is to, based on the first challenge value, provide the second challenge value to public key encryption circuitry.

20. The challenge-response authentication system of claim 14 , wherein ephemeral private key value calculations are based at least in part on elliptic curve cryptography.

Assignees

• Cryptography Res Inc

Inventors

• Marson Mark Evan
• Best Scott C

Classifications

• H04L9/3218

  using proof of knowledge, e.g. Fiat-Shamir, GQ, Schnorr, ornon-interactive zero-knowledge proofs · CPC title

• H04L9/3073

  involving pairings, e.g. identity based encryption [IBE], bilinear mappings or bilinear pairings, e.g. Weil or Tate pairing · CPC title

• H04L9/0825

  using asymmetric-key encryption or public key infrastructure [PKI], e.g. key signature or public key certificates · CPC title

• H04L9/3247

  involving digital signatures · CPC title

• H04L9/3263

  involving certificates, e.g. public key certificate [PKC] or attribute certificate [AC]; Public key infrastructure [PKI] arrangements (network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using certificates in a packet data network H04L63/0823) · CPC title