Generation of encryption keys based on location

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016013941-A1
Application number	US-201414328416-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jul 10, 2014
Priority date	Jul 10, 2014
Publication date	Jan 14, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

A method of generating an encryption key including determining, by a processor, a distance between a first node and a second node, and generating, by the processor, a first encryption key based on the distance between the first node and the second node. The method also includes compressing, by the processor, the first encryption key to generate a compressed encryption key; and applying, by the processor, a universal hash function to the compressed encryption key to generate a second encryption key. The second encryption key is smaller than the first encryption key.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method of generating an encryption key, the method comprising:
determining, by a processor, a distance between a first node and a second node; generating, by the processor, a first encryption key based on the distance between the first node and the second node; compressing, by the processor, the first encryption key to generate a compressed encryption key; and applying, by the processor, a universal hash function to the compressed encryption key to generate a second encryption key; wherein the second encryption key is smaller than the first encryption key.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein determining a distance between the first node and the second node includes
transmitting, by the processor, a beacon to the second node; receiving, by the processor, a response beacon from the second node; and determining the distance between the first node and the second node based on the response beacon from the second node.

3 . The method of claim 2 , further comprising
determining, by the processor, whether a third node is positioned such that the third node degrades the communication between the first node and the second node; and inhibiting, by the processor, the transmission of the beacon to the second node when the processor determines that the third node is positioned such that the third node degrades the communication between the first node and the second node.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein generating a first encryption key includes
generating, by the processor, quantized space coordinates for the first node based on the distance between the first node and the second node; generating, by the processor, quantized space coordinates for the second node based on the distance between the first node and the second node; and generating, by the processor, a digital sequence based on the quantized space coordinates for the first node and the quantized space coordinates for the second node; wherein the first encryption key is generated based on the digital sequence.

5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the digital sequence is a binary sequence, and wherein a Gray encoder is used to generate the binary sequence.

6 . The method of claim 4 , wherein generating quantized space coordinates includes quantizing, by the processor, a space occupied by the first node and the second node according to uniform two-dimensional space quantization.

7 . The method of claim 4 , wherein generating the digital sequence includes generating, by the processor, the digital sequence based on a difference between the quantized space coordinates for the first node and the quantized space coordinates for the second node.

8 . The method of claim 4 , further comprising communicating, via a public channel, a specific number of bits to reconcile location information determined by the first node with location information determined by the second node, wherein the digital sequence is a first digital sequence generated by the first node, wherein the second node generates a second digital sequence, and wherein the specific number of bits communicated via the public channel is based on a mismatch rate between the first digital sequence and the second digital sequence.

9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the first encryption key is based on the first digital sequence, the second digital sequence, and the specific number of bits communicated between the first node and the second node.

10 . The method of claim 8 , wherein a Cascade protocol is used to reconcile the location information between the first node and the second node.

11 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising
determining, by the processor, a parameter used by the universal hash function to generate the second encryption key; and communicating, by the processor, the determined parameter to the second node over a public channel.

12 . A system used in generation of encryption keys, the system comprising
a first node including a first processor configured to
determine a distance between the first node and a second node,
generate a first encryption key based on the distance between the first node and the second node,
compress the first encryption key to generate a compressed first encryption key, and
generate a second encryption key based on the compressed first encryption key, wherein the second encryption key is smaller than the first encryption key; and
a second node including a second processor configured to
determine a distance between the second node and the first node,
generate a third encryption key based on the distance between the second node and the first node,
compress the third encryption key to generate a compressed third encryption key, and
generate a fourth encryption key based on the compressed third encryption key, wherein the fourth encryption key is smaller than the third encryption key, and wherein the fourth encryption key is substantially the same as the second encryption key.

13 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the first processor is configured to
transmit a beacon to the second processor, receive a response beacon from the second processor, and determine the distance between the first node and the second node based on the response beacon from the second processor; and
wherein the second processor is configured to
receive the beacon from the first processor,
transmit the response beacon to the first processor upon receiving the beacon from the first processor, and
determine the distance between the first node and the second node based on the beacon from the first processor.

14 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the first processor is configured to
determine whether a third node is positioned such that the third node degrades the communication between the first node and the second node, and inhibit the transmission of the beacon to the second node when the first processor determines that the third node is positioned such that the third node degrades the communication between the first node and the second node.

15 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the first processor is configured to
generate a first set of quantized space coordinates for the first node based on the distance between the first node and the second node determined by the first processor, generate a first set of quantized space coordinates for the second node based on the distance between the first node and the second node determined by the first processor, and generate a first digital sequence based on the first set of quantized space coordinates for the first node and the first set of quantized space coordinates for the second node, wherein the first encryption key is based on the first digital sequence; and
wherein the second processor is configured to
generate a second set of quantized space coordinates for the first node based on the distance between the first node and the second node determined by the second processor,
generate a second set of quantized space coordinates for the second node based on the distance between the first node and the second node determined by the second processor, and
generate a second digital sequence based on the second set of quantized space coordinates for the first node and the second set of quantized space coordinates for the second node,
wherein the third encryption key is based on the second digital sequence.

16 . The system of claim 15 , wherein the first digital sequence is a binary sequence generated by a first gray encoder, and wherein the second digital sequence is also a binary sequences generated by a second gra

Assignees

• Ohio State Innovation Foundation

Inventors

• Gungor Onur
• Koksal Can Emre

Classifications

• H04L9/0872 Primary

  using geo-location information, e.g. location data, time, relative position or proximity to other entities · CPC title

• H04L2209/24

  Key scheduling, i.e. generating round keys or sub-keys for block encryption · CPC title

• H04L9/0816

  Key establishment, i.e. cryptographic processes or cryptographic protocols whereby a shared secret becomes available to two or more parties, for subsequent use · CPC title

• H04L9/16 Primary

  the keys or algorithms being changed during operation · CPC title