Paper 2001/090

Identity Based Encryption From the Weil Pairing

Dan Boneh and Matthew Franklin

Abstract

We propose a fully functional identity-based encryption scheme (IBE). The scheme has chosen ciphertext security in the random oracle model assuming an elliptic curve variant of the computational Diffie-Hellman problem. Our system is based on bilinear maps between groups. The Weil pairing on elliptic curves is an example of such a map. We give precise definitions for secure identity based encryption schemes and give several applications for such systems.

Note: This is the full version of a paper that appeared in Crypto '2001.