On the security and the efficiency of the Merkle signature scheme

Carlos Coronado

Paper 2005/192

On the security and the efficiency of the Merkle signature scheme

Carlos Coronado

Abstract

This paper builds on the multi-time signature scheme proposed by Merkle. We prove that the original scheme is existentially unforgeable under adaptive chosen message attack. Moreover, we present an improved version which has three advantages: It is provably forward secure. The number of signatures that can be made with one private key is --- in a practical sense --- unlimited. Finally, the cost for key generation is kept low. The theoretical exposition is complemented by experimental data about the efficiency of the improved Merkle signature scheme.

Metadata

Available format(s): PDF PS
Category: Public-key cryptography
Publication info: Published elsewhere. Unknown where it was published
Keywords: Merkle Signature Scheme Forward Security Provable Security Lamport-Diffie one-time Signature Scheme.
Contact author(s): coronado @ cdc informatik tu-darmstadt de
History: 2005-06-23: received
Short URL: https://ia.cr/2005/192
License: CC BY

BibTeX

@misc{cryptoeprint:2005/192,
      author = {Carlos Coronado},
      title = {On the security and the efficiency of the Merkle signature scheme},
      howpublished = {Cryptology {ePrint} Archive, Paper 2005/192},
      year = {2005},
      url = {https://eprint.iacr.org/2005/192}
}