Paper 2015/771

A SAT-based Public Key Cryptography Scheme

Sebastian E. Schmittner

Abstract

A homomorphic public key cryptography scheme based on the Boolean Satisfiability Problem (SAT) is proposed. The public key is a SAT formula satisfied by the private key. The probabilistic encryption algorithm generates random Boolean functions, which are implied to be false by the public key. Adding the message bits to them yields the cipher functions. A variant of Blum's Hamilton cycle zero-knowledge proof, adapted to SAT, is used to provide an identification and, via a Fiat-Shamir heuristic, a signature scheme. These are conceptually independent from the encryption scheme.

Note: Added short section on homomorphic encryption