Constrained Pseudorandom Functions and Their Applications

Dan Boneh; Brent Waters

Paper 2013/352

Constrained Pseudorandom Functions and Their Applications

Dan Boneh and Brent Waters

Abstract

We put forward a new notion of pseudorandom functions (PRFs) we call constrained PRFs. In a standard PRF there is a master key k that enables one to evaluate the function at all points in the domain of the function. In a constrained PRF it is possible to derive constrained keys kS from the master key k. A constrained key kS enables the evaluation of the PRF at a certain subset S of the domain and nowhere else. We present a formal framework for this concept and show that constrained PRFs can be used to construct powerful primitives such as identity-based key exchange and an optimal private broadcast encryption system. We then construct constrained PRFs for several natural set systems needed for these applications. We conclude with several open problems relating to this new concept.

Metadata

Available format(s): PDF
Publication info: A minor revision of an IACR publication in ASIACRYPT 2013
Keywords: Pseudo Random Functions
Contact author(s): bwaters @ cs utexas edu
History: 2013-09-09: revised; 2013-06-10: received; See all versions
Short URL: https://ia.cr/2013/352
License: CC BY

BibTeX

@misc{cryptoeprint:2013/352,
      author = {Dan Boneh and Brent Waters},
      title = {Constrained Pseudorandom Functions and Their Applications},
      howpublished = {Cryptology {ePrint} Archive, Paper 2013/352},
      year = {2013},
      url = {https://eprint.iacr.org/2013/352}
}