Decentralized Compromise-Tolerant Public Key Management Ecosystem with Threshold Validation

Jamal Mosakheil; Kan Yang

Paper 2023/1791

Decentralized Compromise-Tolerant Public Key Management Ecosystem with Threshold Validation

Jamal Mosakheil, The University of Memphis

Kan Yang

, The University of Memphis

Abstract

This paper examines the vulnerabilities inherent in prevailing Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) systems reliant on centralized Certificate Authorities (CAs), wherein a compromise of the CA introduces risks to the integrity of public key management. We present PKChain, a decentralized and compromise-tolerant public key management system built on blockchain technology, offering transparent, tamper-resistant, and verifiable services for key operations such as registration, update, query, validation, and revocation. Our innovative approach involves a novel threshold block validation scheme that combines a novel threshold cryptographic scheme with blockchain consensus. This scheme allows each validator to validate each public key record partially and proactively secures it before inclusion in a block. Additionally, to further validate and verify each block and to facilitate public verification of the public key records, we introduce an aggregate commitment signature scheme. Our contribution extends to the development of a new, efficient, and practical Byzantine Compromise-Tolerant and Verifiable (pBCTV) consensus model, integrating the proposed validation and signature schemes with practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (pBFT). Through a comprehensive examination encompassing security analysis, performance evaluation, and a prototype implementation, we substantiate that PKChain is a secure, efficient, and robust solution for public key management.

Metadata

Available format(s): PDF
Category: Cryptographic protocols
Publication info: Preprint.
Keywords: Public Key Management PKI Blockchain Block Validation
Contact author(s): jmskheil @ memphis edu
kan yang @ memphis edu
History: 2023-11-24: approved; 2023-11-20: received; See all versions
Short URL: https://ia.cr/2023/1791
License: CC BY

BibTeX

@misc{cryptoeprint:2023/1791,
      author = {Jamal Mosakheil and Kan Yang},
      title = {Decentralized Compromise-Tolerant Public Key Management Ecosystem with Threshold Validation},
      howpublished = {Cryptology {ePrint} Archive, Paper 2023/1791},
      year = {2023},
      url = {https://eprint.iacr.org/2023/1791}
}