An optimistic fair exchange protocol and its security in the universal composability framework

Abstract

Fair exchange protocols allow both or neither of two parties to obtain the other's items, and this property is essential in e-commerce. In this paper, we construct an optimistic fair exchange protocol that is applicable to any digital signature by prescribing three forms of signatures, namely presignature, post-signature and notarised signature. We set an expiration date for presignature, and thus realise the timely termination of the protocol. Next, we define an ideal functionality of fair exchange protocols in the universal composability framework. Then, we construct an optimistic fair exchange protocol based on the above protocol, and prove its security in the universal composability framework.