On the conference key distribution system with user anonymity

Abstract

Conference Key Distribution Systems (CKDS) are well-analyzed systems for the computation and distribution of a symmetric key shared amongst a session's participants. We focus on previous CKDS with user anonymity and we propose modifications from the perspective of anonymity, dynamicity, efficiency and security crystallized in a novel CKDS design. The security of the proposed anonymous CKDS is based on the difficulty of computing discrete logarithms over Elliptic Curves, the intractability of inverting one-way hash functions and the creation of random, however disjoint, pseudonyms by the group members. Under these modifications, our proposed dynamic CKDS can be ported to clustered Mobile Ad Hoc Networks so that the members of a mobile group can rapidly establish a shared Conference Key. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme through performance comparisons and security analysis that covers passive and active attack scenarios.