Password-based Key Exchange Research Articles

A Lightweight Privacy-Aware Continuous Authentication Protocol-PACA

As many vulnerabilities of one-time authentication systems have already been uncovered, there is a growing need and trend to adopt continuous authentication systems. Biometrics provides an excellent means for periodic verification of the authenticated users without breaking the continuity of a session. Nevertheless, as attacks to computing systems increase, biometric systems demand more user information in their operations, yielding privacy issues for users in biometric-based continuous authentication systems. However, the current state-of-the-art privacy technologies are not viable or costly for the continuous authentication systems, which require periodic real-time verification. In this article, we introduce a novel, lightweight, <underline>p</underline>rivacy-<underline>a</underline>ware, and secure <underline>c</underline>ontinuous <underline>a</underline>uthentication protocol called PACA. PACA is initiated through a password-based key exchange (PAKE) mechanism, and it continuously authenticates users based on their biometrics in a privacy-aware manner. Then, we design an actual continuous user authentication system under the proposed protocol. In this concrete system, we utilize a privacy-aware template matching technique and a wearable-assisted keystroke dynamics-based continuous authentication method. This provides privacy guarantees without relying on any trusted third party while allowing the comparison of noisy user inputs (due to biometric data) and yielding an efficient and lightweight protocol. Finally, we implement our system on an Apple smartwatch and perform experiments with real user data to evaluate the accuracy and resource consumption of our concrete system.

Provably secure CL-KEM-based password-authenticated key exchange protocol

Traditional password-based authentication protocols are vulnerable to various password-related attacks, while public key cryptography PKC is expensive to manage certificates. Moreover, the traditional identity-based cryptography suffers to key escrow. To solve the above problems, we propose a password-based authentication and key exchange AKE protocol. The protocol is based on certificateless key encapsulation mechanism CL-KEM using the three-party setting. The security of this protocol is provable under the decisional Diffie-Hellman DDH assumption. Security analysis shows that this protocol can achieve mutual authentication and forward security, and it can resist various password-related attacks.

Cross-Domain Password-Based Authenticated Key Exchange Revisited

We revisit the problem of secure cross-domain communication between two users belonging to different security domains within an open and distributed environment. Existing approaches presuppose that either the users are in possession of public key certificates issued by a trusted certificate authority (CA), or the associated domain authentication servers share a long-term secret key. In this article, we propose a generic framework for designing four-party password-based authenticated key exchange (4PAKE) protocols. Our framework takes a different approach from previous work. The users are not required to have public key certificates, but they simply reuse their login passwords, which they share with their respective domain authentication servers. On the other hand, the authentication servers, assumed to be part of a standard PKI, act as ephemeral CAs that certify some key materials that the users can subsequently use to exchange and agree on as a session key. Moreover, we adopt a compositional approach. That is, by treating any secure two-party password-based key exchange (2PAKE) protocol and two-party asymmetric-key/symmetric-key-based key exchange (2A/SAKE) protocol as black boxes, we combine them to obtain generic and provably secure 4PAKE protocols.

Security Analysis and Improvements of a Three-Party Password-Based Key Exchange Protocol

Recently Xie et al. [Q. Xie, N. Dong, X. Tan. D. Wong, G. Wang. Improvement of a three-party password-based key exchange protocol with formal verification. Information Technology and Control, 2013, Vol. 42, No. 3, 231-237] proposed an efficient three-party password-based key exchange protocol and used a formal verification tool to verify its security. In this paper, we demonstrate that their protocol is vulnerable to the off-line password guessing attack and the key compromise impersonation attack. The analysis shows that their protocol is not secure for practical applications. To overcome weaknesses in Xie et al.’s protocol, we also propose an improved 3PAKE protocol. Analysis shows that our protocol not only overcomes those weaknesses, but also has better performance. Therefore, our protocol is more suitable for practical applications. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.itc.43.1.5322

Password-only authenticated three-party key exchange with provable security in the standard model.

Protocols for password-only authenticated key exchange (PAKE) in the three-party setting allow two clients registered with the same authentication server to derive a common secret key from their individual password shared with the server. Existing three-party PAKE protocols were proven secure under the assumption of the existence of random oracles or in a model that does not consider insider attacks. Therefore, these protocols may turn out to be insecure when the random oracle is instantiated with a particular hash function or an insider attack is mounted against the partner client. The contribution of this paper is to present the first three-party PAKE protocol whose security is proven without any idealized assumptions in a model that captures insider attacks. The proof model we use is a variant of the indistinguishability-based model of Bellare, Pointcheval, and Rogaway (2000), which is one of the most widely accepted models for security analysis of password-based key exchange protocols. We demonstrated that our protocol achieves not only the typical indistinguishability-based security of session keys but also the password security against undetectable online dictionary attacks.

Persistent asymmetric password-based key exchange

Abstract. Asymmetric password based key exchange is a key exchange protocol where a client and a server share a low entropic password while the server additionally owns a high entropic secret with respect to a public key. There are simple solutions for this, e.g., [ACM Trans. Inf. Syst. Secur. 2 (1999), 230–268] and its improvement in [Proceedings of CCS 1999, ACM (1999), 63–72]. In the present paper, we consider a new threat to this type of protocol: if a server's high entropic secret gets compromised (e.g., due to cryptanalysis or a poor management), the adversary might quickly break lots of passwords and cause uncountable damage. In this case, one should not expect the protocol to be secure against an off-line dictionary attack since, otherwise, the protocol is in fact a secure password-only key exchange by making the server high entropic secret public. Of course a password-only key exchange does not suffer from this threat as the server does not have a high entropic secret at all. However, known password-only key exchange protocols are not very efficient (note: we only consider protocols without random oracles). This motivates us to study an efficient and secure asymmetric password key exchange that avoids the new threat. In this paper, we first provide a formal model for the new threat, where essentially we require that the active adversary can break ℓ $\ell $ passwords in α ℓ | 𝒟 | $\alpha \ell |\mathcal {D}|$ steps (for α < 1 / 2 $\alpha <1/2$ ) only with a probability negligibly close to exp ( - β ℓ ) $\exp (-\beta \ell )$ for some β > 0 $\beta >0$ , where 𝒟 $\mathcal {D}$ is a password dictionary. Then, we construct a framework of asymmetric password based key exchange. We prove that our protocol is secure in the regular model where server high entropic key is never compromised and that it prevents the new threat. To do this, we introduce a new technique by abstracting a probabilistic experiment from the main proof and providing a neat analysis of it.

Improvement of a Three-Party Password-Based Key Exchange Protocol with Formal Verification

A Three-party Password-based Authenticated Key Exchange (3PAKE) protocol allows two users to establish a secure session key over an insecure communication channel with the help of a third party, which is a trusted server. Recently, Lou and Huang proposed a 3PAKE which is efficient and suitable for running on resource-constrained devices such as smart cards and mobile phones. In this paper, we show that their scheme is vulnerable to off-line password guessing attack and partition attack. We then propose an efficient method to fix these problems. Additionally, the mutual authentication and session key secrecy of the proposed protocol are verified using a formal verification tool. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.itc.42.3.1905

Robust and efficient remote authentication with key agreement protocol

Password-based authentication and key exchange protocol have been widely used in various network services due to easy memory of password.Unfortunately,password-based authentication scheme also suffers from attacks because of the low entropy of password.In the year 2011,Islam et al.(ISLAM SK H,BISWAS G P.Improved remote login scheme based on ECC.IEEE-International Conference on Recent Trends in Information Technology.Washington,DC: IEEE Computer Society,2011: 1221-1226)proposed an improved remote login scheme based on Elliptic Curve Cryptography(ECC).Whereas,the scheme was vulnerable to stolen-verifier and impersonation attacks and failed to provide mutual authentication.Therefore,the authors proposed a password-based Remote Authentication with Key Agreement(RAKA) protocol using ECC to tackle the problems in Islam et al.'s scheme.RAKA was based on Elliptic Curve Discrete Logarithm Problem(ECDLP) and needed to compute six elliptic curve scale multiplications and seven hash function operations during a protocol run.The efficiency improves by about 15%.It is more secure and efficient than Islam et al.'s scheme.

Simple Three-Party Password-Based Key Exchange Protocol with Provable Security

Three-party password-based authenticated key exchange (3PAKE) protocols allow two users (clients) to establish a session key with the help of an authenticated server over an insecure channel. Owning to the significance in building a secure communication channel, a number of approaches have been suggested over the years. However, the lack of formal security proof is a major issue in the related literature. In this paper, we propose a simple 3PAKE protocol based upon elliptic curve cryptography along with formal security proof under the decisional Diffie–Hellman assumption. Experimental results by using the automated validation of Internet security protocols and applications tool also show that the proposed protocol is secure against various malicious attacks. Compared with previous work, the proposed protocol has lower computation costs and lighter communication loads.

Zhao와 Gu가 제안한 키 교환 프로토콜의 안전성 분석

키 교환 프로토콜은 공개 네트워크상에서 안전한 통신 채널을 구축하는데 필수적인 요소이다. 특히, 패스워드 기반 키 교환 프로토콜에서는 패스워드를 이용하여 사용자 인증이 이루어지며 이를 바탕으로 안전하게 키 교환이 이루어지도록 설계되어야 한다. 그러나 패스워드는 인간이 쉽게 기억할 수 있는 반면에 엔트로피가 낮고 따라서 사전공격에 쉽게 노출될 수 있다. 최근, Zhao와 Gu가 서버의 도움을 필요로 하는 새로운 패스워드 기반 키 교환 프로토콜을 제안하였다. Zhao와 Gu가 제안한 프로토콜은 일회성 비밀키의 노출 상황을 고려하는 공격자 모델에서도 안전성이 증명가능하다고 주장하였다. 본 논문에서는 Zhao와 Gu의 프로토콜에 대한 재전송 공격을 통하여 이 프로토콜이 저자들의 주장과 달리 일회성 비밀키의 노출 시에 안전하지 않다는 것을 보일 것이다. 본 연구 결과는 Zhao와 Gu가 제시한 안전성 증명이 성립하지 않음을 의미한다.

Yi등이 제안한 그룹 키 교환 프로토콜의 보안 취약성 및 개선 방법

그룹 키 교환 프로토콜은 일련의 그룹을 형성하는 다수의 통신 참여자들이 공개된 통신망을 통해 그룹의 공통 비밀키를 설정하기 위한 목적으로 설계된다. 그룹 지향적인 응용분야들이 인터넷상에서 인기를 더해감에 따라서 이들 응용분야에 안전한 멀티캐스트 채널을 제공하기 위해 많은 그룹 키 교환 프로토콜이 제안되었다. 그동안 제안된 그룹 키 교환 프로토콜 중에 최근 Yi 등이 발표한 패스워드 기반 프로토콜이 있다. 이 프로토콜에서는 각 프로토콜 참가자가 자신의 패스워드를 가지고 있으며 이 패스워드는 신뢰할 수 있는 서버에 등록되어 있다고 가정된다. 패스워드 기반 키 교환에서 가장 근본적인 보안 요구사항은 오프라인 사전 공격에 대한 안전성이라 할 수 있다. 그러나 Yi 등이 제안한 프로토콜은 패스워드에 기반한 프로토콜임에도 불구하고 이 요구사항을 만족하지 못하는 것으로 드러났다. 본 논문에서는 Yi 등의 프로토콜에서 발견되는 이러한 보안 문제점을 지적하고 그 해결책을 제시한다. A group key exchange (GKE) protocol is designed to allow a group of parties communicating over a public network to establish a common secret key. As group-oriented applications gain popularity over the Internet, a number of GKE protocols have been suggested to provide those applications with a secure multicast channel. Among the many protocols is Yi et al.'s password-based GKE protocol in which each participant is assumed to hold their individual password registered with a trusted server. A fundamental requirement for password-based key exchange is security against off-line dictionary attacks. However, Yi et al.'s protocol fails to meet the requirement. In this paper, we report this security problem with Yi et al.'s protocol and show how to solve it.

SECURITY ENHANCEMENT ON SIMPLE THREE PARTY PAKE PROTOCOL

In the field of cryptography, the three-party authenticated key exchange protocol is an important tool, especially in the secure communication areas. In this protocol, two clients share a human-memorable password with a trusted server whereby the two clients receive a secure session key. Most recently, Huang proposed a simple and efficient three party password-based key exchange protocol. She claimed that the proposed protocol is secure against various attacks. However, Yoon and Yoo proved an undetectable online password guessing attack on Huang’s protocol. In the present paper, an unknown key share attack on Huang’s three party PAKE protocol using undetectable online password guessing attack is demonstrated. Additionally, an alternative protocol that eliminates this attack is proposed. Moreover, the proposed protocol requires only four message transmission rounds.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.itc.41.1.842

An Improved Dynamic Password based Group Key Agreement against Dictionary Attack

Key exchange protocol is fundamental for establishing secure communication channels over public networks. Password-based key exchange protocols allow parties to share secret key in an authentic manner based on an easily memorizable password. Recently, a password-based group key agreement based on Joux’s tripartite key agreement is proposed to improve the performance when users join or leave the group. In this paper, we employ an online dictionary attack on this protocol to show that such kind of modification cannot achieve the basic security of password based group key agreement. With this method, an adversary can test several passwords in one session, which leads the key space reduces greatly to the potential adversaries. To fill the gaps, we propose an improved protocol, which can avoid this attack. Finally, we prove the security of our protocol under the random oracle and ideal cipher model.

Cryptanalysis of an e_cient three-party password-based key exchange scheme

In order to secure communications between two clients with a trusted server's help in public network environments, a three-party password-based authenticated key exchange (3PAKE) scheme is used to provide the transaction confidentiality and e_ciency. In 2010, Lou-Huang proposed a new simple three-party password-based authenticated key exchange (LH-3PAKE) scheme based on elliptic curve cryptography (ECC). By analysis, Lou-Huang claimed that the proposed LH- 3PAKE scheme is not only secure against various attacks, but also more e_cient than previously proposed 3PAKE schemes. However, this paper demonstrates LH-3PAKE scheme is vulnerable to o_-line password guessing attacks by an attacker.

Cryptanalysis of an efficient three-party password-based key exchange scheme

Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL SUMMARY Three-party password-authenticated key exchange (3PAKE) protocols allow entities to negotiate a secret session key with the aid of a trusted server with whom they share a human-memorable password. Recently, Lou and Huang proposed a simple 3PAKE protocol based on elliptic curve cryptography, which is claimed to be secure and to provide superior efficiency when compared with similar-purpose solutions. In this paper, however, we show that the solution is vulnerable to key-compromise impersonation and offline password guessing attacks from system insiders or outsiders, which indicates that the empirical approach used to evaluate the scheme's security is flawed. These results highlight the need of employing provable security approaches when designing and analyzing PAKE schemes. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Citing Literature Volume25, Issue11November 2012Pages 1443-1449 RelatedInformation

On ‘a simple three-party password-based key exchange protocol’

In 2009, Huang (Int. J. Commun. Syst., 22, 857–862) proposed a simple and efficient three-party password-based key exchange protocol without server's public key. This work shows that the protocol could be vulnerable to an undetectable online password guessing attack. Furthermore, an improved protocol is proposed to avoid the attack. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Offline dictionary attack on a universally composable three-party password-based key exchange protocol

Key exchange protocols are fundamental for establishing secure communication channels over public networks. Password-based key exchange protocols allow parties to share a secret key in an authentic manner based on an easily memorizable password. Recently, Deng et al. proposed a three-party password-based key exchange protocol in the universal composable framework in China Communications, where two users, each one of whom shares a human-memorable password with a trusted server, can authenticate each other and compute a secure session key. In this letter, we show that Deng et al.’s protocol is insecure against offline dictionary attack by any other client. Hence, the protocol doesn’t achieve their aim.

Provable Password-Authenticated Key Exchange Protocol against Imposter Attack on Ad Hoc Networks

In wireless ad hoc networks environment, Bellovin and Merritt first developed a password-based Encrypted Key Exchange (EKE) protocol against offline dictionary attacks using both symmetric and public-key cryptography independent of the public key infrastructure (PKI). In this paper, we first discover that there exist some weaknesses in EKE protocol that is subjected to imposter attacks based on the analysis result of BAN logic that we apply in EKE protocol. In order to remedy the flaws, we propose an improved scheme—Provable Password-Authenticated Key Exchange (PPAKE) protocol that generates the session key’s timestamp, and verifies the authenticity of public key against imposter attack without online trusted third parties. The proposed protocol is also proven to be secure and trustworthy by BAN logic analysis. In comparison with other schemes, our measurements show that our proposed PPAKE protocol is more safety and requires less computations cost suitable for wireless ad hoc networks.

An Improvement on a Three-party Password-based Key Exchange Protocol Using Weil Pairing

The three-party password-based key exchange protocols using Weil pairing proposed by Wen is vulnerable to impersonation attack. By introducing hard artificial intelligence problem, we show an improved protocol, which can resist against not only the impersonation attack but also all the other well-known attacks. Analysis also shows that improved protocol reduces about one third computational cost and two thirds throughput. The protocol is suitable for lightweight or mobile equipments.

Efficient Solution to Password-based Key Exchange for Large Groups

This paper presents an efficient solution to key exchange problem for large groups in the password- based scenario. Our scheme can combine existing group protocols to get a hybrid group key exchange protocol which is efficient in terms of both computation and communication. And the resulting protocol allows users to securely join and leave the group at any time—the so-called dynamic case. For dynamic group communications, we propose an efficient key-updating algorithms so that the group key is only known to the members of the newly formed pool. Furthermore, our proposal does not introduce new idealizing assumptions or high entropy secrets for authentication.