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Abstract

A method of generating cryptographic keys to implement a Failsafe Key Escrow system. A prime modulus Q and a generator G for Z.sub.Q are publicly known. The public key P.sub.X that is escrowed for user X is G.sup.SX mod Q, where Sx is the secret key for user X. The user picks a random secret value A from [0, Q-2] and announces the value of G.sup.A mod Q to a set of trustees or a central authority. Next the user 'shares' A with the trustees using a verifiable secret sharing scheme. The trustees and/or the central authority selects a random value B from the interval [0, Q-2] and they set the user's public key to be P.sub.X =(G.sup.A)G.sup.B mod Q. The value of B is returned to the user and is escrowed with the public key for X. The value of B is not released to the public. The user's then sets his secret key to be S.sub.X =A+B mod (Q-1).

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First Claim