Importance

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Abstract

A method is provided for an escrow cryptosystem that is essentially overhead-free, does not require a cryptographic tamper-proof hardware implementation (i.e., can be done in software), is publicly verifiable, and cannot be used subliminally to enable a shadow public key system. A shadow public key system is an unescrowed public key system that is publicly displayed in a covert fashion. The keys generated by the method are auto-recoverable and auto-certifiable (abbrev. ARC). The ARC Cryptosystem is based on a key generation mechanism that outputs a public/private key pair, and a certificate of proof that the key is recoverable by the escrow authorities. Each generated public/private key pair can be verified efficiently to be escrowed properly by anyone. The verification procedure does not use the private key. Hence, the general public has an efficient way of making sure that any given individual's private key is escrowed properly, and the trusted authorities will be able to access the private key if needed. Since the verification can be performed by anyone, there is no need for a special trusted entity, known in the art as a 'trusted third party'. The proof and verification method involves one party proving to a second party that a third party can gain access to an encrypted value. In addition, the system is designed so that its internals can be made publicly scrutinizable (e.g., it can be distributed in source code form). This differs from many schemes which require that the escrowing device be tamper-proof hardware. The system is efficient and can be implemented as a 'drop-in' replacement to an RSA or ElGamal cryptosystem. The system is applicable for lawenforcement, file systems, e-mail systems, certified e-mail systems, and any scenario in which public key cryptography can be employed and where private keys or information encrypted under public keys need to be recoverable. The system security relies solely on the security of cipher systems involved whose security has been extensively studied in the past.

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First Claim