Patent ID: 8117447

Claim:
An authentication method employing elliptic curve cryptography (ECC), applicable to a mobile broadcast TV system, said mobile broadcast TV system at least having one or more head end systems, at least one or more transmitters and one or more mobile sets, said authentication method comprising the steps of: one or more request messages from said one or more mobile sets arriving at a head end system of said one or more head end systems for authentication simultaneously or in a short period of time; manipulating each request message from said one or more mobile sets by employing ECC; manipulating each broadcast authentication message by employing ECC and pairing operations; said head end system and said one or more mobile sets performing mutual authentication by employing the pairing operation and ECC; and broadcasting an authentication message for a plurality of request messages for a same service arriving simultaneously or in a short period of time to said one or more mobile sets; wherein said authentication method further includes execution of initialization phase, execution of issue phase, execution of subscription phase and execution of handoff authentication; and in said execution of issue phase, communication protocol between said one or more mobile sets and said head end system further includes: said one or more mobile sets encrypting a plurality of authentication parameters with a secret value k h , and transmitting an authentication message to said head end system for a V service, wherein the mobile set corresponding to an i-th user encrypts said authentication parameters including id i , P i , C i , P Is , X i with said secret value k h , and transmitting said authentication message including {id i , P i , C i , P Is , X i , V} to said head end system; said head end system receiving a plurality of user requests and scheduling said plurality of user requests, and identifying m user requests that request for said V service, m being a positive integer; for each request from said i-th user of said m user requests, said head end system checking legitimacy of authentication parameter id i to authenticate legitimacy of said i-th user; said head end system broadcasting an authentication broadcast message to those mobile sets corresponding to said m user requests; the mobile set corresponding to said i-th user, after receiving said authentication broadcast message, authenticating said head end system and computing a ticket identity θ i of said i-th user; and said head end system computing a new authentication public key for a next authentication process.