Patent ID: 8112626

Claim:
An apparatus to authenticate limited processing-power systems (LPPS) using elliptic cryptography within a well known elliptic curve E, over a well known finite field F(E(F)), the apparatus comprising: a random number generator to choose a random value b, of a similar order of magnitude to the order of E(F); a challenge calculator to calculate a value C=bP, a challenge, and send the challenge to a limited power processing system (LPPS), where P is a point on the elliptic curve E(F) which was used as a basis for generating a private key, a, for the LPPS; an RFID reader to receive a challenge response, R=aC=abP from the LPPS; a crypto calculator to calculate bQ, based on a public key, Q=aP, of the LPPS; and a comparison logic to: determine that aC=abP=baP=bQ; and authenticate the LPPS based on the determination.