PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-7734048-B2
Application Number: US-13570905-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Cryptographic system using chaotic dynamics

Abstract:
The invention is a cryptographic system using chaotic dynamics. A chaotic system is used to generate a public key and an adjustable back door from a private key. The public key is distributed and can be used in a public key encryption system. The invention can also be used for authentication purposes. The adjustable back door of the invention can be used in conjunction with the public key to derive the private key. The degree of difficulty involved in deriving the private key is dependent on the adjustable back door. That is the value of the back door can be adjusted to vary the difficulty involved in deriving the private key.

Claims:
1. A method comprising:
 generating a private key; 
 deriving a set of initial conditions using the private key; 
 applying the set of initial conditions as input to a chaotic system, 
 the chaotic system generating a set of final conditions from the set of initial conditions, wherein the chaotic system includes an N-body system; and 
 generating on one or more computers a public key from the set of final conditions. 
 
   
   
     2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the N-body system comprises three or more bodies acting under mutual gravitation. 
   
   
     3. The method of  claim 2 , wherein the mutual gravitation is calculated using a formula 
     
       
         
           
             
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       where F i  is a force on an ith body, m i  is a mass of the ith body, r i  is a position of the ith body, t is a time elapsed from an initial condition, and G is a universal constant of gravitation. 
     
   
   
     4. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 generating a variable back door; and 
 recreating the private key using the public key and the variable back door. 
 
   
   
     5. A computer-implemented method, comprising:
 receiving a public key and a back door, the back door including interim conditions in an N-body chaotic system which has initial conditions, the public key being generated from the N-body chaotic system based on the initial conditions and the interim conditions; 
 performing backward iterations on the public key, the backward iteration including applying one or more equations in a motion model to bodies in the N-body chaotic system; and 
 generating a private key based on the public key and the backward iterations. 
 
   
   
     6. The method of  claim 5 , wherein the one or more equations comprises:
   position=position−momentum* dt;   (a) 
   acceleration=function of position; and  (b) 
   momentum=momentum−acceleration* dt   (c) 
 where dt comprises a time increment. 
 
   
   
     7. The method of  claim 5 , wherein the back door and a portion of the public key are in a consistent state, the consistent state measured by time elapsed since the initial conditions. 
   
   
     8. A computer program stored on a storage device, operable to cause one or more computers to perform operations comprising:
 generating a private key; 
 deriving a set of initial conditions using the private key; 
 applying the set of initial conditions as input to a chaotic system, the chaotic system generating a set of final conditions from the set of initial conditions, wherein the chaotic system includes an N-body system; and 
 generating a public key from the set of final conditions. 
 
   
   
     9. The program of  claim 8 , wherein the N-body system comprises three or more bodies acting under mutual gravitation. 
   
   
     10. The program of  claim 9 , wherein the mutual gravitation is calculated using a formula 
     
       
         
           
             
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       where F i  is a force on an ith body, m i  is a mass of the ith body, r i  is a position of the ith body, t is a time elapsed from an initial condition, and G is a universal constant of gravitation. 
     
   
   
     11. The program of  claim 8 , the operations further comprising:
 generating a variable back door; and 
 recreating the private key using the public key and the variable back door. 
 
   
   
     12. A computer program stored on a storage device, operable to cause one or more computers to perform operations comprising:
 receiving a public key and a back door, the back door including interim conditions in an N-body chaotic system which has initial conditions, the public key being generated from the N-body chaotic system based on the initial conditions and the interim conditions; 
 performing backward iterations on the public key, the backward iteration including applying one or more equations in a motion model to bodies in the N-body chaotic system; and 
 generating a private key based on the public key and the backward iterations. 
 
   
   
     13. The program of  claim 12 , wherein the one or more equations comprises:
   position=position−momentum* dt;   (a) 
   acceleration=function of position; and  (b) 
   momentum=momentum−acceleration* dt   (c) 
 where dt comprises a time increment. 
 
   
   
     14. The program of  claim 12 , wherein the back door and a portion of the public key are in a consistent state, the consistent state measured by time elapsed since the initial conditions. 
   
   
     15. A system comprising:
 one or more computers configured to perform operations comprising:
 generating a private key; 
 deriving a set of initial conditions using the private key; 
 applying the set of initial conditions as input to a chaotic system, the chaotic system generating a set of final conditions from the set of initial conditions, wherein the chaotic system includes an N-body system; and 
 generating a public key from the set of final conditions. 
 
 
   
   
     16. The system of  claim 15 , wherein the N-body system comprises three or more bodies acting under mutual gravitation. 
   
   
     17. The system of  claim 16 , wherein the mutual gravitation is calculated using a formula 
     
       
         
           
             
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       where F i  is a force on an ith body, m i  is a mass of the ith body, r i  is a position of the ith body, t is a time elapsed from an initial condition, and G is a universal constant of gravitation. 
     
   
   
     18. The system of  claim 15 , the operations further comprising:
 generating a variable back door; and 
 recreating the private key using the public key and the variable back door. 
 
   
   
     19. A system comprising:
 one or more computers configured to perform operations comprising:
 receiving a public key and a back door, the back door including interim conditions in an N-body chaotic system which has initial conditions, the public key being generated from the N-body chaotic system based on the initial conditions and the interim conditions; 
 performing backward iterations on the public key, the backward iteration including applying one or more equations in a motion model to bodies in the N-body chaotic system; and 
 generating a private key based on the public key and the backward iterations. 
 
 
   
   
     20. The system of  claim 19 , wherein the one or more equations comprises:
   position=position−momentum* dt;   (a) 
   acceleration=function of position; and  (b) 
   momentum=momentum−acceleration* dttm (c)   
 where dt comprises a time increment. 
 
   
   
     21. The system of  claim 19 , wherein the back door and a portion of the public key are in a consistent state, the consistent state measured by time elapsed since the initial conditions.

Description:
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10/266,946 filed Oct. 7, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,898,287, which in turn is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/801,939 filed Feb. 15, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,587,563. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   This invention relates to the field of cryptographic systems. 
   2. Background Art 
   A cryptographic system is a system for sending a message from a sender to a receiver over a medium so that the message is “secure”, that is, so that only the intended receiver can recover the message. A cryptographic system (or cryptosystem) converts a message, referred to as “plaintext” into an encrypted format, known as “ciphertext.” The encryption is accomplished by manipulating or transforming the message using a “cipher key” or keys. The receiver “decrypts” the message, that is, converts it from ciphertext to plaintext, by reversing the manipulation or transformation process using the cipher key or keys. So long as only the sender and receiver have knowledge of the cipher key, such an encrypted transmission is secure. 
   A “classical” cryptosystem is a cryptosystem in which the enciphering information can be used to determine the deciphering information. To provide security, a classical cryptosystem requires that the enciphering key be kept secret and provided to users of the system over secure channels. Secure channels, such as secret couriers, secure telephone transmission lines, or the like, are often impractical and expensive. 
   A system that eliminates the difficulties of exchanging a secure enciphering key is known as “public key encryption.” By definition, a public key cryptosystem has the property that someone who knows only how to encipher a message cannot use the enciphering key to find the deciphering key without a prohibitively lengthy computation. An enciphering function is chosen so that once an enciphering key is known, the enciphering function is relatively easy to compute. However, the inverse of the encrypting transformation function is difficult, or computationally infeasible, to compute. Such a function is referred to as a “one way function” or as a “trap door function.” In a public key cryptosystem, certain information relating to the keys is public. This information can be, and often is, published or transmitted in a non-secure manner. Also, certain information relating to the keys is private. This information may be distributed over a secure channel to protect its privacy (or may be created by a local user to ensure privacy). 
   In the prior art, the trap door functions have been based on the difficult problem of factoring integers. The factoring scheme is based on the fact that it is easy to generate two very large prime numbers and multiply them together, but it is much more difficult to factor the result, that is, to determine the very large prime numbers from their product. The product can therefore be made public as part of the enciphering key without compromising the prime numbers that effectively constitute the deciphering key. 
   Another form of public key cryptosystem is referred to as an “elliptic curve” cryptosystem. An elliptic curve cryptosystem is based on points on an elliptic curve E defined over a finite field F. Elliptic curve cryptosystems rely for security on the difficulty in solving the discrete logarithm problem. An advantage of an elliptic curve cryptosystem is there is more flexibility in choosing an elliptic curve than in choosing a finite field. Nevertheless, elliptic curve cryptosystems have not been widely used in computer-based public key exchange systems due to their computational intensiveness. Computer-based elliptic curve cryptosystems are slow compared to other computer public key exchange systems. Elliptic curve cryptosystems are described in “A Course in Number Theory and Cryptography” (Koblitz, 1987, Springer-Verlag, New York). 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The invention is a cryptographic system using chaotic dynamics. A chaotic system is used to generate a public key and an adjustable back door from a private key. The public key is distributed and can be used in a public key encryption system. The invention can also be used for authentication purposes. The adjustable back door of the invention can be used in conjunction with the public key to derive the private key. The degree of difficulty involved in deriving the private key is dependent on the adjustable back door whose value can be adjusted to vary the difficulty involved in deriving the private key. 
   In its application to a public key encryption system, the invention uses a chaotic system model to generate a public key from a private key. A set of initial conditions is generated from the private key and becomes input to the chaotic system. The chaotic system generates a set of final conditions from which the public key is derived. The public key is distributed to the public. The public key can be used to encrypt a message that is then decrypted using the private key. 
   The invention can also be used for authentication. A chaotic system that implements a chaotic-dynamic model generates a public key from a private key. The public key is distributed to and stored at an authenticating site. During authentication, one wishing to authenticate oneself enters the private key that generated the public key into a chaotic system. The chaotic system implements the same chaotic-dynamic model that generated the public key from the private key. The output of the chaotic system is a public key. The authenticating system compares its stored public key with the new public key. If the two public keys are the same, authentication is successful. If the two public keys are not the same, authentication fails. 
   Using this approach, it is not necessary to disclose sensitive information to an authenticating system, or authenticator. Therefore, there is no need to rely on the authenticator to secure the information so that it is not accessible by an unauthorized person. Further, since the sensitive information is not transmitting to an authenticator, there is no danger of it being intercepted by an unauthorized person. Instead, a key that is not considered to be sensitive, the public key, is distributed and stored at the authenticating site. If authentication is performed as a prelude to accessing an account at a bank, for example, it is not necessary to store a bank user&#39;s pin number or other secret information. At the time of authentication, the bank user enters the private key used to generate the public key into the chaotic system. The public key that results is compared with the stored public key to authenticate the user. 
   In one embodiment of the invention, the chaotic system is based on the “N-body” problem to provide cryptographic security. The general N-body problem is described by a Hamiltonian from classical physics. A Hamiltonian function describes all forces between all N bodies. One manifestation is the celebrated N-body scenario of Newtonian gravity. In this particular setting, one considers N (greater than 2) bodies acting under mutual gravitation. For example, the Newtonian gravity manifestation of the N-body problem can be described by considering a solar system with three or more planets in orbit. Given an initial condition and a set of rules or equations governing motion of the planets over time, and which are subject to chaotic variation, the future positions of the planets after a known fixed time period (e.g. after ten solar years) can be determined. However, given only the present conditions of the planets, it is extremely difficult to determine what the initial conditions were without knowing the elapsed time, all the rules governing the motion of the planets, and all the chaotic variations in motion that occurred. Thus, the N-body problem is a one way function. 
   The N-body problem describes a “chaotic system”. This is because slight perturbations to the initial conditions of one or more of the bodies will cause radical system changes in the future. Accordingly, an inexact estimate of such initial conditions will result in a faulty final state. If someone tried to guess the initial conditions and ran the system for 10 solar years, the resulting positions would be very different from the positions that would occur using the correct initial conditions. 
   The invention uses mathematical representations of the N-body problem. The composition of the N-body system, and its initial conditions, rules of motion and time period are known only to the sender. A future state can be generated using the initial conditions and is used in the encryption process to generate a public key. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  provides an illustration of a computer system that can be used with the invention according to an embodiment of the invention. 
       FIG. 2A  provides an topographical view of an embodiment of the invention that illustrates a forward iteration. 
       FIG. 2B  provides a topographical view of an embodiment of the invention wherein a backward iteration is used to produce a private key. 
       FIG. 3  provides a process whereby a public key and back door are generated given a private key using a motion model. 
       FIG. 4  provides a forward iteration process flow according to an embodiment of the invention. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates acceleration, momentum, and position calculations for the i th  element according to an embodiment of the invention. 
       FIG. 6  provides an authentication process flow according to an embodiment of the invention. 
       FIG. 7  provides an alternate authentication process flow according to an embodiment of the invention. 
       FIG. 8  provides a topography of authentication according to an embodiment of the invention. 
       FIG. 9  provides an topographical view of encryption/decryption according to an embodiment of the invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   A cryptographic system using chaotic dynamics is described. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough description of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known features have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the invention. 
   The present invention can be implemented on a general purpose computer such as illustrated in  FIG. 1 . A keyboard  110  and mouse  111  are coupled to a bidirectional system bus  118 . The keyboard and mouse are for introducing user input to the computer system and communicating that user input to CPU  113 . The computer system of  FIG. 1  also includes a video memory  114 , main memory  115  and mass storage  112 , all coupled to bidirectional system bus  118  along with keyboard  110 , mouse  111  and CPU  113 . The mass storage  112  may include both fixed and removable media, such as magnetic, optical or magnetic optical storage systems or any other available mass storage technology. Bus  118  may contain, for example, 32 address lines for addressing video memory  114  or main memory  115 . The system bus  118  also includes, for example, a 32-bit DATA bus for transferring DATA between and among the components, such as CPU  113 , main memory  115 , video memory  114  and mass storage  112 . Alternatively, multiplex DATA/address lines may be used instead of separate DATA and address lines. 
   In the preferred embodiment of this invention, the CPU  113  is a 32-bit microprocessor manufactured by Motorola, such as the 680X0 or Power PC processors or a microprocessor manufactured by Intel, such as the 80X86, or Pentium processor. However, any other suitable microprocessor or microcomputer may be utilized. Main memory  115  is comprised of dynamic random access memory (DRAM). Video memory  114  is a dual-ported video random access memory. One port of the video memory  114  is coupled to video amplifier  116 . The video amplifier  116  is used to drive the cathode ray tube (CRT) raster monitor  117 . Video amplifier  116  is well known in the art and may be implemented by any suitable means. This circuitry converts pixel DATA stored in video memory  114  to a raster signal suitable for use by monitor  117 . Monitor  117  is a type of monitor suitable for displaying graphic images. 
   The computer system described above is for purposes of example only. The present invention may be implemented in any type of computer system or programming or processing environment. 
   Overview 
   A system in which a final state is unpredictable is referred to as a chaotic system. A small change in the initial condition of a chaotic system can cause a substantial difference in the predicted outcome or final state. The recovery of an initial state of a chaotic system is computationally infeasible by, for example, reversing the iterations used to arrive at the final condition. 
   The unpredictability of a chaotic system is used by the invention. A set of initial conditions is derived from a private key. The set of initial conditions becomes the input to the chaotic system. The chaotic system transforms the set of initial conditions into a public key over time, T. During time T, the chaotic system performs a number of iterations to transform the set of initial conditions into a final state. The final state is used to generate a public key. 
   Use of a chaotic system to generate the public key makes it infeasible for one to determine the private key with the public key alone by, for example, reversing the transformation. Where it is desired, however, the invention provides a back door that can be used to determine the private key in conjunction with the public key. The invention provides an adjustable back door to vary the degree of difficulty in generating the private key. For example, the back door can be a set of interim conditions within one or two iterations of initial conditions, or it can be less than all of the conditions at the same or other time period. It is easier (although still complex) to determine the private key with the former rather than the latter. In the latter case, it would be necessary to complete the set of interim conditions and derive the set of final conditions. The set of final conditions is input to the chaotic system to evolve the private key in a backward iteration. 
   The invention uses forward iteration of a chaotic system to derive a public key and back door from a private key.  FIG. 2A  provides a topographical view of an embodiment of the invention that illustrates a forward iteration. In a forward iteration, the invention produces a public key and a back door given a private key. Referring to  FIG. 2A , private key  202  is used to generate a set of initial conditions  204 . The set of initial conditions  204  becomes the input to chaotic system  206 . 
   Chaotic system  206  is an unpredictable system. Thus, for example, a slight change to the set of initial conditions  204  can result in a dramatic change in the output, the set of final conditions  208 . Further, it is computationally infeasible to re-produce private key  202  from public key  210 . For a time period, T, chaotic system  206  performs a set of iterations to transform the set of initial conditions  204  into the set of final conditions  208 . The set of final conditions  208  is used to generate public key  210  and back door  212 . 
   In a public key encryption scheme, public key  210  can be published or transmitted in a non-secure manner. Public key  210  can be used to encrypt information. If distributed, private key  202  is distributed over a secure channel to protect its privacy (or may be created by a local user to ensure privacy). Private key  202  can be used to decrypt an encrypted message. 
   A first portion of the set of final conditions  208  is used to produce public key  210 . A second portion of the set of final conditions  208  can be used to produce back door  212 . Back door  212  is an adjustable back door. Back door  212  can be adjusted to vary the degree of difficulty involved in re-producing private key  202 . For example, back door  212  can be comprised of all of the second portion of the set of final conditions  208 . Alternatively, back door  212  can be comprised of some subset of the second portion of the set of final conditions  208 . 
   The degree of difficulty in re-producing private key  202  would be greater when a subset of the second portion of the set of final conditions  208  is used to produce back door  212 . Before private key  202  is re-produced, it is necessary to have all of the second portion of the set of final conditions. 
   It is further possible to produce a back door from a set of interim conditions  214 . The set of interim conditions  214  is produced at a time prior to time T. A portion of the set of interim conditions  214 , a back door portion, can be used to generate back door  216 . Thus, for example, back door  216  can be produced using the all or some subset of the back door portion of the set of interim conditions  214  depending on the degree of difficulty desired for re-production of private key  202 . To re-create private key  202 , the set of interim conditions  214  must be intact. Chaotic system  206  is evolved using the set of interim conditions  214  to re-create private key  202 . 
     FIG. 2B  provides a topographical view of an embodiment of the invention wherein a backward iteration is used to produce a private key. In a backward iteration, the invention produces a private key using a public key and a back door. A backward iteration can be used, for example, in an authentication described in more detail below. Public key  210  is used along with a back door (e.g., back door  212  or back door  216 ) to generate a set of conditions (e.g., set of final conditions  208  or set of interim conditions  214 ). The set of conditions becomes input to chaotic system  206 . Chaotic system  206  reverses the iterative process to produce a set of initial conditions  204 . The set of initial conditions  204  is used to produce private key  202 . 
   Chaotic system  206  is a system having a chaotic or dynamic nature. Chaotic system  206  is unpredictable. A slight change in the set of initial conditions  204  can result in a drastic change in  208 . Chaotic system  206  can be an otherwise non-chaotic system for which some aspect of its definition has been modified to cause the system to become chaotic. 
   One example of a system that can be used with the present invention is the N-body system. An N-body system involves N orbital bodies that move in an orbit about a focus point. The laws of physics (Newton&#39;s laws of motion and gravitation and Keppler&#39;s law of orbits) indicate that a planet moves in an elliptical orbit about another mass such as the Sun. Given initial conditions, a planet&#39;s orbit can be predicted using the laws of physics. Further, the resulting change in a planet&#39;s orbit caused by a change in some or all of the planet&#39;s initial conditions is predictable. 
   The system is not limited to a single class of chaotic system. A system other than the N-body system (for which Newtonian gravity is one sub-example) can be used with the invention. Examples of other systems that can be used with the invention include: non-linear pendulum, chaotic bouncer, and other more modern systems that have proven to be extremely chaotic, such as the 3-dimensional Ising Model. 
   Motion 
   During chaotic motion of a particle, the original information about the particle&#39;s (e.g., planet&#39;s) position and velocity become disordered. Therefore, as a chaotic motion system such as an N-body system evolves, the initial condition is lost. In the Newtonian gravity manifestation of the N-body system, the force on a planet is: 
   
     
       
         
           
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   The above equation provides the force, F i , on the i th  planet where m i  is the mass and r i  is the position for the i th  planet and G is the universal constant of gravitation. Where N is less than or equal to 2, motion has a predictable solution. The two bodies are in mutual orbit which, if bounded, is a mutual “double star” ellipse. Where N is greater than two, the motion of a planet becomes chaotic. A phenomena known as “whiplash” can occur when bodies come dose together causing them to swerve rapidly away from each other. The “whiplash” phenomena can account for some or all of the unpredictable motion. In an unpredictable system, a small change in the initial condition results in a large change in the final condition. 
   Adjustable Back Door 
   In a cryptographic system, it may be desired that the private key be deducible from the public key. It may be, for example, that the owner of the private key wishes an alternate to act in their place. To accommodate this, the invention provides a technique whereby a private key can be recreated using the public key and a back door. The degree of difficulty to re-create the private key can be varied by varying the back door. That is, the technique provided by the invention includes the ability to adjust the back door to adjust the degree of difficulty required to re-create the private key. 
   If, for example, all of the back door is available along with the public key, it is possible to iterate the system in reverse order to arrive at the private key. However, if some portion of the back door is missing or the back door was generated from an interim state, more effort is needed to perform the reverse iteration. Total absence of a back door results in a computationally infeasible ability to reproduce the private key. 
   Model Definition 
   The invention can be implemented using a computer such as that illustrated in  FIG. 1 . The invention can be practiced using other computer systems or other types of computational tools as well. 
   A model is defined to implement the chaotic system. In a chaotic system model, it is not necessary to give any special meaning to constants such as the gravitational constant. Further, it is not necessary to use the concept of planetary motion or orbit. A model is preferably generated using equations to iterate motion such as the following:
 
acceleration=(junction of position, velocity, and time)
 
momentum=momentum+acceleration* dt  
 
position=position+momentum* dt  
 
where dt is a time increment. Any value can be used for dt, however, to avoid explicit multiplication, dt can be set to one.
 
   Preferably, the model is implemented using a computer system. Computer systems may differ in the manner in which they address precision issues. Precision can therefore become a problem where the model is implemented using different computer systems. A derived value can vary across computer systems. For example, a public key that is generated using one computer system with its own technique for handling precision issues can differ from the public key derived from the same private key on a system that implements a different approach for precision. 
   To port a model to different computer systems, it is important to establish rules of precision that each computer system must follow during model computations. Certain rules of precision can be identified and adhered to thereby allowing a more portable model. For example, a specified floating point or fixed point precision can be identified along with specific standards for round-off. Alternatively, integer arithmetic can be used such that values are generated using mod p where p is a large prime number to prevent overflow. 
     FIG. 3  provides a process whereby a public key and back door are generated given a private key using a motion model. At step  302 , the number of bodies in motion (e.g., N&gt;2), the transformation time, T (or the number of iterations), and the private key are determined. The private key can be produced using a random number generator, for example. At step  304 , the private key is converted to a set of initial conditions. Preferably, the private key is converted into a set of initial conditions by populating position and momentum vectors. 
   For example, where N=3, a first half of the private key is split into three values that represent a position value for each of the three bodies. The second half of the private key is split into three values that represent the momentum of the three bodies. Thus, if an 128-bit private key is used, 64 bits are split to produce the initial positions and 64 bits are used to produce the momentum of the three bodies. 
   At step  306 , the system is evolved over time T. For example, time T can be expressed in the number of iterations-performed by the system. Each iteration performs a transformation on the initial conditions. Transformation is described in more detail below. At step  308 , the final conditions are converted into a public key and a back door. Processing ends at step  310 . 
   The chaotic system is iterated in the forward direction to generate a public key and, if desired, a back door. The private key can be generated using a backward iteration of the chaotic system using the public key and back door. 
   Forward Iteration 
   In a forward iteration, the chaotic system of the invention manipulates the initial set of conditions to produce a set of final conditions and a plurality of interim condition sets as output. A set of interim conditions can be used to produce a back door.  FIG. 4  provides a forward iteration process flow according to an embodiment of the invention. The forward iteration assumes a value for N equal to three (i.e., three bodies in motion). Other values for N can be used in the alternative. 
   Referring to  FIG. 4 , an outer loop counter, ct, is initialized to zero at step  402 . At step  404  (i.e., “ct&gt;3?”), a determination is made whether the outer loop counter is greater than the number of bodies in motion. If so, processing ends at step  406 . If not, processing continues at step  408  to initialize an inner loop counter, i, to one. At step  410  (i.e., “i&gt;3?”), a determination is made whether i is greater than the number of bodies in motion. If so, processing continues at step  412  to increment the outer loop counter and processing continues at step  404 . If not, processing continues at step  414 . 
   At steps  414 ,  416 , and  418  the system calculates the acceleration, momentum, and position, respectively, for the body designed by i. In this embodiment, the position information is used to derive a public key and momentum is used to derive a back door. At step  420 , i is incremented and processing continues for any remaining bodies. 
     FIG. 5  illustrates acceleration, momentum, and position calculations for the i th  element according to an embodiment of the invention. A mechanism such as an array is used to store the position, momentum, and acceleration values. The position values are stored in an array, x. To determine acceleration, the position information (e.g., as stored in a positions array) is summed. Specifically, the position of each element is subtracted from the i th  element. The result of each subtraction operation is raised to the third power. This result is added to a sum. The sum is negated. A mod p operation is performed on the result of the negated sum. That is, acceleration associated with the i th  element in the current iteration is the remainder of a division operation in which the sum is the dividend and p (e.g., 2 e −1) is the divisor. 
   The acceleration is stored as, for example, an array, a, and momentum stored in array, m. The calculation of momentum for the i th  element involves the element&#39;s current momentum and acceleration values. The current momentum for the i th  element is determined by summing its previous momentum with its current acceleration. A mod p operation is performed on the sum. The i th  element&#39;s current momentum is the remainder of a division operation where the sum is the dividend and p is the divisor. 
   Position for the ith element is determined by adding the element&#39;s current position with its current momentum. A mod operation is performed on the result as described above. The remainder of the mod p operation is the new position for the ith element. 
   Backward Iteration 
   In the forward iteration, a chaotic system manipulates the initial set of conditions to produce a set of final conditions as output. A backward iteration of the system manipulates the public key and back door to produce the private key. A backward iteration can be performed by backtracking the forward iteration. A motion model can use equations for backward iteration such as the following:
 
position=position−momentum* dt  
 
acceleration=(function of position)
 
momentum=momentum−acceleration* dt  
 
where dt is a time increment. Any value can be used for dt, however, to avoid explicit multiplication, dt can be set to one. Using this deterministic, backward iteration can be performed such that the set of initial conditions can be re-produced by evolving the system over time T.
 
   Before a back door is used in a backward iteration, it must be complete. Thus, for example, if a back door consists of only partial condition information taken from a final set of conditions, the remaining condition information must be derived first. 
   To further illustrate, a back door and public key must have the same state to ensure that the chaotic system evolves the correct private key. Thus, if a back door was derived from a different set of conditions than the public key, a set of conditions should be identified such that the back door and the public key are in the same state. Thus, for example, if the back door was derived from a set of interim conditions at time T-10 (where T equals 18), the public key portion of the set of interim conditions for T-10 can be determined to arrive at a consistent state. Alternatively, the back door portion of the set of final conditions (T=18) is identified to arrive at a consistent state. A complete set of conditions (e.g., at T-10 or T=18) can be used in a backward iteration of the chaotic system to derive the private key. 
   Encryption 
   The public and private keys of the invention can be used in conjunction with an encryption mechanism to encrypt and decrypt messages. Examples of encryption mechanisms include Data Encryption Standard (DES); Rivest, Shamir, and Adleman (RSA); and Digital Signature Algorithm (DSA). DES is a symmetric encryption scheme (i.e., the same key is used for encryption and decryption. RSA and DSA are public key encryption schemes. Preferably, an one-way hash function is used for encrypting and decrypting such as Karn-Luby-Rackoff (KLR). Further to the discussion herein, a discussion of one-way hash functions is provided in chapter 18 of Schneier,  Applied Cryptography , John Wiley (2d ed. 1996) which is incorporated herein by reference. 
   A hash function is a function that takes a variable-length input string and converts it to a fixed-length output string. A hash function used in a cryptosystem is preferably “one-way” and “collision free”. A one-way hash function works in one direction. That is, it is easy to compute a hash value from an input string, but it is hard to generate an input string that hashes to a particular value. A collision-free hash function is one in which it is hard to generate two input strings with the same output string (i.e., hash value). Examples of one-way hash functions include: MD2, MD5, Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA), RIPE-MD, HAVAL. Other examples of one-way hash functions are provided in  Applied Cryptography.    
   The output of a one-way hash function is not dependent on the input. A single bit change in the input can change half of the bits in the hash values. Further, given a hash value it is computationally infeasible to find an input string that hashes to that value. 
   A block of plaintext, P i , can be encrypted with the result being a block of ciphertext, C i , using the following equation that uses a hash function, H, a key, K, and the result of the previous hash operation, C i−1 :
 
 C   i   =P   i   {circle around (+)} H ( K, C   i−1 )
 
   In the above equation, an “exclusive or” operation (denoted by the symbol {circle around (+)}) is performed between plaintext, P i , and the result of the hash function, H. The hash function, H, hashes a block from a previous encryption, C i−1 , appended to the encryption key. 
   In the above equation, a single hash function is used for encryption. KLR uses a three-round encryption scheme wherein at least two different hash functions are used to encrypt the plaintext. The following provides an example of a three-round hash function:
 
 K   L =½( K );  K   R =½( K )  (Step One)
 
 L   0 =½( P );  R   0 =½( P )  (Step Two)
 
 R   1   =R   0   {circle around (+)} H ( K   l   , L   0 )  (Step Three)
 
 L   1   =L   0   {circle around (+)} H ( K   r   , R   1 )  (Step Four)
 
 R   2   =R   1   {circle around (+)} H ( K   L   , L   1 )  (Step Five)
 
 C=L   1   +R   2   (Step Six)
 
   At step one, the key, K, is divided into two halves, K L  and K R . The plaintext, P, is split into L 0  and R 0  at step two. The left portions of the plaintext, L 0 , and the key, K L , are appended and hashed with the result “exclusive or&#39;d” with the right-hand portion of the plaintext, R 0 , at step three. At step four, the right portions of the plaintext, L 1 , and the key, K R , are appended and hashed and “exclusive or&#39;d” with the left-hand portion of the plaintext, L 0 . At step five, the result of step three is “exclusive or&#39;d” with the result of a hashing operation performed on the left-hand portion of the key, K L , and the result of step four. The result of steps four and five are appended to obtain the ciphertext, C, at step six. 
   Using KLR, the transmission of encrypted data is expansionless. Thus, the underlying chaotic dynamics of the invention serve to entropize the plaintext without expanding it. The chaotic-dynamic approach of the invention can be used as a replacement for encryptors such as the Data Encryption Standard (DES). 
     FIG. 9  provides an topographical view of encryption/decryption according to an embodiment of the invention. System  902  generates a public key  918  and distributes it to system  932 . Before transmitting a message to system  902 , system  932  encrypts the message, ciphertext  948 . System  932  transmits ciphertext  948  to system  902 . System  902  decrypts ciphertext  948  to obtain the message. 
   System  902  includes storage  904  to, for example, store public keys and its private key. Encryption/Decryption system  906  is used to encrypt plaintext or decrypt ciphertext. Encryption/Decryption system  906  implements KLR, for example. Chaotic system  908  is used to generate public key  918 . A private key source  910  provides a private key to model input generator  912 . Private key source  910  is a random number generator, for example. Model input generator  912  derives a set of initial conditions for input to chaotic model  914 . Chaotic model  914  implements the N-body system where N&gt;2, for example. Chaotic model  914  outputs a set of final conditions that becomes input to the public key/back door generator  916 . Public key/back door generator  916  derives public key  916 . 
   Authentication 
   One application for the invention is an authentication scheme. Authentication is a mechanism whereby one&#39;s identity is verified to another. For, example, a bank can use an authentication system to verify that a user is one of its customers. Authentication is performed each time a user enters a password during a computer system&#39;s login sequence. 
   In the past, an authentication scheme wherein a password is entered for verification necessarily requires that the authenticator keep a record of the password. The authenticator may store the password for each entity having permission to access. When the authenticator receives a password, it compares the password input with the stored password to verify the input. If the two passwords are different, the authentication fails. For example, if the two passwords are the same, authentication is successful. If the authentication scheme is verifying a potential user of a computer system, the user login process is completed thereby allowing the user access to the system&#39;s resources. If a user attempts to access a bank account via a bank automated teller machine, for example, a successful authentication results in the user having access to the bank account to, for example, withdraw or deposit funds. 
   Thus, in the previous authentication schemes, it was necessary for an authenticator to store sensitive information such as a password or a pin information. The invention can be used for authentication by verifying a stored public key against a public key that is generated at the time of authentication. If the two are the same, the authentication is successful. If the two public keys are not the same, the authentication fails. A public key is created by inputting a private key to a chaotic system and distributed to an authenticator. At the time of authentication, a public key is generated by inputting the same private key into the chaotic system.  FIG. 6  provides an authentication process flow according to an embodiment of the invention. 
   At step  602 , chaotic system is used to generate a private and public key. The public key is publicly disseminated at step  604 . The authenticator receives the public key and retains it at step  606 . To authenticate oneself, an unauthenticated user must input the private key to the chaotic system at step  608 . The chaotic system evolves over time, T, to generate an evolved public key at step  610 . At step  612  (i.e., “evolved public key=stored public key?”), the authenticator determines whether the public key generated from the unauthenticated user&#39;s private key is the same as the stored public key. If not, authentication fails at step  614 . If so, authentication is successful at step  616 . Authentication processing ends at step  618 . 
     FIG. 8  provides a topographical view of authentication according to an embodiment of the invention. Authenticator  808  is used to verify the identify of an unauthenticated user. Authenticator  808  includes comparer  810  and storage  812 . Referring to  FIG. 2A , private key  202  is used to create the set of initial conditions  204  for chaotic system  206 . Chaotic system  206  outputs a public key  210  derived from the set of final conditions  208  and a back door (e.g., back door  212  and back door  216 ). Referring to  FIG. 8 , public key  210  is distributed to authenticator  808 . Storage  812  retains public key  210 . 
   During authentication, a private key  802  is input to chaotic system  806  by an unauthenticated user. Chaotic System  806  implements the same chaotic model as the chaotic system that generated public key  210  (i.e., chaotic system  206 ). Chaotic system  806  generates public key  810 . Public key  810  becomes input to Authenticator  808 . Comparer  810  compares public key  210  stored in storage  812  with public key  810 . If public key  210  and public key  810  are the same, the identify of the user is verified to authenticator  808 . If the two keys are different, the user is not verified to authenticator  808 . 
   In  FIG. 6 , the unauthenticated user had knowledge of the private key. It is also possible that the unauthenticated user does not have knowledge of the private key, but possesses some amount of information to re-create the private key. It may be desired, for example, that an alternate be able to gain access as well. The invention provides a mechanism that allows the holder of a private key to provide information to an alternate to allow such access. Given a public key and an adjustable back door, an alternate can re-produce the private key. With the private key, the alternate can act on behalf of the private key holder. As discussed above, the back door information supplied to an alternate can be adjusted to vary the degree of difficulty involved in re-producing the private key. Different alternates can be given different back doors. Thus, one alternate can be given a back door that can be more easily used to re-create the private key than another alternate. 
   With the public key and an adjustable back door, an alternate must first generate the private key. If the alternate is able to re-create the private key, the alternate can attempt to gain access using the private key.  FIG. 7  provides an alternate authentication process flow according to an embodiment of the invention. 
   At step  702 , a private key, public key and back door are generated using chaotic-dynamics. The back door and public key are provided to an alternate at step  704 . At step  706 , the alternate re-produces the private key using the public key and back door information with the chaotic system. At step  708  (i.e., private key re-produced?”), a determination is made whether a private key was generated. If not, processing ends as step  712 . If so, processing continues at step  710 . 
   At step  710 , the alternate uses the re-produced private key for authentication. The process flow provided in  FIG. 6  can be used for authentication. As discussed above, the public key generated from the original private key is distributed to and stored at the authenticator. The alternate uses the re-produced private key to generate an evolved public key. If the evolved public key is the same as the stored public key, the alternate is authenticated. If not authentication of the alternate fails. 
   Referring to  FIG. 8 , an alternate enters private key  802 . Private key  802  is generated as described above with reference to  FIG. 2B , for example. Public key  210  becomes input to chaotic system  206  along with a back door. If, for example, back door  212  was given to the alternate, the alternate inputs public key  210  and back door  212  to chaotic system  206 . The private key that is generated by chaotic system  206  can be used by the alternate as input to chaotic system  806  (i.e., private key  802 ). If the correct private key is used as private key  802  by the alternate, verification of the alternate is successful. If not, the alternate is not authenticated by authenticator  808 . 
   Thus, a cryptographic system using chaotic dynamics has been provided.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20050523
Publication Date: 20100608
Grant Date: 20100608
Priority Date: 19970215
Inventors: CRANDALL RICHARD E.
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H04L9/001", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L9/30", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L9/001", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L9/30", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 25182402