A randomized analog of Chaum — van Antwerpen undeniable signature

Предлагается модификация неоспоримой подписи Д. Чаума и Х. ван Антверпена, основанная на группе точек эллиптической кривой. Алгоритм формирования подписи дополнен предварительным этапом рандомизации. Для протоколов проверки подписи и отказа от неё предложено два варианта выполнения. Доказаны теоремы, показывающие, что эти протоколы отвечают своему назначению. Описан способ преобразования неоспоримой подписи в обычную цифровую подпись, проиллюстрированный на примере схемы цифровой подписи Шнорра

Public key protocols over the ring E_p(m)

In this paper we use the nonrepresentable ring E_p(m) to introduce public key cryptosystems in noncommutative settings and based on the Semigroup Action Problem and the Decomposition Problem respectively.The second author was supported by Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad grant MTM2014-54439 and Junta de Andalucia FQM0211

Design and Analysis of Opaque Signatures

Digital signatures were introduced to guarantee the authenticity and integrity of the underlying messages. A digital signature scheme comprises the key generation, the signature, and the verification algorithms. The key generation algorithm creates the signing and the verifying keys, called also the signer’s private and public keys respectively. The signature algorithm, which is run by the signer, produces a signature on the input message. Finally, the verification algorithm, run by anyone who knows the signer’s public key, checks whether a purported signature on some message is valid or not. The last property, namely the universal verification of digital signatures is undesirable in situations where the signed data is commercially or personally sensitive. Therefore, mechanisms which share most properties with digital signatures except for the universal verification were invented to respond to the aforementioned need; we call such mechanisms “opaque signatures”. In this thesis, we study the signatures where the verification cannot be achieved without the cooperation of a specific entity, namely the signer in case of undeniable signatures, or the confirmer in case of confirmer signatures; we make three main contributions. We first study the relationship between two security properties important for public key encryption, namely data privacy and key privacy. Our study is motivated by the fact that opaque signatures involve always an encryption layer that ensures their opacity. The properties required for this encryption vary according to whether we want to protect the identity (i.e. the key) of the signer or hide the validity of the signature. Therefore, it would be convenient to use existing work about the encryption scheme in order to derive one notion from the other. Next, we delve into the generic constructions of confirmer signatures from basic cryptographic primitives, e.g. digital signatures, encryption, or commitment schemes. In fact, generic constructions give easy-to-understand and easy-to-prove schemes, however, this convenience is often achieved at the expense of efficiency. In this contribution, which constitutes the core of this thesis, we first analyze the already existing constructions; our study concludes that the popular generic constructions of confirmer signatures necessitate strong security assumptions on the building blocks, which impacts negatively the efficiency of the resulting signatures. Next, we show that a small change in these constructionsmakes these assumptions drop drastically, allowing as a result constructions with instantiations that compete with the dedicated realizations of these signatures. Finally, we revisit two early undeniable signatures which were proposed with a conjectural security. We disprove the claimed security of the first scheme, and we provide a fix to it in order to achieve strong security properties. Next, we upgrade the second scheme so that it supports a iii desirable feature, and we provide a formal security treatment of the new scheme: we prove that it is secure assuming new reasonable assumptions on the underlying constituents

QUEST Hierarchy for Hyperspectral Face Recognition

Face recognition is an attractive biometric due to the ease in which photographs of the human face can be acquired and processed. The non-intrusive ability of many surveillance systems permits face recognition applications to be used in a myriad of environments. Despite decades of impressive research in this area, face recognition still struggles with variations in illumination, pose and expression not to mention the larger challenge of willful circumvention. The integration of supporting contextual information in a fusion hierarchy known as QUalia Exploitation of Sensor Technology (QUEST) is a novel approach for hyperspectral face recognition that results in performance advantages and a robustness not seen in leading face recognition methodologies. This research demonstrates a method for the exploitation of hyperspectral imagery and the intelligent processing of contextual layers of spatial, spectral, and temporal information. This approach illustrates the benefit of integrating spatial and spectral domains of imagery for the automatic extraction and integration of novel soft features (biometric). The establishment of the QUEST methodology for face recognition results in an engineering advantage in both performance and efficiency compared to leading and classical face recognition techniques. An interactive environment for the testing and expansion of this recognition framework is also provided

Semi-Quantum Conference Key Agreement (SQCKA)

A need in the development of secure quantum communications is the scalable extension of key distribution protocols. The greatest advantage of these protocols is the fact that its security does not rely on mathematical assumptions and can achieve perfect secrecy. In order to make these protocols scalable, has been developed the concept of Conference Key Agreements, among multiple users. In this thesis we propose a key distribution protocol among several users using a semi-quantum approach. We assume that only one of the users is equipped with quantum devices and generates quantum states, while the other users are classical, i.e., they are only equipped with a device capable of measuring or reflecting the information. This approach has the advantage of simplicity and reduced costs. We prove our proposal is secure and we present some numerical results on the lower bounds for the key rate. The security proof applies new techniques derived from some already well established work. From the practical point of view, we developed a toolkit called Qis|krypt⟩ that is able to simulate not only our protocol but also some well-known quantum key distribution protocols. The source-code is available on the following link: - https://github.com/qiskrypt/qiskrypt/.Uma das necessidades no desenvolvimento de comunicações quânticas seguras é a extensão escalável de protocolos de distribuição de chaves. A grande vantagem destes protocolos é o facto da sua segurança não depender de suposições matemáticas e poder atingir segurança perfeita. Para tornar estes protocolos escaláveis, desenvolveu-se o conceito de Acordo de Chaves de Conferência, entre múltiplos utilizadores. Nesta tese propomos um protocolo para distribuição de chaves entre vários utilizadores usando uma abordagem semi-quântica. Assumimos que apenas um dos utilizadores está equipado com dispositivos quânticos e é capaz de gerar estados quânticos, enquanto que os outros utilizadores são clássicos, isto é, estão apenas equipados com dispositivos capazes de efectuar uma medição ou refletir a informação. Esta abordagem tem a vantagem de ser mais simples e de reduzir custos. Provamos que a nossa proposta é segura e apresentamos alguns resultados numéricos sobre limites inferiores para o rácio de geração de chaves. A prova de segurança aplica novas técnicas derivadas de alguns resultados já bem estabelecidos. Do ponto de vista prático, desenvolvemos uma ferramenta chamada Qis|krypt⟩ que é capaz de simular não só o nosso protocolo como também outros protocolos distribuição de chaves bem conhecidos. O código fonte encontra-se disponível no seguinte link: - https://github.com/qiskrypt/qiskrypt/

A Comparison of Education in Post-Revolutionary Mexico and Post-Independence India

Comparison, Education, History, India, Mexic

Internationalizing Honors

This monograph takes a “holistic approach to internationalization. [It] highlights how honors programs and colleges have gone beyond providing often one-time, short-term international experiences for their students and made global issues and experiences central features of their honors curricular and co-curricular programming. It presents case studies that can serve as models for honors programs and colleges seeking to initiate and further their internationalization efforts and highlights the latest research on the impact of internationalization on our students, campuses, and communities.” * * * “Our hope is that this monograph will serve multiple audiences: faculty wishing to develop new globally focused courses or partnerships; administrators looking to inspire and support faculty; advancement officers working to encourage donors to recognize the value of internationalizing campuses; and international education professionals striving to create and advance programs for some of the most talented and motivated students on their campuses. Without doubt, as we face the increasingly complicated global challenges of the twenty-first century, societal needs escalate—the need for greater understanding of the common concerns of all humanity; the need for celebrating, not fearfully shrinking from, the rich diversity of our world; and the need for broader education than the traditional classroom can provide to prepare our students to tackle pressing global issues and to lead in a complex and interdependent world. These crucial needs can be met, at least in part, through the internationalization of higher education and, specifically, of honors education.” Acknowledgments Introduction • Mary Kay Mulvaney and Kim Klein PART I: Internationalizing Honors at Home Making the Global Familiar: Building an International Focus into the Honors Curriculum • Erin E. Edgington and Daniel C. Villanueva Internationalizing with Intention: A Case Study of the Mahurin Honors College • Craig T. Cobane and Audra Jennings Honors Internationalization at Washington State University: A Comprehensive Experience • Kim Andersen and Christine K. Oakley Intercultural Conversations: Honors-Led Partnerships to Engage International Students on Campus • Robert J. Pampel Keeping the Program Alive: Internationalizing Honors through Post-Travel Programming • Kevin W. Dean and Michael B. Jendzurski PART II: Internationalizing Honors through International Partnerships “Let’s Get a Coffee!”: A Transformative International Honors Partnership • Leslie Kaplan, Sophia Zevgoli, and Andres Gallo Balancing International Aspirations with Honors Expectations: Expanding Honors to a Branch Campus in Florence, Italy • James G. Snyder and Vanessa Nichol-Peters “Same Same, But Different”: Trans-Nationalizing Honors in a U.S. Branch Campus • Jesse Gerlach Ulmer The Fulbright International Education Administrators Seminars: Pathways to International Partnerships • Rochelle Gregory, Kyle C. Kopko, and M. Grant Norton Transformative Learning Abroad for Honors Students: Leveraging High-Impact Practices at Global Partner Institutions • Craig Wallace Drawing on Gifts of International Students to Develop International Partnerships • Kevin W. Dean The Honors Thesis for Health Sciences Students: A Service Abroad Model • Misty Guy, Heidi Evans Knowles, Stephanie Cook, Zane Cooley, and Ellen Buckner Honors Abroad through Third-Party Providers • Susan E. Dinan PART III: Assessing Honors Internationalization Early Impact: Assessing Global-Mindedness and Intercultural Competence in a First-Year Honors Abroad Course • Michael Carignan and Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler Assessing Honors Internationalization: A Case Study of Lloyd International Honors College at UNC Greensboro • Chris J. Kirkman and Omar H. Ali The Long-Term Impact of Study Abroad on Honors Program Alumni • Mary Kay Mulvaney About the Authors About the NCHC Monograph Serie