Constructing Optimal Authentication Codes with Perfect Multi-fold Secrecy

We establish a construction of optimal authentication codes achieving perfect multi-fold secrecy by means of combinatorial designs. This continues the author's work (ISIT 2009) and answers an open question posed therein. As an application, we present the first infinite class of optimal codes that provide two-fold security against spoofing attacks and at the same time perfect two- fold secrecy.Comment: 4 pages (double-column); to appear in Proc. 2010 International Zurich Seminar on Communications (IZS 2010, Zurich

Combinatorial Bounds and Characterizations of Splitting Authentication Codes

We present several generalizations of results for splitting authentication codes by studying the aspect of multi-fold security. As the two primary results, we prove a combinatorial lower bound on the number of encoding rules and a combinatorial characterization of optimal splitting authentication codes that are multi-fold secure against spoofing attacks. The characterization is based on a new type of combinatorial designs, which we introduce and for which basic necessary conditions are given regarding their existence.Comment: 13 pages; to appear in "Cryptography and Communications

Perfect Secrecy Systems Immune to Spoofing Attacks

We present novel perfect secrecy systems that provide immunity to spoofing attacks under equiprobable source probability distributions. On the theoretical side, relying on an existence result for $t$-designs by Teirlinck, our construction method constructively generates systems that can reach an arbitrary high level of security. On the practical side, we obtain, via cyclic difference families, very efficient constructions of new optimal systems that are onefold secure against spoofing. Moreover, we construct, by means of $t$-designs for large values of $t$, the first near-optimal systems that are 5- and 6-fold secure as well as further systems with a feasible number of keys that are 7-fold secure against spoofing. We apply our results furthermore to a recently extended authentication model, where the opponent has access to a verification oracle. We obtain this way novel perfect secrecy systems with immunity to spoofing in the verification oracle model.Comment: 10 pages (double-column); to appear in "International Journal of Information Security

Disjoint difference families and their applications

Difference sets and their generalisations to difference families arise from the study of designs and many other applications. Here we give a brief survey of some of these applications, noting in particular the diverse definitions of difference families and the variations in priorities in constructions. We propose a definition of disjoint difference families that encompasses these variations and allows a comparison of the similarities and disparities. We then focus on two constructions of disjoint difference families arising from frequency hopping sequences and showed that they are in fact the same. We conclude with a discussion of the notion of equivalence for frequency hopping sequences and for disjoint difference families

The Multireceiver Commitment Schemes

Existing commitment schemes were addressed under the classic two-party scenario. However, popularity of the secure multi-party computation in today\u27s lush network communication is motivating us to adopt more sophisticate commitment schemes. In this paper, we study for the first time multireceiver commitment in unconditionally secure setting, i.e., one committer promises a group of verifiers a common secret value (in computational setting it is trivial). We extend the Rivest model for this purpose and present a provably secure generic construction using multireceiver authentication codes (without secrecy) as a building block. Two concrete schemes are proposed as its immediate implementations, which are almost as efficient as an optimal MRA-code. Furthermore, to affirmatively answer the open question of Pinto, Souto, Matos and Antunes, we present also a generic construction (for two-party case) using only an A-code with secrecy. Finally, we show the possibility of constructing multireceiver commitment schemes using other primitives such as verifiable secret sharing. We leave open problems and believe the work will open doors for more interesting research

A Construction of Multisender Authentication Codes with Sequential Model from Symplectic Geometry over Finite Fields

Multisender authentication codes allow a group of senders to construct an authenticated message for a receiver such that the receiver can verify authenticity of the received message. In this paper, we construct multisender authentication codes with sequential model from symplectic geometry over finite fields, and the parameters and the maximum probabilities of deceptions are also calculated

Ideal quantum protocols in the non-ideal physical world

The development of quantum protocols from conception to experimental realizations is one of the main sources of the stimulating exchange between fundamental and experimental research characteristic to quantum information processing. In this thesis we contribute to the development of two recent quantum protocols, Universal Blind Quantum Computation (UBQC) and Quantum Digital Signatures (QDS). UBQC allows a client to delegate a quantum computation to a more powerful quantum server while keeping the input and computation private. We analyse the resilience of the privacy of UBQC under imperfections. Then, we introduce approximate blindness quantifying any compromise to privacy, and propose a protocol which enables arbitrary levels of security despite imperfections. Subsequently, we investigate the adaptability of UBQC to alternative implementations with practical advantages. QDS allow a party to send a message to other parties which cannot be forged, modified or repudiated. We analyse the security properties of a first proof-of-principle experiment of QDS, implemented in an optical system. We estimate the security failure probabilities of our system as a function of protocol parameters, under all but the most general types of attacks. Additionally, we develop new techniques for analysing transformations between symmetric sets of states, utilized not only in the security proofs of QDS but in other applications as well

Low-resolution ADC receiver design, MIMO interference cancellation prototyping, and PHY secrecy analysis.

This dissertation studies three independent research topics in the general field of wireless communications. The first topic focuses on new receiver design with low-resolution analog-to-digital converters (ADC). In future massive multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) systems, multiple high-speed high-resolution ADCs will become a bottleneck for practical applications because of the hardware complexity and power consumption. One solution to this problem is to adopt low-cost low-precision ADCs instead. In Chapter II, MU-MIMO-OFDM systems only equipped with low-precision ADCs are considered. A new turbo receiver structure is proposed to improve the overall system performance. Meanwhile, ultra-low-cost communication devices can enable massive deployment of disposable wireless relays. In Chapter III, the feasibility of using a one-bit relay cluster to help a power-constrained transmitter for distant communication is investigated. Nonlinear estimators are applied to enable effective decoding. The second topic focuses prototyping and verification of a LTE and WiFi co-existence system, where the operation of LTE in unlicensed spectrum (LTE-U) is discussed. LTE-U extends the benefits of LTE and LTE Advanced to unlicensed spectrum, enabling mobile operators to offload data traffic onto unlicensed frequencies more efficiently and effectively. With LTE-U, operators can offer consumers a more robust and seamless mobile broadband experience with better coverage and higher download speeds. As the coexistence leads to considerable performance instability of both LTE and WiFi transmissions, the LTE and WiFi receivers with MIMO interference canceller are designed and prototyped to support the coexistence in Chapter IV. The third topic focuses on theoretical analysis of physical-layer secrecy with finite blocklength. Unlike upper layer security approaches, the physical-layer communication security can guarantee information-theoretic secrecy. Current studies on the physical-layer secrecy are all based on infinite blocklength. Nevertheless, these asymptotic studies are unrealistic and the finite blocklength effect is crucial for practical secrecy communication. In Chapter V, a practical analysis of secure lattice codes is provided

Key management for wireless sensor network security

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have attracted great attention not only in industry but also in academia due to their enormous application potential and unique security challenges. A typical sensor network can be seen as a combination of a number of low-cost sensor nodes which have very limited computation and communication capability, memory space, and energy supply. The nodes are self-organized into a network to sense or monitor surrounding information in an unattended environment, while the self-organization property makes the networks vulnerable to various attacks.Many cryptographic mechanisms that solve network security problems rely directly on secure and efficient key management making key management a fundamental research topic in the field of WSNs security. Although key management for WSNs has been studied over the last years, the majority of the literature has focused on some assumed vulnerabilities along with corresponding countermeasures. Specific application, which is an important factor in determining the feasibility of the scheme, has been overlooked to a large extent in the existing literature.This thesis is an effort to develop a key management framework and specific schemes for WSNs by which different types of keys can be established and also can be distributed in a self-healing manner; explicit/ implicit authentication can be integrated according to the security requirements of expected applications. The proposed solutions would provide reliable and robust security infrastructure for facilitating secure communications in WSNs.There are five main parts in the thesis. In Part I, we begin with an introduction to the research background, problems definition and overview of existing solutions. From Part II to Part IV, we propose specific solutions, including purely Symmetric Key Cryptography based solutions, purely Public Key Cryptography based solutions, and a hybrid solution. While there is always a trade-off between security and performance, analysis and experimental results prove that each proposed solution can achieve the expected security aims with acceptable overheads for some specific applications. Finally, we recapitulate the main contribution of our work and identify future research directions in Part V