Optimal security limits of RFID distance bounding protocols

In this paper, we classify the RFID distance bounding protocols having bitwise fast phases and no final signature. We also give the theoretical security bounds for two specific classes, leaving the security bounds for the general case as an open problem. As for the classification, we introduce the notion of k-previous challenge dependent (k-PCD) protocols where each response bit depends on the current and k-previous challenges and there is no final signature. We treat the case k = 0, which means each response bit depends only on the current challenge, as a special case and define such protocols as current challenge dependent (CCD) protocols. In general, we construct a trade-off curve between the security levels of mafia and distance frauds by introducing two generic attack algorithms. This leads to the conclusion that CCD protocols cannot attain the ideal security against distance fraud, i.e. 1/2, for each challenge-response bit, without totally losing the security against mafia fraud. We extend the generic attacks to 1-PCD protocols and obtain a trade-off curve for 1-PCD protocols pointing out that 1-PCD protocols can provide better security than CCD protocols. Thereby, we propose a natural extension of a CCD protocol to a 1-PCD protocol in order to improve its security. As a study case, we give two natural extensions of Hancke and Kuhn protocol to show how to enhance the security against either mafia fraud or distance fraud without extra cost

Highly Efficient and Re-executable Private Function Evaluation with Linear Complexity

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.Private function evaluation aims to securely compute a function f(x1, ... ; xn) without leaking any information other than what is revealed by the output, where f is a private input of one of the parties (say Party1) and xi is a private input of the i-th party Partyi. In this work, we propose a novel and secure two-party private function evaluation (2PFE) scheme based on the DDH assumption. Our scheme introduces a reusability feature that signi cantly improves the state-of-the-art. Accordingly, our scheme has two variants, one is utilized in the initial execution of the function f, and the other is utilized in its subsequent evaluations. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first and most efficient 2PFE scheme that enjoys a reusablity feature. Our protocols achieve linear communication and computation complexities and a constant number of rounds which is at most three

A framework for analyzing RFID distance bounding protocols

Many distance bounding protocols appropriate for the RFID technology have been proposed recently. Unfortunately, they are commonly designed without any formal approach, which leads to inaccurate analyzes and unfair comparisons. Motivated by this need, we introduce a unied framework that aims to improve analysis and design of distance bounding protocols. Our framework includes a thorough terminology about the frauds, adversary, and prover, thus disambiguating many misleading terms. It also explores the adversary's capabilities and strategies, and addresses the impact of the prover's ability to tamper with his device. It thus introduces some new concepts in the distance bounding domain as the black-box and white-box models, and the relation between the frauds with respect to these models. The relevancy and impact of the framework is nally demonstrated on a study case: Munilla-Peinado distance bounding protocol

Common Criteria Protection Profile for Secure Communication Module for Water Tracking System

The Target of Evaluation (TOE) as defined in this Protection Profile is the Secure Communication Module for Water Tracking System (WTS). The TOE collects information from input devices such as pH sensor, conductivity sensor, temperature sensor, flow meter, RFID / 2D barcode reader, etc., and then it sends these collected data to the Data Management Center (DMC). In this section, first the overall Water Tracking System is introduced. Then, details of Secure Communication Module (TOE) are given. Afterwards the components of TOE, the cryptographic operations performed by TOE and the capabilities of TOE are introduced

Solution of a Conjecture: On 2-PCD RFID Distance Bounding Protocols

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version.It is a popular challenge to design distance bounding protocols that are both secure and efficient. Motivated by this, many distance bounding protocols against relay attacks have been advanced in recent times. Another interesting question is whether these protocols provides the best security. In 2010, Kara et al. analysis the optimal security limits of low-cost distance bounding protocols having bit-wise fast phases and no final signature. As for the classification, they have introduced the notion of k-previous challenge dependent (k-PCD) protocols where each response bit depends on the current and the k previous challenges. They have given the theoretical security bounds for two specific classes k = 0 and 1, but have left the security bounds for k >= 2 as an open problem. In this paper, we aim to answer the open question concerning the security limits of 2-PCD protocols. We describe two generic attacks for mafia and distance frauds that can be applied on any 2-PCD protocols. Then, we provide the optimal trade-off curve between the security levels of mafia and distance frauds that determines the security limits of 2-PCD protocols. Finally our results also prove the conjecture that 2-PCD protocols enhance the security compared to 0-PCD and 1-PCD cases

A Novel RFID Distance Bounding Protocol Based on Physically Unclonable Functions

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems are vulnerable to relay attacks (i.e., mafia, terrorist and distance frauds) when they are used for authentication purposes. Distance bounding protocols are particularly designed as a countermeasure against these attacks. These protocols aim to ensure that the tags are in a distant area by measuring the round-trip delays during a rapid challenge-response exchange of short authenticated messages. Terrorist fraud is the most challenging attack to avoid, because a legitimate user (a tag owner) collaborates with an attacker to defeat the authentication system. Many RFID distance bounding protocols have been proposed recently, with encouraging results. However, none of them provides the ideal security against the terrorist fraud. Motivated by this need, we first introduce a strong adversary model for Physically Unclonable Functions (PUFs) based authentication protocol in which the adversary has access to volatile memory of the tag. We show that the security of Sadeghi et al.’s PUF based authentication protocol is not secure in this model. We provide a new technique to improve the security of their protocol. Namely, in our scheme, even if an adversary has access to volatile memory she cannot obtain all long term keys to clone the tag. Next, we propose a novel RFID distance bounding protocol based on PUFs which satisfies the expected security requirements. Comparing to the previous protocols, the use of PUFs in our protocol enhances the system in terms of security, privacy and tag computational overhead. We also prove that our extended protocol with a final signature provides the ideal security against all those frauds, remarkably the terrorist fraud. Besides that, our protocols enjoy the attractive properties of PUFs, which provide the most cost efficient and reliable means to fingerprint chips based on their physical properties

Anonymous RFID authentication for cloud services

Cloud computing is one of the fastest growing segments of IT industry since the users’ commitments for investment and operations are minimized, and costs are in direct relation to usage and demand. In general, cloud services are required to authenticate the user and most of the practical cloud services do not provide anonymity of the users. Namely, cloud provider can track the users easily, so privacy and authenticity are two critical aspects of security. Anonymous authentication is a technique enabling users to prove that they have privilege without disclosing real identities. This type of authentication can be useful especially in scenarios where it is sufficient to ensure the server that the claiming parties are indeed registered. Some motivating applications in the cloud for an anonymous authentication protocol are E-commerce, E-voting, E-library, Ecashand mobile agent applications. Many existing anonymous authentication protocols assume absolute trust to the cloud provider in which all private keys are stored. This trust may result in serious security and privacy issues in case of private key leakage from the cloud provider. In this paper, we propose forward secure anonymous and mutual authentication protocols using RFID technology for cloud services. These protocols avoid the trustworthiness to the cloud provider. Meaning that, even if the private keys are obtained from the corrupted tags or from the server owners of these tags cannot be traced from the past authentication actions. In fact, anonymity of the users will still be ensured even the private keys of tags are compromised

A framework for analyzing RFID distance bounding protocols

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.Many distance bounding protocols appropriate for the RFID technology have been proposed recently. Unfortunately, they are commonly designed without any formal approach, which leads to inaccurate analyzes and unfair comparisons. Motivated by this need, we introduce a unified framework that aims to improve analysis and design of distance bounding protocols. Our framework includes a thorough terminology about the frauds, adversary and prover, thus disambiguating many misleading terms. It also explores the adversary's capabilities and strategies, and addresses the impact of the prover's ability to tamper with his device. It thus introduces some new concepts in the distance bounding domain as the black-box and white-box models, and the relation between the frauds with respect to these models. The relevancy and impact of the framework is finally demonstrated on a study case: Munilla–Peinado distance bounding protocol

FlexHi: A Flexible Hierarchical Threshold

Threshold signature schemes have gained prominence in enhancing the security and flexibility of digital signatures, allowing a group of participants to collaboratively create signatures while maintaining a predefined threshold of participants for validity. However, conventional threshold signatures treat all participants equally, lacking the capability to accommodate hierarchical structures often seen in real-world applications. Hierarchical Threshold Signature Schemes (HTSS) naturally extend the concept of simple threshold signatures, offering a solution that aligns with hierarchical organizational structures. Our paper introduces a novel, efficient, and flexible HTSS that employs independent polynomials at each hierarchical level, removing limitations on threshold values. This adaptability enables us to tailor the scheme to diverse requirements, whether signing requires only top-level nodes or lower-level participants\u27 involvement. Based on our analysis, our FlexHi integrated into the FROST scheme outperforms Tassa\u27s hierarchical scheme on FROST and operates approximately 30% to 40% faster, depending on the number of participants and the chosen threshold values. This demonstrates that, in addition to flexibility, our scheme has practical benefits through improved performance

Protective Effects of Berberis Vulgaris Plant Extract on Paracetamol-induced Liver Toxicity in Rats

INTRODUCTION: Berberis vulgaris extract is known to be protective against many damages due to its anti-inflamatory and antioxidant properties. Paracetamol toxicity is one of the most common toxicities. In our study, we aimed to reduce the damage caused by paracetamol toxicity with the beneficial effects of Berberis vullgaris extract. METHODS: In our study, 42 Sprague Dawley 8-week-old rats were used. 7 groups were formed with 6 female animals in each group. At the 24th hour of the study, all groups underwent laparotomy under anesthesia and liver dissection was performed. Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) staining was used to evaluate liver histopathology, and PAS staining was used to show glycogen and basement membrane staining in liver tissue. In addition, scoring was done by showing apoptotic cells with TUNEL stain RESULTS: Hepatic degeneration and peritubular inflammation were quite evident in the groups to which we applied paracetamol. In this study, we observed that the number of positive cells increased in the group given paracetamol in TUNEL staining. As a result of the PAS staining we performed, glycogen accumulation in the hepatocytes of the group we induced with paracetamol was remarkable. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Berberis vulgaris plant extract appears to reduce Paracetamol-induced hepatic toxicity. As a result of the PAS staining, glycogen accumulation in the hepatocytes was remarkable in the group which was induced with paracetamol. Further studies are required for the use of determined molecules of Berberis vulgaris plant extract against the hepatotoxic effect of paracetamol in paracetamol toxicity