Granted Patent B2

US 12,192,184 · App. 18/063,192 · Granted Jan 7, 2025

Inventor: John A. Nix (Evanston, IL)

H04L63/045H04L9/085H04L9/0852H04L9/0861H04L9/3242

Abstract

Claims (26)

1. A method for a device to conduct secure communications with a network, the method performed by the device, the method comprising:

a) storing, in nonvolatile memory, a plurality of key encapsulation mechanism (KEM) algorithms comprising a first KEM algorithm;

b) generating, by a processing unit, a device ephemeral private key and a corresponding device ephemeral public key for the first KEM algorithm;

c) transmitting, to the network via a network interface, a first message comprising (i) the device ephemeral public key, and (ii) identifiers for each of the plurality of KEM algorithms and the first KEM algorithm;

d) receiving, from the network via the network interface, a second message comprising a first asymmetric ciphertext and a first symmetric ciphertext of at least a server public key for a second KEM algorithm;

e) conducting a KEM decapsulation (DECAPS) function to generate a first shared secret K1 using the first asymmetric ciphertext and the first KEM algorithm;

f) conducting a KEM encapsulation (ENCAPS) function to generate a second shared secret K2 and a second asymmetric ciphertext using at least (i) the server public key and (ii) the second KEM algorithm;

g) deriving a symmetric ciphering key S2 using at least the K1 and the K2;

h) deriving a “pre-shared” secret key (PSK) using at least the K1 and the K2;

i) receiving, from the network, a third message comprising a second symmetric ciphertext of an identity of the PSK (PSK-ID), wherein the device decrypts the second symmetric ciphertext with the key S2;

j) transmitting, to the network, a fourth message requesting resumption of a secure session, the fourth message comprising the PSK-ID and a random number generated by the device;

k) generating a symmetric ciphering key S3 using the PSK and the random number;

l) Receiving, from the network, a third symmetric ciphertext; and

m) decrypting the third symmetric ciphertext using the key S3.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising in step g), deriving a symmetric ciphering key S2 using at least the K1 and the K2 with one of (i) a HMAC-based Extract-and-Expand Key Derivation Function (HKDF) and (ii) a hash-based key derivation function.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising in step g) using the HKDF to derive a message authentication code (MAC) key and an initialization vector for the second symmetric ciphertext.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising in step h), deriving the PSK using at least plaintext data from the first message and the second message with one of a HKDF and a hash-based key derivation function.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising in step h), generating a symmetric ciphering key S3 using the PSK and the random number with one of a HKDF and a hash-based key derivation function.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising in step k) using the HKDF to derive a message authentication code (MAC) key and an initialization vector for the third symmetric ciphertext.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first KEM algorithm comprises a first algorithm type for lattice-based cryptography and the second KEM algorithm comprises a second algorithm type for code-based cryptography.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first KEM algorithm comprises a first algorithm type for code-based cryptography and the second KEM algorithm comprises a second algorithm type for lattice-based cryptography.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the server public key comprises a server static public key, wherein a plaintext for the first symmetric ciphertext includes a server certificate with the server static public key and an identity for the second KEM algorithm.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the server public key comprises a server ephemeral public key, and wherein a plaintext for the first symmetric ciphertext includes a server digital signature over at least the server ephemeral public key and the device ephemeral public key.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the symmetric ciphering key S2 comprises a first portion and a second portion, wherein in step i) the device decrypts with the first portion of the key S2, and wherein the second portion of the key S2 comprises an encryption key.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the secure session comprises step c) through step i).

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the device comprises one of a personal computer, a laptop computer, a mobile handset, a router, and a server.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (48)