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Computer Security and the Internet pp 91–124Cite as

Authentication Protocols and Key Establishment

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Abstract

This chapter discusses authentication protocols involving cryptographic algorithms. The main focus is authenticated key establishment protocols seeking to establish a cryptographic key (secret) for subsequent secure communications, with assurance of the identity of the far-end party sharing the key. Several mainstream key establishment protocols are discussed, as well as examples of what can go wrong. We also discuss passwordauthenticated key exchange, designed to resist offline attacks even if users choose predictable passwords, as well as single sign-on (SSO) systems and related federated identity systems. A main objective is to highlight that even experts find it hard to avoid subtle errors in the design of authentication protocols; software designers should use standardized protocols and carefully scrutinized software libraries, and fully expect that any protocols they design themselves will almost surely contain hidden flaws.

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  1. School of Computer Science, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Paul C. van Oorschot

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van Oorschot, P.C. (2021). Authentication Protocols and Key Establishment. In: Computer Security and the Internet. Information Security and Cryptography. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-83411-1_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-83411-1_4

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