System for encoding encryption/decryption information into IFF challenges

• US 5,822,430 A
• Filed: 11/20/1996
• Issued: 10/13/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Technical Communications Corporation
• Original Assignee: Technical Communications Corporation
• Inventors: Doud, Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): Tarcza, Thomas H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): SAYADIAN, HRAYR
• Application Number:
  US08/752,899
• Time in Patent Office: 692 Days
• Field of Search: 342/45, 342/203, 342/204, 342/36-40, 342/13, 342/14, 342/16, 380/9, 380/21
• US Class Current: 380/260
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/765 with exchange of information between interrogator and responder
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/788 Coders or decoders therefor; Special detection circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 3/255 based on redundancy of transmitted data, transmission path or transmitting source
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/12 Transmitting and receiving encryption devices synchronised or initially set up in a particular manner
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3271 using challenge-response

Abstract

An IFF system produces a challenge in which some or all of the anti-interference pulses that are inserted between adjacent bits of an encrypted message are replaced with "information pulses" that convey information which a decryption sub-system uses to decipher the encrypted message. To produce an information pulse that replaces a given anti-interference pulse, the system combines an information bit with the anti-interference pulse. The decryption sub-system recovers the information bit from the information pulse by comparing the state of that pulse with the state of the anti-interference pulse that it replaced. If the states of the two pulses are the same, the information bit is a zero and if the states differ, the information bit is a one. The information included in the information pulses may be, for example, an address that the decryption sub-system uses to select a cryptographic key from one or more stored tables of keys. Alternatively, or in addition, the information pulses may include the time associated with the encryption of the message, which the decryption sub-system uses to update a sub-system clock.

Claims

1. An encryption system for producing a binary waveform with a predetermined number of bits, the system including:

A. means for formulating and encrypting an m-bit message to produce an m-bit encrypted message;

B. means for inserting between adjacent bits of the m-bit encrypted message an anti-interference pulse that represents a one if the adjacent bits are two zero-valued bits and represents a zero if the adjacent bits are other than two zero-valued bits;

C. means for replacing one or more selected anti-interference pulses with a corresponding number of information pulses, the information pulses including information that is used to decipher the encrypted message.

2. The encryption system of claim 1 wherein the means for replacing the one or more selected anti-interference pulses produces an information pulse associated with a given selected anti-interference pulse by combining the anti-interference pulse with an information bit.

3. The encryption system of claim 2 wherein the means for replacing the anti-interference pulses produces an information pulse that has the same state as the selected anti-interference pulse if the associated information bit is a zero, and produces an information pulse that has a different state than the selected anti-interference pulse if the associated information bit is a one.

4. The encryption system of claim 2 wherein the means for replacing the anti-interference pulses produces an information pulse that has the same state as the selected anti-interference pulse if the associated information bit is a one, and produces an information pulse that has a different state than the selected anti-interference pulse if the associated information bit is a zero.

5. The encryption system of claim 1 wherein the means for replacing the anti-interference pulses produces the information pulses by combining with the anti-interference pulses information that designates a cryptographic key for use in deciphering the encrypted message.

6. The encryption system of claim 5 wherein the means for replacing the anti-interference pulses further combines with the anti-interference pulses information that designates the time at which the message was encrypted.

7. The encryption system of claim 1 wherein the means for replacing the anti-interference pulses produces the information pulses by combining with the anti-interference pulses information that indicates the time at which the message was encrypted.

8. The encryption system of claim 1 further including:

D. a decoder for decoding the information pulses to determine the information contained therein; and

E. decrypting means for using the information in a predetermined manner to decipher the encrypted message and reproduce the multiple-bit message.

9. The encryption system of claim 8 wherein the decoder determines the state of each information pulse and determines that the corresponding information bit used to produce the information pulse is a one if the information pulse does not match the state of the anti-interference pulse that the information pulse replaced, and determines that the information bit is a zero if the information pulse matches the state of the anti-interference that the information pulse replaced.

10. The encryption system of claim 8 wherein the decrypting means uses the information contained in the information bits that correspond to the information pulses to determine the particular cryptographic key to use to decode the encrypted message.

11. The encryption system of claim 10 wherein the decrypting means uses the information contained in the information bits that correspond to the information pulses to address a look-up table that contains a plurality of cryptographic keys.

12. The encryption system of claim 1 further including means for concatenating the encrypted message with a predetermined synchronization pattern, wherein the number of bits in the synchronization pattern is included in the predetermined number of bits in the binary waveform.

13. An encryption system for producing a binary waveform with a predetermined number of bits, the system including:

A. means for appending n information remaining bits to an m-bit message to form an (m+n)-bit code word;

B. means for encrypting the code word to produce an (m+n)-bit encrypted code word;

C. means for selecting m bits of the encrypted code word and inserting between adjacent bits of the m selected bits an anti-interference pulse that is a one if the adjacent bits are two zero-valued bits and an anti-interference pulse that is a zero if the adjacent bits are other than two zero-valued bits; and

D. means for replacing n selected anti-interference pulses with n information pulses, which n information pulses include the n remaining bits of the encrypted code word that are not the m selected bits.

14. The encryption system of claim 13 further including means for including in the information bits the time that the code word was encrypted.

15. The encryption system of claim 14 further including:

E. a decoder for decoding the n information bits from the information pulses;

F. decrypting means for deciphering the (m+n)-bit encrypted code word, the decrypting means using the m selected bits and the n information bits as the (m+n)-bit encrypted code word; and

G. means for using the information bits to update a system clock.

16. The encryption system of claim 13 further including:

E. a decoder for decoding the n information bits from the information pulses; and

F. decrypting means for deciphering the (m+n)-bit encrypted code word, the decrypting means using the m selected bits and the n information bits as the (m+n)-bit encrypted code word.

17. An identification friend or foe system for producing as a binary waveform a challenge with a predetermined number of bits, the system including:

A. means for formulating and encrypting an m-bit message to produce an m-bit encrypted message;

B. means for inserting between adjacent bits of the m-bit encrypted message an anti-interference pulse that represents a one if the adjacent bits are two zero-valued bits and represents a zero if the adjacent bits are other than two zero-valued bits; and

C. means for replacing one or more selected anti-interference pulses with a corresponding number of information pulses, the information pulses including information that is used to decipher the encrypted message.

18. The identification friend or foe system of claim 17 wherein the system further includes means for concatenating with the encrypted message a predetermined synchronization pattern, the pattern being included in the predetermined number of bits.

19. A method of producing a challenge with a predetermined number of bits, the method including the steps of:

A. encrypting an m-bit message in accordance with a selected cryptographic key to produce an m-bit encrypted message;

B. inserting between adjacent bits of the m-bit encrypted message an anti-interference pulse that represents a one if the adjacent bits are two zero-valued bits and represents a zero if the adjacent bits are other than two zero-valued bits; and

C. replacing one or more selected anti-interference pulses with a corresponding number of information pulses, the information pulses including information that relates to the decrypting the message.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the step of replacing the selected anti-interference bits includes producing an information pulse associated with a selected one of the anti-interference pulses by combining the selected anti-interference pulse with an information bit.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the information bits designate the cryptographic key that is to be used to decipher the encrypted message.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the information bits further include an indication of the time that the message was encrypted.

23. The method of claim 19, wherein the information bits include an indication of the time that the message was encrypted.

24. The method of claim 19, further including the steps of:

D. interpreting the information pulses to determine the information contained therein; and

E. using the information in a predetermined manner to decipher the encrypted message and reproduce the m-bit message.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein the step of interpreting the information pulses includes determining the state of each information pulse and determining that the corresponding information bit used to produce the information pulse is a one if the information pulse does not match the expected state of the anti-interference pulse that the information pulse replaced, and determining that the information bit is a zero if the information pulse matches the state of the anti-interference pulse that the information pulse replaced.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein the step of using the information contained in the information pulses includes using the information to determine which cryptographic key to use to decipher the encrypted message.

27. The method of claim 25 wherein the step of using the information contained in the information pulses includes using the information to address a look-up table that contains a plurality of cryptographic keys.

28. A method of producing a challenge with a predetermined number of bits, the method including the steps of:

A. appending n information bits to an m-bit message to form an (m+n)-bit code word;

B. encrypting the code word to produce an (m+n)-bit encrypted code word;

C. selecting m bits of the encrypted code word and inserting between adjacent bits an anti-interference pulse that is a one if the adjacent bits are two zero-valued bits and an anti-interference pulse that is a zero if the adjacent bits are other than two zero-valued bits; and

D. replacing n selected anti-interference pulses with n information pulses, which n information pulses include the n remaining bits of the encrypted code word that are not the m selected bits.

29. The method of claim 28 further including the steps:

E. decoding the n information bits from the n information pulses; and

F. deciphering an (m+n)-bit encrypted code word that includes the n information bits.