Method for establishing a secure communication channel

• US 9,531,532 B2
• Filed: 09/06/2011
• Issued: 12/27/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Thales DIS France SA (Thales SA)
• Original Assignee: Gemalto SA (Thales SA)
• Inventors: Gouget, Aline, Faher, Mourad
• Primary Examiner(s): Parsons, Theodore C
• Application Number:
  US13/825,814
• Publication Number:
  US 20130301828A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,939 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/76 Proxy, i.e. using intermediary entity to perform cryptographic operations network architectures or network communication protocols using hop-by-hop encryption H04L63/0464
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/045 wherein the sending and receiving network entities apply hybrid encryption, i.e. combination of symmetric and asymmetric encryption cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements using a plurality of keys or algorithms H04L9/14
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/061 for key exchange, e.g. in peer-to-peer networks cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key agreement H04L9/0838
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0869 for achieving mutual authentication cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for mutual authentication H04L9/3273
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1466 Active attacks involving interception, injection, modification, spoofing of data unit addresses, e.g. hijacking, packet injection or TCP sequence number attacks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1475 Passive attacks, e.g. eavesdropping or listening without modification of the traffic monitored
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0819 Key transport or distribution, i.e. key establishment techniques where one party creates or otherwise obtains a secret value, and securely transfers it to the other(s) network architectures or network communication protocols for key distribution in a packet data network H04L63/062
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0844 with user authentication or key authentication, e.g. ElGamal, MTI, MQV-Menezes-Qu-Vanstone protocol or Diffie-Hellman protocols using implicitly-certified keys
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0877 using additional device, e.g. trusted platform module [TPM], smartcard, USB or hardware security module [HSM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3273 for mutual authentication network architectures or network communication protocols for achieving mutual authentication in a packet data network H04L63/0869

Abstract

The present invention provides a method for establishing a secure communication channel between a client (C) and a remote server (S), said client (C) and remote server (S) exchanging data through an intermediate entity (G), said client (C) having a long-term key pair (sk_c,pk_c), said remote server generating an ephemeral key (sk_s,pk_s), the method comprising a mutual authentication step wherein the client (C) sends a public key (pk_c) of said long-term key pair (sk_c, pk_c) and the proof that said public key (pk_c) is valid to the server (S), and wherein the remote server (S) sends the public key (pk_s) of said ephemeral key pair (sk_s,pk_s) to the client (C). The client (C) generates an ephemeral key pair (skC_c,pkC_c) and sends the public key (pK_cc) of said ephemeral key pair (sk_cc,pk_cc) to the server (S) so as to generate a secret common to the client (C) and to the remote server (S) for opening the secure communication channel.

Claims

1. A method for establishing a secure communication channel between a client (C) and a remote server (S), said client (C) and remote server (S) exchanging data through an intermediate entity (G), said client (C) having a long-term key pair (sk_c,pk_c), the method comprising:

said remote server generating an ephemeral key (sk_s,pk_s), a mutual authentication step wherein the client (C) sends a public key (pk_c) of said long-term key pair (sk_c, pk_c) and the proof that said public key (pk_c) is valid to the server (S), and wherein the remote server (S) sends the public key (pks) of said ephemeral key pair (sk_s, pk_s) to the client (C), the client (C) generates an ephemeral key pair (sk_cc,pk_cc) and sends the public key (pk_cc) of said ephemeral key pair (sk_cc,pk_cc) to the server (S) so as to enable the independent determination of a secret common to the client (C) and to the remote server (S) for opening the secure communication channel, said common secret being calculated by the client using the long-term key pair of the client (sk_c,pk_c), the ephemeral secret key (sk_cc) of said ephemeral key pair (sk_cc,pk_cc) of the client (C) and the ephemeral public key (pk_s) of the server, and being calculated by the server using the long-term public key (pk_c) of the client, the ephemeral secret key (sk_s) of the server (S) and the ephemeral key (pk_cc) of the client (C) wherein the common secret is calculated by both the client and the server without using a long-term key pair of the server.

2. The method for establishing a secure communication channel between a client (C) and a remote server (S) according to claim 1, comprising generating the common secret according to the Diffie-Hellman protocol.

3. The method for establishing a secure communication channel between a client (C) and a remote server (S) according to claim 2, comprising using a gateway or a middle-ware as intermediate entity (G).

4. The method for establishing a secure communication channel between a client (C) and a remote server (S) according to claim 2, comprising using a smartcard as client (C).

5. The method for establishing a secure communication channel between a client (C) and a remote server (S) according to claim 1, comprising using a gateway or a middle-ware as intermediate entity (G).

6. The method for establishing a secure communication channel between a client (C) and a remote server (S) according to claim 5, comprising establishing a secure communication channel between the intermediate entity (G) and the remote server (S).

7. The method for establishing a secure communication channel between a client (C) and a remote server (S) according to claim 5, comprising using a smartcard as client (C).

8. The method for establishing a secure communication channel between a client (C) and a remote server (S) according to claim 1, comprising using a smartcard as client (C).

9. The method for establishing a secure communication channel between a client (C) and a remote server (S) according to claim 8, comprising using a middle-ware acting as a gateway (G) hosted on a smartcard host.

10. The method for establishing a secure communication channel between a client (C) and a remote server (S) according to claim 1, comprising establishing a secure communication channel between the client (C) and the intermediate entity (G).