Home // ICSNC 2023, The Eighteenth International Conference on Systems and Networks Communications // View article

Using Attribute Certificates to Support Cryptographic Algorithm Flexibility

Authors:
Steffen Fries
Rainer Falk

Keywords: cryptographic agility; post-quantum cryptography; attribute certificates; industrial automation and control system; Internet of Things; automation control systems.

Abstract:
Asymmetric cryptography is broadly used to protect confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity of data transfer. Typical applications are authentication and key agreement in secure communication protocols, and digital signatures for authentication and integrity protection of documents and messages. Digital certificates confirm the public key of a user. They are used for user authentication performed during the handshake by common cryptographic security protocols like Transport Layer Security, Datagram Transport Layer Security, or by authentication and key agreement protocols like the Internet Key Exchange or Group Domain of Interpretation. The cryptographic algorithm for public-key-based user authentication is fixed by the user’s certificate. More flexibility to support multiple cryptographic algorithms for user authentication is needed, e.g., by the introduction of new, quantum-safe cryptographic algorithms. Attribute certificates can be used to support flexibly multiple cryptographic algorithms for user authentication, supporting a stepwise transition towards newer cryptographic algorithms.

Pages: 6 to 9

Copyright: Copyright (c) IARIA, 2023

Publication date: November 13, 2023

Published in: conference

ISSN: 2163-9027

ISBN: 978-1-68558-099-5

Location: Valencia, Spain

Dates: from November 13, 2023 to November 17, 2023