From: Yuhan Cai (yuhancai@cs.washington.edu)
Date: Tue Nov 23 2004 - 23:30:31 PST
Title: Using Encryption for Authentication in Large Networks of Computers
Authors: Roger M. Needham and Michael D. Schroeder
Reviewed by: Yuhan Cai
Main results of the paper:
· Protocols for decentralized authentication in networks using encryption techniques are presented.
· Examples are given for the processes of establishing authenticated connections, managing authenticated mail and for verifying signatures and guaranteeing document integrity.
Strengths of the paper:
· The protocols require a minimal reliance on network-wide services (clock or network name management authority).
· The protocols provide a solution that is adequate for most authentication problems and most common security objectives.
· The protocols embody both conventional and public-key encryption techniques.
· There are three functions provided: establishment of authenticated interactive communication between two principals on different machines, authenticated one-way communication, and signed communication.
Key limitations:
· The problem of enforcing the security of all communication is not considered.
· The issue of preventing communication between particular principals in order to enforce restrictions on information flow is not addressed.
Relevance of the paper:
· It has presented a method that integrates all existing security techniques and applies them in a decentralized environment, based on both conventional and public-key encryption.
Future work:
· Future research work is expected to meet other security goals such as preventing traffic analysis, withholding all matching cleartext-ciphertext pairs from an eavesdropper, ensuring instantaneous detection of tampering, and optimizing efficiency in particular networks.
· It is necessary to devise techniques to verify the correctness of such protocols.
· A complete evaluation of the problems in implementing such servers in a real system is needed.
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