Transient-key cryptography: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 15:41, 15 April 2025

Revision as of 18:10, 15 April 2025

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'''Transient-key cryptography''' is a form of [[public-key cryptography]] wherein [[keypair]]s are generated and assigned to brief [[Interval (time)|intervals]] of time instead of to individuals or organizations, and the blocks of cryptographic data are chained through time. In a transient-key system, [[private key]]s are used briefly and then destroyed, which is why it is sometimes nicknamed “disposable crypto.” Data encrypted with a private key associated with a specific time interval can be irrefutably linked to that interval, making transient-key [[cryptography]] particularly useful for [[Trusted timestamping|digital trusted timestamping]]. Transient-key cryptography was invented in 1997 by Dr. Michael Doyle of [[Eolas]], and has been adopted in the [[ANSI ASC X9.95 Standard]] for [[Trusted timestamping|trusted timestamps]].

==Public-key vs. transient-key==

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During an interval, the transient private key is used to sign data concatenated with trusted timestamps and authenticity certificates. To [[File verification|verify]] the data at a later time, a receiver accesses the [[Persistence (computer science)|persistent]] public key for the appropriate time interval. The public key applied to the digital signature can be passed through published cryptographic routines to unpack the [[Cryptographic hash function|hash]] of the original data, which is then compared against a fresh hash of the stored data to verify data integrity. If the signature successfully decrypts using a particular interval's published public key, the receiver can be assured that the signature originated during that time period. If the decrypted and fresh hashes match, the receiver can be assured that the data has not been tampered with since the transient private key created the timestamp and signed the data.

Transient-key cryptography was invented in 1997 by Dr. Michael D. Doyle of Eolas Technologies Inc., while working on the [[Visible Embryo Project]]<ref>{{cite patent |country=US |number=6381696 |title=Method and system for transient key digital time stamps |gdate=2002-04-30 |inventor=MD Doyle}}</ref><ref>{{cite patent |country=US |number=7047415 |title=System and method for widely witnessed proof of time |gdate=2006-05-16 |invent1=MD Doyle |invent2=PF Doyle |invent3=GW Bernsohn |invent4=JD Roberts }}</ref><ref>{{cite patent |country=US |number= 7210035 |title=System and method for graphical indicia for the certification of records |gdate=2007-04-24 |invent1=MD Doyle |invent2=RG Hamilton |invent3=MC Perrone |invent4=PF Doyle}}</ref> and later acquired by and productized by ProofSpace, Inc. It has been adopted as a national standard in the ANSI ASC X9.95 standard for Trusted Timestamping. Transient-key cryptography is the predecessor to [[Forward secrecy]] and formed the foundation of the forward-signature-chaining technology in the [[Bitcoin]] [[blockchain (database)|blockchain]] system.

==See also==