Message authentication explained

In information security, message authentication or data origin authentication is a property that a message has not been modified while in transit (data integrity) and that the receiving party can verify the source of the message.[1]

Description

Message authentication or data origin authentication is an information security property that indicates that a message has not been modified while in transit (data integrity) and that the receiving party can verify the source of the message. Message authentication does not necessarily include the property of non-repudiation.[2] [3]

Techniques

Message authentication is typically achieved by using message authentication codes (MACs), authenticated encryption (AE), or digital signatures. The message authentication code, also known as digital authenticator, is used as an integrity check based on a secret key shared by two parties to authenticate information transmitted between them.[4] It is based on using a cryptographic hash or symmetric encryption algorithm.[5] The authentication key is only shared by exactly two parties (e.g. communicating devices), and the authentication will fail in the existence of a third party possessing the key since the algorithm will no longer be able to detect forgeries (i.e. to be able to validate the unique source of the message).[6] In addition, the key must also be randomly generated to avoid its recovery through brute-force searches and related-key attacks designed to identify it from the messages transiting the medium.

Some cryptographers distinguish between "message authentication without secrecy" systems – which allow the intended receiver to verify the source of the message, but they don't bother hiding the plaintext contents of the message – from authenticated encryption systems.[7] Some cryptographers have researched subliminal channel systems that send messages that appear to use a "message authentication without secrecy" system, but in fact also transmit a secret message.

Related concepts

Data origin authentication and non-repudiation have been also studied in the framework of quantum cryptography.[8] [9]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: . CSE 207: Modern Cryptography . Lecture notes for cryptography course . Chapter 7: Message Authentication . https://cseweb.ucsd.edu/~mihir/cse207/w-mac.pdf . 2015-05-11 . 2018-10-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181009122804/http://cseweb.ucsd.edu/~mihir/cse207/w-mac.pdf . dead .
  2. Book: Handbook of Applied Cryptography . . . . Chapter 9 - Hash Functions and Data Integrity . 361 . http://cacr.uwaterloo.ca/hac/about/chap9.pdf . 2015-05-11 . 2021-02-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210203194011/https://cacr.uwaterloo.ca/hac/ . live .
  3. Book: Web Service Security . Data Origin Authentication . 14 July 2010 . . https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff648434.aspx . 11 May 2015 . 19 May 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170519201452/https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff648434.aspx . live .
  4. Book: Patel, Dhiren. Information Security: Theory and Practice. Prentice Hall India Private Lt.. 2008. 978-81-203-3351-2. New Delhi. 124.
  5. Book: Jacobs, Stuart. Engineering Information Security: The Application of Systems Engineering Concepts to Achieve Information Assurance. John Wiley & sons. 2011. 978-0-470-56512-4. Hoboken, NJ. 108.
  6. Book: Walker, Jesse . Chapter 13 – Internet Security . Computer and Information Security Handbook . Vacca . John R. . Morgan Kaufmann Publishers . 3rd . 2013 . 978-0-12-803843-7 . 256–257 . 10.1016/B978-0-12-803843-7.00013-2.
  7. Book: G. . Longo . M. . Marchi . A. . Sgarro . Geometries, Codes and Cryptography . 4 May 2014 . 188 . Springer . 978-3-7091-2838-1 . 8 July 2015 . 9 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240109202625/https://books.google.com/books?id=WvYrBAAAQBAJ . live .
  8. Pirandola. S.. Andersen. U. L.. Banchi. L.. Berta. M.. Bunandar. D.. Colbeck. R.. Englund. D.. Gehring. T.. Lupo. C.. Ottaviani. C.. Pereira. J.. Advances in Quantum Cryptography. Advances in Optics and Photonics. 2020. 12. 4. 1012–1236. 10.1364/AOP.361502. 1906.01645. 2020AdOP...12.1012P. 174799187.
  9. Nikolopoulos. Georgios M.. Fischlin. Marc. 2020. Information-Theoretically Secure Data Origin Authentication with Quantum and Classical Resources. Cryptography. en. 4. 4. 31. 10.3390/cryptography4040031. 2011.06849. 226956062. free.

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