REVOCATION OF CRYPTOGRAPHIC KEYS IN THE ABSENCE OF A TRUSTED CENTRAL AUTHORITY

摘要

A method and apparatus is presented for revoking cryptographic keys within a distributed ledger system in which no central trusted authority is available, consisting of sending a key revocation message by a network connected device to other network connected devices over a peer-to-peer network for inclusion in a ledger. In one embodiment the revocation message is signed using a private key of a public/private key pair to be revoked. In another embodiment an authorization for future revocation of the public/private key pair by a plurality of other public/private keys is sent for inclusion in the ledger, and subsequently the key revocation message is signed with one of the private keys of the plurality of public/private key pairs before sending the key revocation message. Once a valid key revocation message is included in the ledger, any future request to include a message signed by the revoked cryptographic key is rejected.

主权项

1. A method for revoking keys used in a shared ledger distributed through a peer-to-peer network comprising:
generating, by a network connected device, a key revocation message for a first public/private key pair; and transmitting the key revocation message, by the network connected device, through the use of the peer-to-peer network, to a plurality of network connected devices connected to the peer-to-peer network; and appending the key revocation message to the shared ledger stored by the plurality of network connected devices connected to the peer-to-peer network; and rejecting, by the plurality of network connected devices, any subsequent request to append to the shared ledger a further message signed by a private key of the first public/private key pair.