DISTRIBUTED ENCRYPTION AUTHENTICATION METHODS AND SYSTEMS

摘要

A method and system for providing authentication of mutual strangers is provided. For one embodiment, a plurality of routes from an origination node of a network to a recipient node of the network are determined, a portion of the routes is selected, and shares of a random secret key are generated with each share corresponding to one of the routes. Each share of the random secret key is transmitted via the corresponding route. In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, shares of a random key are encoded and the random key is relayed via multiple routes through a network employing a cryptographically strong forward security system. At the destination, shares are recombined to reconstruct the key, and the recipient verifies the integrity of the key with the sender. If the key is intact it is used for authentication or encryption in future communication between the sender and recipient.