Method and apparatus for generating a cryptographic key

摘要

A method and apparatus are provided for generating a cryptographic key from multiple data sets each related to a respective association of a trusted party (70, 200) and user identity (ID1, ID2). The cryptographic key is, for example, one of an encryption key, a decryption key, a signature key and a verification key, and is preferably generated by applying Tate or Weil bilinear mappings to the data sets.