Using the Algebraic Eraser to Secure Low-Power and Passive IoT Devices

The Algebraic Eraser (AE) is a Group Theoretic Public-Key Cryptosystem originally published in 2006 and designed specifically to work in constrained devices with limited CPU and power capabilities such as RFID and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Algebraic Eraser Diffie-Hellman (AEDH) provides a key-agreement protocol that performs significantly better than ECC at the same security level in both hardware and software. One hardware implementation in 65nm CMOS performs 60-200 times better than ECC in terms of speed and power usage. An ARM-based IoT implementation performed 60 times faster. And an FPGA implementation performs over 200 times faster using 400 times less power. Moreover, the basic building block of AE, called E-Multiplication, can be used to create a Hash, Block Cipher, PRNG, Stream Cipher, and a Signature Algorithm. Using AEDH we can add a proof-of-possession public-key authentication into extremely small devices like IoT and RFID and use that technology in identifying and authenticating objects to which the device is attached. This talk will present AEDH, the underlying math, and show how we’re using AEDH to create an authentication and anti-counterfeiting solution.

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