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Diffie Hellman

The Diffie-Hellman key exchange protocol allows two users to securely exchange a secret key over an insecure medium by using public key cryptography. It works by having each user generate a public/private key pair, with the public keys being exchanged and the secret key being computed using both the local private key and the other user's public key. The same secret key is generated on both sides but is never transmitted. The document also describes how Diffie-Hellman key exchange can be implemented using elliptic curve cryptography by having users agree on curve parameters and a base point to generate their public/private key pairs on the curve.

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178 views2 pages

Diffie Hellman

The Diffie-Hellman key exchange protocol allows two users to securely exchange a secret key over an insecure medium by using public key cryptography. It works by having each user generate a public/private key pair, with the public keys being exchanged and the secret key being computed using both the local private key and the other user's public key. The same secret key is generated on both sides but is never transmitted. The document also describes how Diffie-Hellman key exchange can be implemented using elliptic curve cryptography by having users agree on curve parameters and a base point to generate their public/private key pairs on the curve.

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Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange

The Definition
The Diffie-Hellman is a key exchange protocol that allows two users to exchange a secret
key over an insecure medium.

The Requirements
The system has got two parameters suppose p and g. Both of them are made public i.e.
they are visible to all users in the system. Parameter p is a large prime number and
parameter g (usually called a generator) is an integer less than p, with the following
property: for every number n between 1 and p-1 inclusive, there is a power k of g such
that n = gk mod p.

The Users
Two people suppose Alice and Bob who wish to establish a secure communications
between them in an insecure circuit.

The Process
1) The users agree on two large positive integers p and g with the stipulation that p is a
prime number and g is a generator of p.

2) Alice randomly chooses another large positive integer, XA, which is smaller than p. XA
will serve as Alice's private key.

3) Bob similarly chooses his own private key, XB.

4) Alice computes her public key, YA, using the formula YA = (g^XA) mod p.

5) Bob similarly computes his public key, YB, using the formula YB = (g^XB) mod p.

6) Alice and Bob exchange public keys over the insecure circuit.

7) Alice computes the shared secret key, k, using the formula k = (YB ^XA) mod p.

8) Bob computes the same shared secret key, k, using the formula k = (YA ^XB) mod p.

9) Alice and Bob communicate using the symmetric algorithm of their choice and the
shared secret key, k, which was never transmitted over the insecure circuit.
Diffie-Hellman in ECC
In case of elliptic curve cryptography, the Diffie-Hellman can be established in the
following manner.

The parameters
Here the users (Alice & Bob) get settled with the following parameters which are
considered to be visible to all in the network.
a) A large prime integer q.
b) Elliptic curve parameters (a, b) for y2 mod q = x3 + ax + b mod q that defines the
elliptic group of points Eq(a, b).
c) A base point G = (x1, y1) in Ep(a, b) is considered whose order is a very large
value n.

The Key Exchange


1) Alice selects an integer nA less then n. This is Alice’s private key.

2) Bob selects an integer nB less then n. This is Bob’s private key.

3) Alice generates a public key PA = nA x G;


the public key is a point in Eq(a, b).

4) Bob generates a public key PB = nB x G;


the public key is a point in Eq(a, b).

5) Alice generates the secret key K = nA x PB .


( Multiplying its private key with Bob’s public key.)
6) Bob generates the secret key K = nB x PA ;
( Multiplying its private key with Alice’s public key.)

Calculations shown in steps 5 and 6 are same as shown below:


nA x PB = nA x (nB x G) = nB x (nA x G) = nB x PA

An Example

Let the value of q be taken as 27, the parameters of the curve i.e. (a, b) be (1, 1) and
lastly point G on curve be represented as (3, 10).

Suppose Alice and Bob chooses 3 and 5 as their private keys respectively.
Therefore PA = 3 x (3, 10) = (19, 5) which is Alice’s public key.
PB = 5 x (3, 10) = (9, 16) which is Alice’s public key.

Secret key for Alice is thus 3 x (9, 16) and that for Bob is 5 x (19, 5)
Both 3 x (9, 16) and 5 x (19, 5) yields the same result (1, 16).

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