Report Number: CS-TR-81-854
Institution: Stanford University, Department of Computer Science
Title: On the security of public key protocols
Author: Dolev, Danny
Author: Yao, Andrew C.
Date: May 1981
Abstract: Recently, the use of public key encryption to provide secure
network communication has received considerable attention.
Such public key systems are usually effective against passive
eavesdroppers, who merely tap the lines and try to decipher
the message. It has been pointed out, however, that an
improperly designed protocol could be vulnerable to an active
saboteur, one who may impersonate another user or alter the
message being transmitted. In this paper we formulate several
models in which the security of protocols can be discussed
precisely. Algorithms and characterizations that can be used
to determine protocol security in these models will be given.
http://i.stanford.edu/pub/cstr/reports/cs/tr/81/854/CS-TR-81-854.pdf