What is authentication?

You will often hear the word “authentication” in security articles and seminars.

The term "authentication" has various meanings depending on where it is used. It is used for the purpose of confirming that the public key received is indeed that of the communication partner).

In symmetric-key cryptography (encrypted communication using a symmetric key), it is difficult to safely deliver the symmetric key used for encryption. Since there is no key distribution problem, it is widely used in the IT world, including websites.

In order to achieve secure communication with public key cryptography, it is necessary to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks (attacks in which a third party intervenes in communication to replace the public key and pretend to be the other party of the communication to eavesdrop or tamper with data). Countermeasures are required.

セキュアな通信として最も身近なHTTPSウェブサイトへのアクセスでは公開鍵の正当性は電子証明書によって保証されています。以下が弊社ウェブサイトでの電子証明書での例です。皆様が弊社ウェブサイトにアクセスする際には、お使いのウェブブラウザーは弊社ウェブサーバーの公開鍵を電子証明書を使用して検証しています。

Authentication with Bluetooth

In the previous article, I explained that the new BLE pairing method called LESC in BT4.2 and later uses public key cryptography. With Bluetooth (BT), instead of electronic certificates, it is possible to ensure the legitimacy of the public key by checking with the end user's "eyes" and "hands".

Display a 6-digit number on the display of both devices to be paired and confirm that they are the same, then execute pairing by button operation (Numeric Comparison), 6-digit number displayed on one display on the other Multiple authentication methods (Association model) such as keyboard input to the device (Passkey Entry) are available.

As you can see from the appearance of the words display, button, and keyboard, this is an important point to consider when developing BT products, as it is related to the input and output of the final product.

In the next article, I will explain the types of authentication methods (Association model) and how they are determined from the input and output of the final product.

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