Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

An ECDSA Processor for RFID Authentication

  • Conference paper
Radio Frequency Identification: Security and Privacy Issues (RFIDSec 2010)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNSC,volume 6370))

Abstract

In the last few years, a lot of research has been made to bring asymmetric cryptography on low-cost RFID tags. Many of the proposed implementations include elliptic-curve based coprocessors to provide entity-authentication services through for example identification schemes. This paper presents first results of an 192-bit Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) processor that allows both entity and also message authentication by digitally signing challenges from a reader. The proposed architecture enhances the state-of-the-art in designing a low-resource ECDSA-enabled RFID hardware implementation. A tiny microcontroller is integrated to provide protocol scalability and re-use of common algorithms. The proposed processor signs a message within 859 188 clock cycles (127,ms at 6.78,MHz) and has a total chip size of 19 115 gate equivalents.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. Batina, L., Guajardo, J., Kerins, T., Mentens, N., Tuyls, P., Verbauwhede, I.: Public-Key Cryptography for RFID-Tags. In: Workshop on RFID Security 2006 (RFIDSec 2006), Graz, Austria (July 12-14, 2006)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Batina, L., Mentens, N., Sakiyama, K., Preneel, B., Verbauwhede, I.: Low-Cost Elliptic Curve Cryptography for Wireless Sensor Networks. In: Buttyán, L., Gligor, V.D., Westhoff, D. (eds.) ESAS 2006. LNCS, vol. 4357, pp. 6–17. Springer, Heidelberg (2006)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  3. Bock, H., Braun, M., Dichtl, M., Hess, E., Heyszl, J., Kargl, W., Koroschetz, H., Meyer, B., Seuschek, H.: A Milestone Towards RFID Products Offering Asymmetric Authentication Based on Elliptic Curve Cryptography. Invited talk at RFIDsec (July 2008)

    Google Scholar 

  4. Brier, E., Joye, M.: Weierstraß Elliptic Curves and Side-Channel Attacks. In: Naccache, D., Paillier, P. (eds.) PKC 2002. LNCS, vol. 2274, pp. 335–345. Springer, Heidelberg (2002)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  5. Coron, J.-S.: Resistance against Differential Power Analysis for Elliptic Curve Cryptosystems. In: Koç, Ç.K., Paar, C. (eds.) CHES 1999. LNCS, vol. 1717, pp. 292–302. Springer, Heidelberg (1999)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  6. Ebeid, N., Lambert, R.: Securing the Elliptic Curve Montgomery Ladder Against Fault Attacks. In: Proceedings of Workshop on Fault Diagnosis and Tolerance in Cryptography, FDTC 2009, Lausanne, Switzerland, pp. 46–50 (September 2009)

    Google Scholar 

  7. Feldhofer, M., Dominikus, S., Wolkerstorfer, J.: Strong Authentication for RFID Systems using the AES Algorithm. In: Joye, M., Quisquater, J.-J. (eds.) CHES 2004. LNCS, vol. 3156, pp. 357–370. Springer, Heidelberg (2004)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  8. Fürbass, F., Wolkerstorfer, J.: ECC Processor with Low Die Size for RFID Applications. In: Proceedings of 2007 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems. IEEE, Los Alamitos (May 2007)

    Google Scholar 

  9. Großschädl, J., Savacs, E.: Instruction Set Extensions for Fast Arithmetic in Finite Fields GF(p) and GF(2m). In: Joye, M., Quisquater, J.-J. (eds.) CHES 2004. LNCS, vol. 3156, pp. 133–147. Springer, Heidelberg (2004)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  10. Hachez, G., Quisquater, J.-J.: Montgomery exponentiation with no final subtractions: Improved results. In: Koç, Ç.K., Paar, C. (eds.) CHES 2000. LNCS, vol. 1965, pp. 91–100. Springer, Heidelberg (2000)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  11. Hein, D., Wolkerstorfer, J., Felber, N.: ECC is Ready for RFID A Proof in Silicon. In: Avanzi, R.M., Keliher, L., Sica, F. (eds.) SAC 2008. LNCS, vol. 5381, pp. 401–413. Springer, Heidelberg (2009)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  12. Hutter, M., Medwed, M., Hein, D., Wolkerstorfer, J.: Attacking ECDSA-Enabled RFID Devices. In: Abdalla, M., Pointcheval, D., Fouque, P.-A., Vergnaud, D. (eds.) ACNS 2009, vol. 5536, pp. 519–534. Springer, Heidelberg (May 2009)

    Google Scholar 

  13. International Organisation for Standardization (ISO). Information Technology - Security Techniques - Entity authentication mechanisms - Part 3: Entity authentication using a public key algorithm (1993)

    Google Scholar 

  14. International Organisation for Standardization (ISO). ISO/IEC 7816-4: Information technology - Identification cards - Integrated circuit(s) cards with contacts - Part 4: Interindustry commands for interchange (1995), http://www.iso.org

  15. Izu, T., Möller, B., Takagi, T.: Improved Elliptic Curve Multiplication Methods Resistant against Side Channel Attacks. In: Menezes, A., Sarkar, P. (eds.) INDOCRYPT 2002. LNCS, vol. 2551, pp. 296–313. Springer, Heidelberg (2002)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  16. Joye, M., Yen, S.-M.: The Montgomery Powering Ladder. In: Kaliski Jr., B.S., Koç, Ç.K., Paar, C. (eds.) CHES 2002. LNCS, vol. 2523, pp. 291–302. Springer, Heidelberg (2003)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  17. Kaliski, B.: The Montgomery Inverse and its Applications. IEEE Transactions on Computers 44(8), 1064–1065 (1995)

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  18. Kumar, S.S., Paar, C.: Are standards compliant Elliptic Curve Cryptosystems feasible on RFID? In: Workshop on RFID Security 2006 (RFIDSec 2006), Graz, Austria, July 12-14 (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  19. Lee, Y.K., Sakiyama, K., Batina, L., Verbauwhede, I.: Elliptic-Curve-Based Security Processor for RFID. IEEE Transactions on Computers 57(11), 1514–1527 (2008)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  20. Lee, Y.K., Verbauwhede, I.: A Compact Architecture for Montgomery Elliptic Curve Scalar Multiplication Processor. In: Kim, S., Yung, M., Lee, H.-W. (eds.) WISA 2007. LNCS, vol. 4867, pp. 115–127. Springer, Heidelberg (2008)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  21. Meloni, N.: Fast and Secure Elliptic Curve Scalar Multiplication Over Prime Fields Using Special Addition Chains. Cryptology ePrint Archive, Report 2006/216 (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  22. Montgomery, P.L.: Modular Multiplication without Trial Division. Mathematics of Computation 44, 519–521 (1985)

    MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  23. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). FIPS-186-2: Digital Signature Standard (DSS) (January 2000), http://www.itl.nist.gov/fipspubs/

  24. Öztürk, E., Sunar, B., Savas, E.: Low-Power Elliptic Curve Cryptography Using Scaled Modular Arithmetic. In: Joye, M., Quisquater, J.-J. (eds.) CHES 2004. LNCS, vol. 3156, pp. 92–106. Springer, Heidelberg (2004)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  25. Satoh, A., Takano, K.: A Scalable Dual-Field Elliptic Curve Cryptographic Processor. IEEE Transactions on Computers 52(4), 449–460 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Schroeppel, R., Beaver, C., Gonzales, R., Miller, R., Draelos, T.: A Low-Power Design for an Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Chip. In: Kaliski Jr., B.S., Koç, Ç.K., Paar, C. (eds.) CHES 2002. LNCS, vol. 2523, pp. 366–380. Springer, Heidelberg (2003)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  27. Wolkerstorfer, J.: Is Elliptic-Curve Cryptography Suitable for Small Devices? In: Workshop on RFID and Lightweight Crypto, Graz, Austria, July 13-15, pp. 78–91 (2005)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Applied Information Processing and Communications (IAIK), Graz University of Technology, Inffeldgasse 16a, 8010, Graz, Austria

    Michael Hutter, Martin Feldhofer & Thomas Plos

Authors
  1. Michael Hutter
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Martin Feldhofer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Thomas Plos
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Istanbul Technical University, 34469, Istanbul, Turkey

    Siddika Berna Ors Yalcin

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this paper

Cite this paper

Hutter, M., Feldhofer, M., Plos, T. (2010). An ECDSA Processor for RFID Authentication. In: Ors Yalcin, S.B. (eds) Radio Frequency Identification: Security and Privacy Issues. RFIDSec 2010. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 6370. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-16822-2_16

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-16822-2_16

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-16821-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-16822-2

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation