Batch verification of short signatures

Abstract

With computer networks spreading into a variety of new environments, the need to authenticate and secure communication grows. Many of these new environments have particular requirements on the applicable cryptographic primitives. For instance, a frequent requirement is that the communication overhead inflicted be small and that many messages be processable at the same time. In this paper, we consider the suitability of public key signatures in the latter scenario. That is, we consider (1) signatures that are short and (2) cases where many signatures from (possibly) different signers on (possibly) different messages can be verified quickly. Prior work focused almost exclusively on batching signatures from the same signer. We propose the first batch verifier for messages from many (certified) signers without random oracles and with a verification time where the dominant operation is independent of the number of signatures to verify. We further propose a new signature scheme with very short signatures, for which batch verification for many signers is also highly efficient. Combining our new signatures with the best known techniques for batching certificates from the same authority, we get a fast batch verifier for certificates and messages combined. Although our new signature scheme has some restrictions, it is very efficient and still practical for some communication applications. © International Association for Cryptologic Research 2011.