On the security of Zhou et al.'s authentication and integrity scheme for digital mammography images

Abstract

The security of an authentication and integrity scheme for digital mammography images is a critical issue to ensure patients' privacy are protected. In [1], Zhou et al claimed that their scheme is effective in a telemammography environment. After careful reviewing, we outline five weaknesses of the proposed scheme that could lead to a possible threat of the application during practical implementations. These flaws mainly lie in the cryptographic primitives used. We also recommend viable countermeasures and propose better cryptographic primitives for the improvements of the scheme. © 2008 Springer-Verlag.