The double-base number system and its application to elliptic curve cryptography

Abstract

We describe an algorithm for point multiplication on generic elliptic curves, based on a representation of the scalar as a sum of mixed powers of 2 and 3. The sparseness of this so-called double-base number system, combined with some efficient point tripling formulae, lead to efficient point multiplication algorithms for curves defined over both prime and binary fields. Side-channel resistance is provided thanks to side-channel atomicity.