ISO/IEC 20009-4:2017

Information technology — Security techniques — Anonymous entity authentication — Part 4: Mechanisms based on weak secrets

ISO/IEC 20009-4:2017 specifies anonymous entity authentication mechanisms based on weak secrets. The precise operation of each mechanism is specified, together with details of all inputs and outputs. This document is applicable to situations in which the server only verifies that the user belongs to a certain user group without obtaining any information that can be used to identify the user later on.

Technologies de l'information — Techniques de sécurité — Authentification d'entité anonyme — Partie 4: Mécanismes basés sur des secrets faibles

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 10-Aug-2017
• ICS: 35.030 - IT Security
• ICS: 35.040 - Information coding
• Technical Committee: ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 27 - Information security, cybersecurity and privacy protection
• Drafting Committee: ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 27/WG 2 - Cryptography and security mechanisms
• Current Stage: 9093 - International Standard confirmed
• Completion Date: 08-May-2023

Standards Content (Sample)

INTERNATIONAL ISO/IEC
STANDARD 20009-4
First edition
2017-08
Information technology — Security
techniques — Anonymous entity
authentication —
Part 4:
Mechanisms based on weak secrets
Technologies de l'information — Techniques de sécurité —
Authentification d'entité anonyme —
Partie 4: Mécanismes basés sur des secrets faibles
Reference number
ISO/IEC 20009-4:2017(E)
©
ISO/IEC 2017

---------------------- Page: 1 ----------------------
ISO/IEC 20009-4:2017(E)

COPYRIGHT PROTECTED DOCUMENT
© ISO/IEC 2017, Published in Switzerland
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting on the internet or an intranet, without prior
written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address below or ISO’s member body in the country of
the requester.
ISO copyright office
Ch. de Blandonnet 8 • CP 401
CH-1214 Vernier, Geneva, Switzerland
Tel. [phone]
Fax [phone]
[e-mail]
www.iso.org
ii © ISO/IEC 2017 – All rights reserved

---------------------- Page: 2 ----------------------
ISO/IEC 20009-4:2017(E)

Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Symbols, abbreviated terms and conversion functions . 4
4.1 Symbols and abbreviated terms. 4
4.2 Conversion functions . 7
5 General model for password-based anonymous entity authentication .7
5.1 Participants . 7
5.2 Types of PAEA mechanisms . 7
5.3 Components of a password-only PAEA . 7
5.4 Components of a storage-extra PAEA . 8
5.5 Operation of a PAEA. 8
6 Password-only PAEA mechanisms . 9
6.1 General . 9
6.2 SKI mechanism. 9
6.2.1 Setup . 9
6.2.2 User registration .10
6.2.3 Anonymous authentication .10
6.2.4 User revocation .12
6.3 YZ mechanism .12
6.3.1 Setup .12
6.3.2 User registration .12
6.3.3 Anonymous authentication .13
6.3.4 User revocation .14
7 Storage-extra PAEA mechanism .14
7.1 General .14
7.2 YZW mechanism .14
7.2.1 General.14
7.2.2 Setup .15
7.2.3 User registration .15
7.2.4 Anonymous authentication .16
7.2.5 User revocation .17
Annex A (normative) Object identifiers .19
Bibliography .20
© ISO/IEC 2017 – All rights reserved iii

---------------------- Page: 3 ----------------------
ISO/IEC 20009-4:2017(E)

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical
Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that are
members of ISO or IEC participate in the development of International Standards through technical
committees established by the respective organization to deal with particular fields of technical
activity. ISO and IEC technical committees collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other international
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO and IEC, also take part in the
work. In the field of information technology, ISO and IEC have established a joint technical committee,
ISO/IEC JTC 1.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of
any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or
on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www.iso.org/patents).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation on the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and
expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the
World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) see the following
URL: www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.
This document was prepared by ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology, Subcommittee SC 27, IT Security
techniques.
A list of all parts in the ISO/IEC 20009 series can be found on the ISO website.
iv © ISO/IEC 2017 – All rights reserved

---------------------- Page: 4 ----------------------
ISO/IEC 20009-4:2017(E)

Introduction
Inputting a user's "identity (ID)" together with a "password" has almost certainly been the most common
method of user authentication since the advent of computers and remains very widely used. Every day,
there are probably billions of instances of password-based user authentications in cyberspace. One
reason for the wide acceptance of password-based authentication is portability; no dedicated device
is required, and a user needs only memorize a password and can then be authenticated anywhere
and anytime. ISO/IEC 11770-4 specifies key management mechanisms that are based on passwords
(usually passwords are weak secrets). These mechanisms can be used to achieve password-based
entity authentication.
Individual privacy in cyberspace is an area of increasing concern. Protection of user privacy
during entity authentication is a critical step towards individual privacy protection in cyberspace.
ISO/IEC 20009 specifies privacy preserving entity authentication techniques, supporting anonymous
entity authentication. This document focuses on anonymous entity authentication mechanisms based
on weak secrets. In particular, it specifies password-based anonymous entity authentication (PAEA)
mechanisms that enable password authentication with simultaneous protection of user privacy.
PAEA mechanisms need to address the fact that use of a weak secret such as a password with an
anonymous authentication mechanism intended to be used with a strong secret cannot protect user
privacy because a weak secret reveals information. This document specifies two types of PAEA
mechanisms: password-only PAEA mechanisms and storage-extra PAEA mechanisms. In a password-
only PAEA mechanism, users register their password verification data at the authentication server and
remember their passwords in the same way as when using non-anonymous password authentication
mechanisms. In a storage-extra PAEA mechanism, users not only remember their passwords, but also
hold password-wrapped credentials that can be revealed to adversaries without compromising user
privacy. In mechanisms of the latter type, user password verification data are not saved at the server.
Mechanisms of both types have advantages in certain scenarios.
NOTE Annex A gives object identifiers for the PAEA mechanisms specified in this document.
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission
(IEC) draw attention to the fact that it is claimed that compliance with this document may involve the
use of patents.
ISO and IEC take no position concerning the evidence, validity and scope of these patent rights.
The holders of these patent rights have assured ISO and IEC that they are willing to negotiate licences
under reasonable and non-discriminatory terms and conditions with applicants throughout the world.
In this respect, the statements of the holders of these patent rights are registered with ISO and IEC.
Information may be obtained from:
National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
1-1-1 Umezono
Tsukuba
Ibaraki 305-8560
Japan
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject
of patent rights other than those identified above. ISO and/or IEC shall not be held responsible for
identifying any or all such patent rights.
ISO (www.iso.org/patents) and IEC (http://patents.iec.ch) maintain on-line databases of patents
relevant to their standards. Users are encouraged to consult the databases for the most up to date
information concerning patents.
© ISO/IEC 2017 – All rights reserved v

---------------------- Page: 5 ----------------------
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO/IEC 20009-4:2017(E)
Information technology — Security techniques —
Anonymous entity authentication —
Part 4:
Mechanisms based on weak secrets
1 Scope
This document specifies anonymous entity authentication mechanisms based on weak secrets. The
precise operation of each mechanism is specified, together with details of all inputs and outputs. This
document is applicable to situations in which the server only verifies that the user belongs to a certain
user group without obtaining any information that can be used to identify the user later on.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO/IEC 9797-2, Information technology — Security techniques — Message authentication codes (MACs) —
Part 2: Mechanisms using a dedicated hash-function
ISO/IEC 10118-3, Information technology — Security techniques — Hash-functions — Part 3: Dedicated
hash-functions
ISO/IEC 11770-4:2006, Information technology — Security techniques — Key management —
Part 4: Mechanisms based on weak secrets
ISO/IEC 18033-4, Information technology — Security techniques — Encryption algorithms —
Part 4: Stream ciphers
ISO/IEC 19772:2009, Information technology — Security techniques — Authenticated encryption
ISO/IEC 20009-1, Information technology — Security techniques — Anonymous entity authentication —
Part 1: General
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in ISO/IEC 20009-1 and the
following apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at http://www.iso.org/obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at http://www.electropedia.org/
3.1
abelian group
group (S, *) such that a*b = b*a for every a and b in S
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 15946-1:2016, 3.1]
© ISO/IEC 2017 – All rights reserved 1

---------------------- Page: 6 ----------------------
ISO/IEC 20009-4:2017(E)

3.2
authenticated encryption
(reversible) transformation of data by a cryptographic algorithm to produce ciphertext that cannot be
altered by an unauthorized entity without detection, i.e. provides data confidentiality, data integrity,
and data origin authentication
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 19772:2009, 3.1]
3.3
authentication credential
credential (3.7) containing information that can be used to help authenticate the entity
3.4
authenticator
data string that is sent to and verified by the other entity as part of the mechanism
3.5
claimant
entity which is or represents a principal for the purposes of authentication
Note 1 to entry: A claimant includes the functions and the private data necessary for engaging in authentication
exchanges on behalf of a principal.
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 9798-1:2010, 3.6]
3.6
collision-resistant hash-function
hash-function satisfying the following property: it is computationally infeasible to find any two distinct
inputs which map to the same output
Note 1 to entry: Computational feasibility depends on the specific security requirements and environment.
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 10118-1:2016, 3.1]
3.7
credential
representation of an identity
Note 1 to entry: A credential is typically made to facilitate data authentication of the identity information in the
identity it represents.
Note 2 to entry: The identity information represented by a credential can be printed on paper or stored within a
physical token that typically has been prepared in a manner to assert the information as valid.
EXAMPLE A credential can be a username, a username with a password, a PIN, a smartcard, a token, a
fingerprint, a passport, etc.
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 24760-1:2011, 3.3.5]
3.8
cyclic group
abelian group (3.1) (G, *) such that there exists an element g in G, called the generator of the group, such
i
that for any element a in G, there exists an integer i with a = g
3.9
distinguishing identifier
information which unambiguously distinguishes an entity
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 11770-1:2010, 2.9]
3.10
exhaustive search
attack technique, also known as brute-force, involving searching through all possibilities for a secret value
2 © ISO/IEC 2017 – All rights reserved

---------------------- Page: 7 ----------------------
ISO/IEC 20009-4:2017(E)

3.11
field
set of elements S and a pair of operations (+, *) defined on S such that: (i) a*(b + c) = a*b + a*c for every
a, b and c in S, (ii) S together with + forms an abelian group (3.1) (with identity element 0), and (iii) S
excluding 0 together with * forms an abelian group
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 15946-1:2016, 3.4]
3.12
finite field
field containing a finite number of elements
m
Note 1 to entry: For any positive integer, m, and a prime, p, there exists a finite field containing exactly p elements.
m m
This field is unique up to isomorphism and is denoted by F(p ), where p is called the characteristic of F(p ).
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 15946-1:2016, 3.5]
3.13
group
set of elements S and an operation * defined on the set of elements such that (i) a*(b*c) = (a*b)*c for
every a, b and c in S, (ii) there exists an identity element e in S such that a*e = e*a = a for every a in S, and
−1 −1 −1
(iii) for every a in S, there exists an inverse element a in S such that a*a = a *a = e
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 15946-1:2016, 3.6]
3.14
group generator
generator of a cyclic group
3.15
homomorphic encryption
symmetric or asymmetric encryption that allows third parties to perform operations on plaintext data
while keeping them in encrypted form
Note 1 to entry: Third parties refer to parties that are neither the encryptor nor the decryptor.
3.16
message authentication code algorithm
MAC algorithm
algorithm for computing a function which maps strings of bits and a secret key to fixed-length strings
of bits, satisfying the following two properties:
— for any key and any input string, the function can be computed efficiently;
— for any fixed key, and given no prior knowledge of the key, it is computationally infeasible to
compute the function value on any new input string, even given knowledge of a set of input strings
and corresponding function values, where the value of the ith input string might have been chosen
after observing the value of the first i-1 function values (for integers i > 1).
Note 1 to entry: A MAC algorithm is sometimes called a cryptographic check function (see for example
ISO 7498-2).
Note 2 to entry: Computational feasibility depends on the user's specific security requirements and environment.
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 9797-1:2011, 3.10]
3.17
offline exhaustive search
exhaustive search or brute-force attack that is performed without interacting with any of the
authorized parties
© ISO/IEC 2017 – All rights reserved 3

---------------------- Page: 8 ----------------------
ISO/IEC 20009-4:2017(E)

3.18
password
secret word, phrase, number or character sequence used for entity authentication, which is a memorized
weak secret
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 11770-4:2006, 3.25]
3.19
password verification data
data that is used to verify an entity’s knowledge of a specific password (3.18)
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 11770-4:2006, 3.29]
3.20
password wrapped credential
authentication credential (3.3) generated as a function of a password (3.18) in a protected format that
resists offline exhaustive search (3.17) of passwords
3.21
prime field
finite field (3.12) containing a prime number of elements
3.22
pseudo distinguishing identifier
information which unambiguously distinguishes an entity, but which is valid for only a limited
period of time
3.23
secure prime
prime integer p such that (p − 1) / 2 has only large prime factors
3.24
system parameters
choice of parameters that selects a particular cryptographic scheme or function from a family of
cryptographic schemes or functions
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 18033-2:2006, 3.41]
4 Symbols, abbreviated terms and conversion functions
4.1 Symbols and abbreviated terms
For the purposes of this document, the symbols and abbreviated terms given in ISO/IEC 20009-1 and
the following apply.
AD decryption function for an authenticated encryption scheme using K as the key;
K
that shall be selected from among those standardized in ISO/IEC 19772
AE encryption function for an authenticated encryption scheme using K as the key;
K
that shall be selected from among those standardized in ISO/IEC 19772
a mod n for an integer a and a positive integer n, the unique integer r ∈ [0, n − 1] such
that r ≡ a (mod n)
a ≡ b (mod n) for a non-zero integer n, a relation between integers a and b that holds if and
only if a and b are congruent modulo n, i.e. n|(a − b)
−1
a mod n for an integer a and a positive integer n such that gcd(a, n) = 1, the unique
integer b ∈ [1, n − 1] such that ab ≡ 1 (mod n)
4 © ISO/IEC 2017 – All rights reserved

---------------------- Page: 9 ----------------------
ISO/IEC 20009-4:2017(E)

CRL credential revocation list
DEC decryption function for a stream cipher algorithm using a key derived from a
pw
password, pw, (and using a random initial value if the algorithm requires it);
shall be selected from among those standardized in ISO/IEC 18033-4
ENC encryption function for a stream cipher algorithm using a key derived from a
pw
password, pw, (and using a random initial value if the algorithm requires it);
shall be selected from among those standardized in ISO/IEC 18033-4
E(F(p)) a set of F(p)-valued points of an elliptic curve and an extra point O referred to
E
as the point at infinity (see ISO/IEC 15946-1)
F(p) a finite field containing p elements, where p is a prime or a power of a prime
gcd(a, b) for integers a and b, the greatest common divisor of a and b, i.e. the largest
positive integer that divides both a and b (or 0 if a = 0 or b = 0)
x x
g if g is an element of the finite field F(p), then this denotes g computed in F(p)
where g is a generator of a cyclic group of prime order, q. If g is an elliptic curve
point, then this denotes an elliptic curve scalar multiplication [x]g, where x is a
scalar and g is a base point of prime order q on the elliptic curve
g g g g g g
* if and are elements of the finite field F(p), then this denotes * computed
1 2 1 2 1 2
g g g g
in F(p). If and are elliptic curve points, then this denotes + for the
1 2 1 2
cyclic group operation + defined over the elliptic curve
g g g g g g
/ if and are elements of the finite field F(p), then this denotes / computed
1 2 1 2 1 2
g g g g
in F(p). If and are elliptic curve points, then this denotes − for the
1 2 1 2
cyclic group operation − defined over the elliptic curve
H a collision-resistant hash-function taking a bit/octet string as input and giving
a bit/octet string as output; shall be selected from among those standardized
in ISO/IEC 10118
HD decryption function under a private key sk of a homomorphic encryption scheme
sk
HE encryption function under a public key pk of a homomorphic encryption scheme
pk
H a collision-resistant hash-function taking a bit/octet string as input and giving a
g
generator of a cyclic group of prime order, q, as output, which shall be made up
of the composition of a hash-function selected from among those standardized
in ISO/IEC 10118-3 and a function R or R in ISO/IEC 11770-4 that converts
1DL 1EC
a bit string to a cyclic group element
H a collision-resistant hash-function taking a bit/octet string as input and giving
λ
a bit/octet string of bit length, λ, as output; shall be selected from among those
standardized in ISO/IEC 10118-3 and whose output is truncated to λ bits
I octet string representing the distinguishing identifier of the authentication
S
server S
I octet string representing the distinguishing identifier of a user U, a claimant
U
or a group of users
octet string representing the distinguishing identifier of a user U from a group
i
I
U
i
of users U , U , …, U
1 2 n
octet string representing the pseudo distinguishing identifier for a user U
i
I
U
i
© ISO/IEC 2017 – All rights reserved 5

---------------------- Page: 10 ----------------------
ISO/IEC 20009-4:2017(E)

MAC (MK, MESSAGE) a Message Authentication Code (MAC) algorithm taking a bit/octet string MK
λ
as the MAC generation key and a bit/octet string MESSAGE to be authenticated
as input and giving a bit/octet string of bit length λ as output; shall be selected
from among those standardized in ISO/IEC 9797-2
Ocheck a function to check the order of a given group element is a prime integer, q,
or larger, which depends on the type of the group element to check, 1) for a
group element in a prime field F(p) and p is a secure prime, it takes an integer
b and outputs 'valid' if b is not equal to −1, 0 or 1 (mod p) otherwise outputs
'invalid'; 2) for a group element in a prime field F(p) and p is not a secure
prime, it takes an integer b and outputs 'valid' if b is not equal to −1, 0 or 1
q

(mod p) and b ≡ 1 (mod p) otherwise outputs 'invalid' and 3) for an elliptic
curve point on an elliptic curve E(F(p)), it takes an element b in F(p) × F(p)
#E/q
and outputs 'valid' if b is on the elliptic curve and b is not equal to the
point at infinity O otherwise outputs 'invalid'
E
O the elliptic curve point at infinity
E
PWF a password file
params public system parameters
pvd password verification data associated with the user U
U
pw a password associated with the user U
U
ServK server key kept secret by the authentication server
SK session key
secparam security parameter, i.e. a number representing the number of bits of security
to be offered by an instantiation of a scheme
NOTE  A typical choice should be 128 or more.
    
x || y if x and y are bit/octet strings, the concatenation of the two strings x and
  
y , resulting in the string consisting of x followed by y
|x| bit length of a number x
λ bit length of a symmetric key k
k
λ bit length of a pseudo distinguishing identifier I
U U
λ bit length of an authenticator denoted by V V' V and V'
v U, U, S S
#E the number of rational points on the elliptic curve E(F(p)), including the point
at infinity O (see ISO/IEC 15946-1)
E
[i, j] the set of integers m satisfying i ≤ m ≤ j
an l-tuple of elements x , …, x
1 l 1 l
empty
⊥
6 © ISO/IEC 2017 – All rights reserved

---------------------- Page: 11 ----------------------
ISO/IEC 20009-4:2017(E)

4.2 Conversion functions
EC2OSP elliptic curve to octet string conversion primitive that is equivalent to the recom-
mended conversion function EC2OS( , compressed) in ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 27/WG 2
Standing Document 7
FE2OSP field element to octet string conversion primitive as specified in ISO/IEC JTC 1/
SC 27/WG 2 Standing Document 7
GE2OSP cyclic group element to octet string conversion primitive. If the mechanism is
defined over a finite field, it is the same as FE2OS. If it is defined over an elliptic
curve, it is the same as EC2OSP
5 General model for password-based anonymous entity authentication
5.1 Participants
The participants in a password-based anonymous entity authentication (PAEA) mechanism are an
authentication server and users who belong to certain groups.
NOTE As an example, a user group can comprise members who qualify to obtain a certain service or who
have a certain attribute such as being over 18 years old, male or female, etc.
5.2 Types of PAEA mechanisms
Two types of PAEA mechanisms are specified in this document: password-only and storage-
extra mechanisms. In a password-only PAEA mechanism, each user registers a password with the
authentication s
...