A fresh crypto technology could hold the keys to better security in electronic-commerce applications.
Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) uses a more complex mathematical equation - represented by an elliptic curve - than is used in current RSA systems, developed by RSA Data Security, to crunch the numbers that make up a security code. Because the underlying mathematics is complex, the integers used can be smaller.
The result is an encryption algorithm that has less overhead and thus is more suitable for operations that rely on speed such as online shopping and banking, ECC supporters contend.
"You can't do efficient RSA cryptography on a smartcard," said Philip C. Deck, president and CEO of Certicom, a leading ECC proponent and holder of 30 patents on aspects of the encryption method.
Deck believes a more efficient crypto algorithm is needed because of two serious bottlenecks in RSA systems. RSA tends to slow down when it does a high volume of transactions - which is what happens on Web servers and banks. Also, the system works better on larger processors than on small chips such as those used in smartcards.
ECC works in both software and hardware; Certicom developed an IC architecture for public key encryption using ECC and is gearing it toward smartcards, wireless, and other limited-power applications - including new pagers to be offered by Motorola.
The efficiency of ECC is demonstrated in current research, which shows that a 160-bit ECC key size has the comparable security of a 1,024-bit RSA key. The real efficiencies show later, as key length increases. For example, an RSA key size of 21,000 is equivalent to a mere 600-bit ECC key.
First proposed as a cryptosystem in 1985 by IBM research mathematician Victor Miller, ECC's early implementations were slow. Deck said Certicom tinkered with the underlying mathematics to improve the multiplication algorithms. The results, said Deck, have made ECC a serious player in the crypto game.
Nonetheless, smartcard makers are not dropping their old standard. In fact, members of an electronic commerce consortium are readying the 1.0 release of the Secure Electronic Transaction (SET) protocol, complete with 1,024-bit RSA encryption.
Consortium member Mastercard International stands by the SET protocol. Vice president Steve Mott said the company has no plans at the present to used ECC, but left open the door for its consideration in future versions of SET. "We anticipate in SET 2.0 that it'll be encryption-algorithm independent," including an ECC option, he said.
The lukewarm reception is no surprise to standard bearer RSA - developer of the core algorithm of SET. ECC is not a tested technology. "The mathematics of ECC is so incredibly arcane that it hasn't been studied by enough world-class mathematicians to determine how secure it actually is," said Gary Kinghorn, director of product marketing at RSA.
Security experts agree. "ECC so far appears to be a strong cryptosystem, but really hasn't undergone the scrutiny of RSA yet," said Joel McNamara, a security consultant and publisher of the ezine Popular Cryptography.
"There has been quite a bit of standards activity regarding the algorithm, and many people in the security and crypto community feel it offers real potential," McNamara said.
And RSA, watching for shifting winds, wants to be there when the potential of ECC is realized. The company already offers an ECC toolkit.
