Authentication, Time-Stamping and Digital Signatures

Judah Levine

Abstract:	Time and frequency data are often transmitted over public packet-switched networks, and the use of this mode of distribution is likely to in crease in the near future as high-speed logical circuits transmitted via networks replace point-to-point physical circuits. Although these networks have many technical advantages, they are susceptible to eavesdropping, spoofing, and the alteration of messages enroute using techniques that are relatively simple to implement and quite difficult to defect. I will discuss a number of solutions to these problems, including the authentication mechanism used in the Network Time Protocol (NTP) and the more general technique of signing time-stamps using public-key cryptography. This public-key method can also be used to implement the digital analog of a Notary Public, I will discuss how such a system could be realized on a public network such as the Internet.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 27th Annual Precise Time and Time Interval Systems and Applications Meeting November 29 - 1, 1995 The Doubletree Hotel at Horton Plaza San Diego, California
Pages:	439 - 446
Cite this article:	Levine, Judah, "Authentication, Time-Stamping and Digital Signatures," Proceedings of the 27th Annual Precise Time and Time Interval Systems and Applications Meeting, San Diego, California, November 1995, pp. 439-446.
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