Concurrent Non-Malleable Zero Knowledge.

We provide the first construction of a concurrent and non-malleable zero knowledge argument for every language in NP. We stress that our construction is in the plain model with no common random string, trusted parties, or super-polynomial simulation. That is, we construct a zero knowledge protocol Pi such that for every polynomial-time adversary that can adaptively and concurrently schedule polynomially many executions of Pi, and corrupt some of the verifiers and some of the provers in these sessions, there is a polynomial-time simulator that can simulate a transcript of the entire execution, along with the witnesses for all statements proven by a corrupt prover to an honest verifier Our security model is the traditional model for concurrent zero knowledge, where the statements to be proven by the honest provers are fixed in advance and do not depend on the previous history (but can be correlated with each other); corrupted provers, of course, can chose the statements adaptively. We also prove that there exists some functionality F (a combination of zero knowledge and oblivious transfer) such that it is impossible to obtain a concurrent non-malleable protocol for F in this model. Previous impossibility results for composable protocols ruled out existence of protocols for a wider class of functionalities {including zero knowledge!) but only if these protocols were required to remain secure when executed concurrently with arbitrarily chosen different protocols (Lindell, FOCS 2003) or if these protocols were required to remain secure when the honest parties' inputs in each execution are chosen adaptively based on the results of previous executions (Lindell, TCC2004). We obtain an Otilde(n) -round protocol under the assumption that one-to-one one-way functions exist. This can be improved to Otilde(k log n) rounds under the assumption that there exist k-round statistically hiding commitment schemes. Our protocol is a black-box zero knowledge protocolWe provide the first construction of a concurrent and non-malleable zero knowledge argument for every language in NP. We stress that our construction is in the plain model with no common random string, trusted parties, or super-polynomial simulation. That is, we construct a zero knowledge protocol Pi such that for every polynomial-time adversary that can adaptively and concurrently schedule polynomially many executions of Pi, and corrupt some of the verifiers and some of the provers in these sessions, there is a polynomial-time simulator that can simulate a transcript of the entire execution, along with the witnesses for all statements proven by a corrupt prover to an honest verifier Our security model is the traditional model for concurrent zero knowledge, where the statements to be proven by the honest provers are fixed in advance and do not depend on the previous history (but can be correlated with each other); corrupted provers, of course, can chose the statements adaptively. We also prove that there exists some functionality F (a combination of zero knowledge and oblivious transfer) such that it is impossible to obtain a concurrent non-malleable protocol for F in this model. Previous impossibility results for composable protocols ruled out existence of protocols for a wider class of functionalities {including zero knowledge!) but only if these protocols were required to remain secure when executed concurrently with arbitrarily chosen different protocols (Lindell, FOCS 2003) or if these protocols were required to remain secure when the honest parties' inputs in each execution are chosen adaptively based on the results of previous executions (Lindell, TCC2004). We obtain an Otilde(n) -round protocol under the assumption that one-to-one one-way functions exist. This can be improved to Otilde(k log n) rounds under the assumption that there exist k-round statistically hiding commitment schemes. Our protocol is a black-box zero knowledge protocol

Annual Symposium on Foundations of Computer ScienceOct 1, 200686 citations

Adaptive Security of Concurrent Non-Malleable Zero-Knowledge.

Zhenfu Cao, Zongyang Zhang, Yunlei Zhao

A zero-knowledge protocol allows a prover to convince a verifier of the correctness of a statement without disclosing any other information to the verifier. It is a basic tool and widely used in many other cryptographic applications. However, when stand-alone zero-knowledge protocols are used in complex environments, e.g., the Internet, the basic properties may not be sufficient. This is why researchers considered security of zero-knowledge protocols under concurrent composition and manin-the-middle attacks. Moreover, it is very likely that an adversary might break computers that run the protocol and get internal information of the parties. It is thus necessary to take account of the security of zero-knowledge protocols when adaptive corruptions are allowed. Previous adaptively secure zero-knowledge protocols work either in a stand-alone setting, or in a concurrent setting with trusted setup assumptions. In this paper, we study adaptive security of zero-knowledge protocols under both concurrent self composition and man-in-the-middle attacks in the plain model (i.e., without any set-up assumptions). We provide a construction of adaptively secure concurrent non-malleable zero-knowledge proof/argument for every language in NP.A zero-knowledge protocol allows a prover to convince a verifier of the correctness of a statement without disclosing any other information to the verifier. It is a basic tool and widely used in many other cryptographic applications. However, when stand-alone zero-knowledge protocols are used in complex environments, e.g., the Internet, the basic properties may not be sufficient. This is why researchers considered security of zero-knowledge protocols under concurrent composition and manin-the-middle attacks. Moreover, it is very likely that an adversary might break computers that run the protocol and get internal information of the parties. It is thus necessary to take account of the security of zero-knowledge protocols when adaptive corruptions are allowed. Previous adaptively secure zero-knowledge protocols work either in a stand-alone setting, or in a concurrent setting with trusted setup assumptions. In this paper, we study adaptive security of zero-knowledge protocols under both concurrent self composition and man-in-the-middle attacks in the plain model (i.e., without any set-up assumptions). We provide a construction of adaptively secure concurrent non-malleable zero-knowledge proof/argument for every language in NP.

Jan 1, 20110 citations

Concurrent non-malleable zero-knowledge and simultaneous resettable non-malleable zero-knowledge in constant rounds

Zhenbin Yan, Yi Deng, Yiru Sun

Concurrent non-malleable zero-knowledge ( CNMZK ) considers the concurrent execution of zero-knowledge protocols in a setting even when adversaries can simultaneously corrupt multiple provers and verifiers. As far as we know, the round complexity of all the constructions of CNMZK arguments for NP is at least ω (log n ). In this paper, we provide the first construction of a constant-round concurrent non-malleable zero-knowledge argument for every language in NP . Our protocol relies on the existence of families of collision-resistant hash functions , one-way permutations and indistinguishability obfuscators . As an additional contribution, we study the composition of two central notions in zero knowledge, the simultaneously resettable zero-knowledge and non-malleable zero-knowledge , which seemingly have stronger proved security guarantees. We give the first construction of a constant-round simultaneously-resettable non-malleable zero-knowledge . To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to combine the two security concepts described above together in the zero-knowledge protocols.Concurrent non-malleable zero-knowledge ( CNMZK ) considers the concurrent execution of zero-knowledge protocols in a setting even when adversaries can simultaneously corrupt multiple provers and verifiers. As far as we know, the round complexity of all the constructions of CNMZK arguments for NP is at least ω (log n ). In this paper, we provide the first construction of a constant-round concurrent non-malleable zero-knowledge argument for every language in NP . Our protocol relies on the existence of families of collision-resistant hash functions , one-way permutations and indistinguishability obfuscators . As an additional contribution, we study the composition of two central notions in zero knowledge, the simultaneously resettable zero-knowledge and non-malleable zero-knowledge , which seemingly have stronger proved security guarantees. We give the first construction of a constant-round simultaneously-resettable non-malleable zero-knowledge . To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to combine the two security concepts described above together in the zero-knowledge protocols.

CybersecuritySep 29, 20182 citations

Concurrently Non-Malleable Zero Knowledge in the Authenticated Public-Key Model

Yi Deng, Giovanni Di Crescenzo, Dongdai Lin

We consider a type of zero-knowledge protocols that are of interest for their practical applications within networks like the Internet: efficient zero-knowledge arguments of knowledge that remain secure against concurrent man-in-the-middle attacks. In an effort to reduce the setup assumptions required for efficient zero-knowledge arguments of knowledge that remain secure against concurrent man-in-the-middle attacks, we consider a model, which we call the Authenticated Public-Key (APK) model. The APK model seems to significantly reduce the setup assumptions made by the CRS model (as no trusted party or honest execution of a centralized algorithm are required), and can be seen as a slightly stronger variation of the Bare Public-Key (BPK) model from \cite{CGGM,MR}, and a weaker variation of the registered public-key model used in \cite{BCNP}. We then define and study man-in-the-middle attacks in the APK model. Our main result is a constant-round concurrent non-malleable zero-knowledge argument of knowledge for any polynomial-time relation (associated to a language in $\mathcal{NP}$ ), under the (minimal) assumption of the existence of a one-way function family. Furthermore,We show time-efficient instantiations of our protocol based on known number-theoretic assumptions. We also note a negative result with respect to further reducing the setup assumptions of our protocol to those in the (unauthenticated) BPK model, by showing that concurrently non-malleable zero-knowledge arguments of knowledge in the BPK model are only possible for trivial languages.We consider a type of zero-knowledge protocols that are of interest for their practical applications within networks like the Internet: efficient zero-knowledge arguments of knowledge that remain secure against concurrent man-in-the-middle attacks. In an effort to reduce the setup assumptions required for efficient zero-knowledge arguments of knowledge that remain secure against concurrent man-in-the-middle attacks, we consider a model, which we call the Authenticated Public-Key (APK) model. The APK model seems to significantly reduce the setup assumptions made by the CRS model (as no trusted party or honest execution of a centralized algorithm are required), and can be seen as a slightly stronger variation of the Bare Public-Key (BPK) model from \cite{CGGM,MR}, and a weaker variation of the registered public-key model used in \cite{BCNP}. We then define and study man-in-the-middle attacks in the APK model. Our main result is a constant-round concurrent non-malleable zero-knowledge argument of knowledge for any polynomial-time relation (associated to a language in $\mathcal{NP}$), under the (minimal) assumption of the existence of a one-way function family. Furthermore,We show time-efficient instantiations of our protocol based on known number-theoretic assumptions. We also note a negative result with respect to further reducing the setup assumptions of our protocol to those in the (unauthenticated) BPK model, by showing that concurrently non-malleable zero-knowledge arguments of knowledge in the BPK model are only possible for trivial languages.

arXiv:cs/0609057Sep 12, 20065 citations

Constant-round coin-tossing with a man in the middle or realizing the shared random string model

Boaz Barak

We present the first constant-round non-malleable commitment scheme and the first constant-round non-malleable zero-knowledge argument system, as defined by Dolev, Dwork and Naor (1991). Previous constructions either used a non-constant number of rounds, or were only secure under stronger setup assumptions. An example of such an assumption is the shared random string model where we assume all parties have access to a reference string that was chosen uniformly at random by a trusted dealer. We obtain these results by defining an adequate notion of non-malleable coin-tossing, and presenting a constant-round protocol that satisfies it. This protocol allows us to transform protocols that are non-malleable in (a modified notion of) the shared random string model into protocols that are non-malleable in the plain model (without any trusted dealer or setup assumptions). Observing that known constructions of a non-interactive non-malleable zero-knowledge argument systems in the shared random string model (De Santis et. al., 2001) are in fact non-malleable in the modified model, and combining them with our coin-tossing protocol we obtain the results mentioned above. The techniques we use are different from those used in previous constructions of non-malleable protocols. In particular our protocol uses diagonalization and a non-black-box proof of security (in a sense similar to Barak's zero-knowledge argument (2001)).We present the first constant-round non-malleable commitment scheme and the first constant-round non-malleable zero-knowledge argument system, as defined by Dolev, Dwork and Naor (1991). Previous constructions either used a non-constant number of rounds, or were only secure under stronger setup assumptions. An example of such an assumption is the shared random string model where we assume all parties have access to a reference string that was chosen uniformly at random by a trusted dealer. We obtain these results by defining an adequate notion of non-malleable coin-tossing, and presenting a constant-round protocol that satisfies it. This protocol allows us to transform protocols that are non-malleable in (a modified notion of) the shared random string model into protocols that are non-malleable in the plain model (without any trusted dealer or setup assumptions). Observing that known constructions of a non-interactive non-malleable zero-knowledge argument systems in the shared random string model (De Santis et. al., 2001) are in fact non-malleable in the modified model, and combining them with our coin-tossing protocol we obtain the results mentioned above. The techniques we use are different from those used in previous constructions of non-malleable protocols. In particular our protocol uses diagonalization and a non-black-box proof of security (in a sense similar to Barak's zero-knowledge argument (2001)).

Annual Symposium on Foundations of Computer ScienceJun 26, 2003155 citations

A New Construction of Concurrent Non-malleable Zero-Knowledge

Xu Qiu

This paper focuses on the robustness of concurrent non-malleable zero-knowledge.Existing concurrent non-malleable zero-knowledge protocols either apply non-black-box techniques,or employ black-box but incorporate a zero-knowledge sub-protocol.Hence when concurrently composed with other protocols,security of these protocols is not preserved or hard to argue.Following the well-known Feige-Shamir style,this paper presents a new construction for concurrent non-malleable zero-knowledge argument system,which is easily composed.This protocol takes the robust non-malleable commitment scheme introduced by Lin and Pass in STOC 2009 and specially designed witness indistinguishable proofs as basic components to achieve non-malleability and robustness.Moreover,this paper applies the oblivious simulation strategy to simulate the view of the adversary,and the proof technique introduced by Lin et al.in Crypto 2010 to analyze the indistinguishability of simulation.Since witness indistinguishability is closed under concurrent composition,the commitment sub-protocol is robust and the is oblivious,when concurrently composed with other protocols,this protocol is easier to work with and analyze.Based on the one-way function assumption,the round complexity of this protocol is super-logarithmic.This paper focuses on the robustness of concurrent non-malleable zero-knowledge.Existing concurrent non-malleable zero-knowledge protocols either apply non-black-box techniques,or employ black-box but incorporate a zero-knowledge sub-protocol.Hence when concurrently composed with other protocols,security of these protocols is not preserved or hard to argue.Following the well-known Feige-Shamir style,this paper presents a new construction for concurrent non-malleable zero-knowledge argument system,which is easily composed.This protocol takes the robust non-malleable commitment scheme introduced by Lin and Pass in STOC 2009 and specially designed witness indistinguishable proofs as basic components to achieve non-malleability and robustness.Moreover,this paper applies the oblivious simulation strategy to simulate the view of the adversary,and the proof technique introduced by Lin et al.in Crypto 2010 to analyze the indistinguishability of simulation.Since witness indistinguishability is closed under concurrent composition,the commitment sub-protocol is robust and the is oblivious,when concurrently composed with other protocols,this protocol is easier to work with and analyze.Based on the one-way function assumption,the round complexity of this protocol is super-logarithmic.

Chinese Journal of ComputersJan 1, 20120 citations

\mathcal{NP}

), under the (minimal) assumption of the existence of a one-way function family. Furthermore,We show time-efficient instantiations of our protocol based on known number-theoretic assumptions. We also note a negative result with respect to further reducing the setup assumptions of our protocol to those in the (unauthenticated) BPK model, by showing that concurrently non-malleable zero-knowledge arguments of knowledge in the BPK model are only possible for trivial languages.