Post-quantum framework for authorized and secure communication in multi-server networking

Abstract

Multi-server authentication, called single sign-on, enables users to easily access the necessary services from multiple servers with a single registration. Users generally hesitate to sign up individually with each service provider due to the challenge of remembering numerous credentials and trust. Through real-time consumer validation on a public channel, the multi-server authentication allows speedy access to services. Several multi-server authentication techniques have been introduced. However, the existing efficient and robust authenticated key exchange (AKE) schemes are not secure against quantum attacks as they are constructed on traditional cryptographic primitives, integer factorization, and discrete log problems. Due to the advent of scalable quantum computers, these schemes will be breakable as per the application of Shor’s algorithm. To address this issue, we propose a quantum secure ring learning with error based AKE mechanism for multi-server networking to establish a secure connection between users and multiple servers. Our suggested technique provides robust mutual authentication and fulfils the desired security attributes, as presented by the rigorous security analysis in the random oracle model. Additionally, we demonstrate a detailed comparative analysis with other AKE schemes currently in practice for multi-server environments to describe further our proposed scheme’s increased efficiency and quantum security.