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Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange

The Diffie-Hellman key exchange protocol allows two parties to agree on a shared secret over an unsecured communication channel. It works by having each party generate a public/private key pair, and exchanging the public keys. They can then each independently derive the same secret key. This protocol was the first practical solution for key exchange and is still widely used today due to its security against eavesdropping when sufficiently large prime numbers are used.

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92 views

Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange

The Diffie-Hellman key exchange protocol allows two parties to agree on a shared secret over an unsecured communication channel. It works by having each party generate a public/private key pair, and exchanging the public keys. They can then each independently derive the same secret key. This protocol was the first practical solution for key exchange and is still widely used today due to its security against eavesdropping when sufficiently large prime numbers are used.

Uploaded by

Nikita
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange

The question of key exchange was one of the first problems


addressed by a cryptographic protocol. This was prior to the
invention of public key cryptography.

The Diffie-Hellman key agreement protocol (1976) was the first


practical method for establishing a shared secret over an unsecured
communication channel.

The point is to agree on a key that two parties can use for a
symmetric encryption, in such a way that an eavesdropper cannot
obtain the key.

Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange


Diffie-Hellman Algorithm

(g A mod p)

Alice Bob
(knows p, g, A) (knows p, g, B)

(g B mod p)

Steps in the algorithm:


1 Alice and Bob agree on a prime number p and a base g .
2 Alice chooses a secret number a, and sends Bob (g a mod p).
3 Bob chooses a secret number b, and sends Alice (g b mod p).
4 Alice computes ((g b mod p)a mod p).
5 Bob computes ((g a mod p)b mod p).
Both Alice and Bob can use this number as their key. Notice that
p and g need not be protected.
Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange
Diffie-Hellman Example

1 Alice and Bob agree on p = 23 and g = 5.


2 Alice chooses a = 6 and sends 56 mod 23 = 8.
3 Bob chooses b = 15 and sends 515 mod 23 = 19.
4 Alice computes 196 mod 23 = 2.
5 Bob computes 815 mod 23 = 2.
Then 2 is the shared secret.

Clearly, much larger values of a, b, and p are required. An


eavesdropper cannot discover this value even if she knows p and g
and can obtain each of the messages.

Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange


Diffie-Hellman Security

Suppose p is a prime of around 300 digits, and a and b at least


100 digits each.

Discovering the shared secret given g , p, g a mod p and g b


mod p would take longer than the lifetime of the universe, using
the best known algorithm. This is called the discrete logarithm
problem.

Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange


How can two parties agree on a secret value when all of their
messages might be overheard by an eavesdropper?
The Diffie-Hellman algorithm accomplishes this, and is still
widely used.
With sufficiently large inputs, Diffie-Hellman is very secure.

Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange

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