Field of the invention

The invention generally relates to a method and apparatus for protecting user privacy, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for protecting user privacy with a pseudonym.

Background of the invention

With the development of electronic technologies, electronic medical systems have been widely employed in modern medical organizations so as to maintain and manage the individual information and health records (such as the case history, the testing report, and the like) of users (for example, patients). However, electronic records are vulnerable to theft and dissemination. Accordingly, the security issue of modern electronic medical systems is a matter of great concern.

To improve the security of electronic medical systems, two methods of protecting user privacy have been proposed: anonymization and pseudonymization. The purpose of anonymization is to remove the association between the real identity of a user and his or her health records. In other words, in an anonymization method, no individual information about the user is recorded, and only the health records are kept. In such an anonymization method, the user cannot be traced via the health records, though user privacy may be protected securely. The pseudonymization method has been developed on the basis of the anonymization method. In the pseudonymization method, the association between the real identity of a user and his health records has been removed, and the relationship of correspondence is established between the user's health records and one or more of his pseudonyms. Accordingly, the pseudonymization method provides protection of the user's individual information, as well as traceability of his health records. FIG. 1 illustrates a current pseudonymization mechanism developed by the Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel (HITSP). As shown in FIG. 1, when a user UlOO goes to hospital, he first provides a user identity ID _user identifying his real identity to a medical system DI lO of the hospital in step SIlO. In step S120, the medical system DI lO sends the ID _user to a Person Identifier Cross-Reference (PIX) manager D 120. In step S130, the PIX manager D120 stores the ID _user and requests a pseudonym server D 140 for pseudonym generation so as to assign a pseudonym to the user in step S 140. In step S150, the pseudonym server D140 generates a pseudonym P _pseu for the user in response to the request, and in step S 160, the pseudonym server D 140 returns the generated pseudonym P _pseu to the PIX manager D120. In step S170, the PIX manager D120 stores the received pseudonym P _pseu in a one-to-one association with the ID _user and, in step S 180, returns a pseudonym certificate containing the pseudonym P _pseu to the medical system DI lO. Then, the medical system DI lO of the hospital registers the pseudonym certificate in step S 190, and returns it to the user UlOO in step S 195. In this way, the user UlOO may be diagnosed or treated with the assigned pseudonym in the hospital, and his health records will be recorded in the name of the pseudonym. Alternatively, the hospital may obtain the real identity of the user from the PIX manager D 120 by using this pseudonym certificate as desired, so that traceability may be achieved.

Unfortunately, the current pseudonymization method as shown in FIG. 1 has some drawbacks.

First, in consideration of security, privacy or the like, or for the reason that a user may have lost a previously generated pseudonym, he may request generation of a new pseudonym every time he goes to the hospital, or even request generation of multiple different new pseudonyms so that diagnosis and/or treatment may be performed for various diseases in the same hospital. In this case, the pseudonym server D 140 in FIG. 1 has to generate pseudonyms for the user frequently, which leads to a heavy workload on the pseudonym server. Meanwhile, the PIX manager has to save the relationships of correspondence between the real identity of a user and a large number of pseudonyms. Therefore, the PIM has to be provided with a mass storage database, which leads to an increase in cost of the server.

Secondly, the provision of pseudonymization services is generally distinctly regional, that is, a local pseudonym server and an identity manager can only provide pseudonymization services to medical systems in local hospitals within their service coverage or medical systems employing the same pseudonymization service mechanism. In other words, if a medical system generates a pseudonym for a user, medical systems in different regions or with different pseudonymization mechanisms cannot identify the pseudonym for the same user. Every time the user moves from one region to another new region, he must therefore disclose his real identity to the PIM in this new region before obtaining a pseudonym valid in this new region, and then he uses this pseudonym to be treated at the hospital. This causes much inconvenience to the users.

Thirdly, in some trust-based cases, a user is only willing to disclose his real identity to his own trusted local PIM, rather than to a PIM in another strange region. In this respect, the current pseudonymization method can only be applied in a very limited region.

There is, therefore, a need to provide an improved method and apparatus for pseudonym generation and authentication so as to assist the user in enjoying a cross-regional medical service easily and securely.

Object and summary of the invention

It is an object of the invention to provide a method and apparatus for pseudonym generation and authentication with which cross-regional identity identification can be provided.

It is another object of the invention to provide a method and apparatus for pseudonym generation and authentication with which the workload of the server can be alleviated.

To achieve the above objects, the invention provides a method for pseudonym generation in a Personal Identity Manager (PIM). The method comprises the steps of: determining a set of public parameters and a set of private parameters; receiving a user identity ID _user from a user device; generating a prime pseudonym

P _pnme ^=< ^i (^ _mer )» ^i (^ _user ) ^> t> ^ase d ^on the determined set of private parameters and the ID _user , in which H; is a one-way hash function, 3 is a random number selected from a domain Z _p , and p is a selected prime number; and transmitting the prime pseudonym

P pnme and the set of public parameters to the user device.

With this method, a user is only provided with a prime pseudonym once when he makes an initial registration with the PIM. There is no need to generate multiple pseudonyms for the same user frequently. In this manner, the workload of the PIM may be alleviated with this method.

To achieve the above objects, the invention provides a method for pseudonym generation in a user device. The method comprises the steps of: transmitting a user identity ID _user to a Personal Identity Manager (PIM); receiving a set of public parameters and a prime pseudonym P _prime corresponding to the ID _user from the PIM; and selecting at least two random parameters, and generating a sub-pseudonym P _pseu with the at least two random parameters, the set of public parameters, and the prime pseudonym P _prime .

With this method, the user device may self-generate a sub-pseudonym based on a prime pseudonym obtained from the PIM. Moreover, since the sub-pseudonym is generated by using at least two random parameters, the generated sub-pseudonym masks information about the prime pseudonym very well, and there is no association among multiple sub-pseudonyms being generated. Even if one or more sub-pseudonyms are wiretapped in this case, the wiretapper cannot derive the prime pseudonym of the user inversely with the wiretapped sub-pseudonyms. In this manner, the pseudonym generation mechanism has a high level of security.

To achieve the above objects, the invention provides a method for pseudonym authentication in a third-party device. The method comprises the steps of: receiving a sub-pseudonym P _pseu and an identifier ID _server for identifying a Personal Identity Manager (PIM) from a user device; obtaining a set of public parameters from the PIM based on the identifier ID _server ; and authenticating the validation of the sub-pseudonym P _pseu by interacting with the user device on the basis of the set of public parameters.

With this method, any third-party device dependent on or independent of the PIM may authenticate the validation of the sub-pseudonym provided from the user device by interacting with the user device on the basis of the set of public parameters obtained from the PIM. In this manner, the use of the sub-pseudonym is not region- limited anymore. With the above method, a medical system in a hospital within any region may identify the user's sub-pseudonym and may then trace his real identity by using the corresponding PIM which assigns the prime pseudonym to the user.

According to another aspect of the invention, a Personal Identity Manager (PIM) is provided, the PIM comprising: a determining unit configured to determine a set of public parameters and a set of private parameters; a receiving unit configured to receive a user identity ID _user ; a generating unit configured to generate a prime pseudonym P _pnme ^=< ^i (^ _mer )» ^i (^ _user ) ^> t> ^ase d on the set of private parameters and the ID _user , in which H] is a one-way hash function, 3 is a random number selected from a domain Z _p , and p is a selected prime number; and a transmitting unit configured to transmit the prime pseudonym P _pnme to the user device.

According to another aspect of the invention, a user device is provided, the user device comprising: a transmitting unit configured to transmit a user identity ID _user to a Personal Identity Manager (PIM); a receiving unit configured to receive a set of public parameters and a prime pseudonym P _prιme corresponding to the ID _user from the PIM; and a generating unit configured to select at least two random parameters and generate a sub-pseudonym P _pseu with the at least two random parameters, the public parameters, and the prime pseudonym P _prime .

According to another aspect of the invention, a third-party device is provided, from which a user may request a service, the third-party device comprising: a receiving unit configured to receive a sub-pseudonym P _pseu and an identifier ID _server for identifying a Personal Identity Manager (PIM) from a user device; a transmitting unit configured to transmit information to the user device; an acquisition unit configured to acquire a set of public parameters from the PIM based on the identifier ID _server ; and an authenticating unit configured to authenticate the validation of the sub-pseudonym P _pseu by interacting with the user device via the transmitting unit and the receiving unit on the basis of the set of public parameters.

Other objects and accomplishments together with a more thorough understanding of the invention are apparent from and will be elucidated with reference to the following description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Brief description of the drawings

The disclosure will be described hereinafter in further detail, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a flow chart of a current pseudonymization method;

FIG. 2 illustrates a flow chart of a method for pseudonym generation and authentication according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a flow chart of a method for sub-pseudonym authentication according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates the messages delivered among various entities in the method for pseudonym generation and authentication according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates the configuration of an identity manager according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates the configuration of a user device according to an embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 7 illustrates the configuration of a third-party device according to an embodiment of the invention.

Throughout the drawings, identical reference numerals are understood to refer to similar or corresponding features or functions.

Description of embodiments

A medical system will be taken as an example so as to describe the method and apparatus for pseudonym generation and authentication according to an embodiment of the invention. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the method and apparatus for pseudonym generation and authentication according to the invention is not limited to applications in the hospital, but may equally be applied to other fields where the real identity of a user is to be protected. For example, the method and apparatus for pseudonym generation and authentication may equally be applicable to the fields of cyber shopping, book management, etc.

FIG. 2 illustrates a method for pseudonym generation and authentication according to an embodiment of the invention. In contrast to FIG. 1, the method shown in FIG. 2 involves three entities: a medical system D210 for use in a hospital, a Personal Identity Manager (PIM) D220, and a user device D230.

In FIG. 2, the medical system D210 is a management system equipped in a hospital, configured to manage and store the health records or the like of its users. The PIM D220 is a server configured to manage and store the real identity of a user. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the PIM D220 is incorporated with a pseudonym allocation function and may generate a unique prime pseudonym P _pnme for a registered user. In the invention, however, the prime pseudonym is not limited to uses in the hospital. Alternatively, the pseudonym allocation function may be implemented in a device independent of the PIM D220. For example, in the HITSP system shown in FIG. 1, the PIX manager may store and manage the real identity of a user, whereas the pseudonym server may implement the prime pseudonym allocation function. For the HITSP system, the PIM D220 in FIG. 2 may thus correspond to a combination of the PIX manager and the pseudonym server.

The user device D230 in FIG. 2 may be any device with a processing capability, such as a mobile phone, a PDA, a notebook, a smart card, or the like, configured to further generate one or more sub-pseudonyms P _pseu automatically based on the prime pseudonym P prime generated by the PIM D220. The sub-pseudonyms P _pseu will be registered in the medical system D210 when the user goes to the hospital. The sub-pseudonym generation function of the user device D230, for example, may be implemented in the application software loaded in the user device 20, or in a functional hardware module capable of being connected to the user device.

Referring to FIG. 2, the operations of a method for pseudonym generation and authentication are described in detail according to an embodiment of the invention. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the method for pseudonym generation and authentication according to the invention may be divided into five phases: a setup phase (S210), a prime pseudonym registration phase (S230), a sub-pseudonym generation phase (S250), a sub-pseudonym authentication phase (S270), and a user identity tracing phase (S290). However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention is not limited to this embodiment. Rather, some steps (for example, the user identity tracing phase) in the embodiment may be omitted as required, or some steps may intercross with each other. The specific operations of the five phases will be described with reference to FIG. 2.

Setup

The method for pseudonym generation and authentication as shown in FIG. 2 is proposed on the basis of an identity-based encryption (IBE) method. In the initial setup phase S210, the PIM D220 determines a set of public parameters and a set of private parameters used for pseudonym generation and authentication based on the IBE method.

In step S211, the PIM D220 selects basic parameters. Specifically, the PIM D220 first selects two prime numbers p and q, and selects a random number d e Z _p from a domain of an integer mod p (i.e. a domain Z _p ). Then, the PIM D220 selects two groups of order q modulo p, G ₁ and G ₂ , in other words, each selected group G ₁ and G ₂ has q finite elements, and the group G ₁ or G ₂ is a subset of the domain Z _p . The PIM D220 also selects a bilinear map e : G ₁ XG ₁ — > G ₂ to be used between G ₁ and G ₂ . Here, a bilinear map e : G ₁ XG ₁ — > G ₂ refers thereto: for all P, Q e G ₁ , e(P, Q) is an element in the group G ₂ , i.e., e(P, Q)^ G ₂ ; and for any a, b & Z _p , e(aP, bQ) = e(P, Q) ^ab . The PIM D220 then selects a random generator g£ G ₁ from the group Gi, and selects two one-way hash functions Hi and H ₂ . The two hash functions may satisfy the conditions H ₁ : {0,1} ^* — > G ₁ and H ₂ : G ₂ — > {0,1} ^* . In other words, Hi is a first one-way hash function which maps a sequence of 0 and 1 having an arbitrary length (for example, representing a character string) to an element in the group Gi, and H ₂ is a second one-way hash function which maps an element in the group G ₂ to a sequence of 0 and 1 having an arbitrary length. After selecting the above basic parameters, in step S213, the PIM D220 selects {g, g ^d , G ₁ , G ₂ , e, H ₂ , p] from the above parameters to form a set of public parameters, and selects d and H ₁ as a set of private parameters. Here, the set of public parameters {g, g ^d , G _l , G ₂ , e, H ₂ , p] is published, and any of other devices may obtain the set of public parameters from the PIM D220. Meanwhile, the set of private parameters {d , H ₁ ] is secured privately so that a prime pseudonym P _prime may be securely generated for the user when a registration is made by the user.

Registration

Before the user goes to the hospital for the first time, he may choose to register with a trustworthy local PIM D220 in the registration phase S230 so as to obtain a prime pseudonym.

Specifically, in step S231 , the user may send a user identity ID _user identifying his real identity to the PIM D220 in a registration request by using the user device D230 (such as a PDA) that he carries. In step S233, the PIM D220 stores the received ID _user in a user identity database, and generates a prime pseudonym P _pnme =< H _i {ID _user ),H _i ^d {ID _user ) > with the received ID _user and the previously determined set of private parameters {d , H ₁ ] .

The prime pseudonym is a binary group in which one term is a first hash value calculated by applying the private first one-way hash function Hi to ID _user , and the other term is the first hash value to the power of d . Then, in step S235, the PIM D220 sends the generated prime pseudonym P _pnme along with the set of public parameters to the user device D230 as a response indicating successful registration. In step S237, the user device D230 stores the received prime pseudonym P _pnme and the set of public parameters so that a corresponding sub-pseudonym may be generated in the future as desired. Then, the registration process ends.

Sub-pseudonym generation

To prevent the PIM D220 from generating pseudonyms for the user frequently in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the prime pseudonym P _e generated by the PIM D220 is in fact not used in the hospital. In contrast, in phase S250, every time the user goes to the hospital, the user device D230 will self-generate at least one sub-pseudonym based on the prime pseudonym P _pnme obtained from the PIM D220.

Specifically, in step S251, the user device D230 selects, for example, two random numbers k _{ ,k ₂ G Z _p from the domain Z _p based on the stored set of public parameters.

Then, in step S253, the user device D230 generates a sub-pseudonym with the two selected random numbers, the set of public parameters and the prime pseudonym P _pnme . In this step, the user device D230 may first calculate the following parameters:

Q _{A = H} K\ _{ID) .

" 1 i, ² c _A = e(Q _c , Q _D ) , in which Q _c = g ^kA ,

Q _D = H _l ^{dkl(kl l~l)} (ID) , in which k ^~γ is the inverse of the random number A ₂ , that is, k ₂ k ₂ ^~l mod p = 1. Then, the user device D230 generates a sub-pseudonym P _pseu =< Q _A ,Q _B ,c _A > containing three terms based on the above calculated parameters.

With the above steps S251-S253, the user device D230 may self-generate different sub-pseudonyms by selecting different random numbers k _{ ,k ₂ G Z _p . Here, information about the prime pseudonym is securely hidden in the sub-pseudonym because random numbers k _{ ,k ₂ G Z _p are used for sub-pseudonym generation. It would be difficult for others to calculate information about the prime pseudonym through an inverse calculation based on the stolen sub-pseudonym. Moreover, since k _{ and k ₂ are selected randomly, there will be no associated characteristics among several sub-pseudonyms generated by the same user device D230. In this manner, even if sub-pseudonyms generated by the user device D230 are stolen by others, it is impossible to derive the prime pseudonym assigned by the PIM to the user device based on these sub-pseudonyms. The user may thus safely use the sub-pseudonym generated for him.

Furthermore, while two random numbers are used for sub-pseudonym generation in this embodiment, those skilled in the art will appreciate that it is possible to generate a sub-pseudonym with more than two random parameters in a well-calculated design. Therefore, the invention is not limited to two random numbers as indicated in this embodiment.

Sub-pseudonym authentication

Every time the user goes to the hospital, he will use the generated sub-pseudonym so as to register in the medical system of the hospital. In phase S270, the medical system D210 of the hospital will first authenticate the validation of the sub-pseudonym provided by the user device D230, that is, authenticate whether the sub-pseudonym is generated on the basis of the prime pseudonym assigned to the user by the PIM so as to ensure that the user's real identity may be traced from the corresponding PIM.

As shown in FIG. 2, the authentication process starts from step S271. In step 271, the user device D230 sends the medical system D210 a self-generated sub-pseudonym P _pseu =< Q _A ,Q _B ,c _A > , as well as an identifier ID _server of the local PIM D220

(for example, the name or address of the PIM D220). In step S272, the medical system D210 obtains a set of public parameters {g,g ^d , G _v G ₂ ,e,H ₂ ,p) from the corresponding

PIM D220 based on the received ID _server . After the set of public parameters has been obtained, the medical system D210 may authenticate the validation of the sub-pseudonym provided by the user device D230 by interacting with the user device in step S273.

The authentication process in step 273 may be implemented in various manners. For example, when the user trusts the medical system D210 (for example, a local medical system) completely, the medical system D210 may take a prime pseudonym from the user device D230. After a prime pseudonym has been obtained from the user device D230, the medical system D210 may authenticate that the sub-pseudonym is generated in accordance with the prime pseudonym and that the prime pseudonym is assigned by the PIM D220 identified by ID _server , based on the prime pseudonym and the sub-pseudonym provided by the user. More preferably, in step S273, the medical system D210 may authenticate the sub-pseudonym by exchanging zero -knowledge proofs with the user device D230. Since it is not necessary for the user device D230 to reveal information about its prime pseudonym to the medical system D210 in the zero -knowledge proof exchange process, the method is more secure. Exchange of zero-knowledge proofs may also be implemented in various manners. FIG. 3 illustrates only one of the implementations.

As shown in FIG. 3, in step S373, the medical system D210 selects a random number t from the domain Z _p based on a parameter p in the set of public parameters, that is, t e Z . Meanwhile, the medical system D210 may select an original session key K _ses and a query content N ₀ randomly. The query content N ₀ may be a random number, or an arbitrary string represented by a sequence of 0 and 1. After the parameters have been selected, the medical system D210 may generate a query message containing three terms based on the selected parameters t , K _ses and N ₀ , g and H? in the set of public parameters, and the received sub-pseudonym P _pseu =< Q _A ,Q _B ,c _A > in step S374:

Challenge =< g' , K _ses ® H ₂ (OJcJ ), Enc(K _ses ,N _a ) > ,

in which O _B = .

In this query message, the first term & carries information about the random number t, the second term K _ses ® H ₂ (O ₁₁ ' c J) is equivalent to an encrypted session key, and the third term Enc(K _ses , N _a ) represents an encrypted content obtained by encrypting the query content N ₀ with the original session kQyK _ses . Then, in step S375, the medical system D210 sends the query message to the user device D230 and waits for a reply from the user device D230.

In step S376a, upon receipt of the query message, the user device D230 calculates a session key K* _ses from the query message with the following equation:

K \ _es = K _ses ® H ₂ (OJcJ ) Θ H ₂ (e(g' , (H ₁ ³ (ID _user )f' )) , in which ® represents an XOR operation.

It can be seen from the above equation that the term K _ses ® H ₂ (OJcJ) on the right of the equation is an encrypted session key included in the query message, and the term

H ₂ (e(g' , (H ₁ ³ (ID _user )γ ^ι ' )) on the right of the equation is a reference term generated by the user device D230 on the basis of the prime pseudonym, the set of public parameters and the query message. If the user device D230 does store the prime pseudonym P _pnme assigned by the PIM D220, that is, H^(ID _user ) is stored, then the bilinear map ^ in the set of

public parameters is such that the result of H ₂ (O ₃ ¹ Cj ) Θ H ₂ (e(g ^l , (H ₁ ³ (ID _mer )) ^kχlt )) in the above equation is exactly 0. Then, the encrypted term H ₂ (OJcJ) of the session key may be eliminated so as to obtain an original session key K _ses , i.e., K * _ses = K _ses . Subsequently, in step S376b, the encrypted content Enc(K _ses ,N _a ) is decrypted with the calculated session key K* _ses so as to obtain the decrypted content Na* . If the session key K * _ses = K _ses is obtained correctly in step S376a, the decrypted content may be decrypted correctly in step S376b as Na*=Na. Afterwards, in step S376c, the user device D230 selects a response content Nb corresponding to the decrypted content Na* in accordance with a predetermined rule negotiated in advance with the medical system D210 of the hospital. In this embodiment, the predetermined rule may be, for example, Nb=N _Α *+\. Of course, the predetermined rule is not limited to this case. After the response content has been selected, the user device D230 may encrypt the response content Nb with the calculated K * _ses in step S376d so as to obtain a response message Enc(K * _ses ,N _b ) . In step 377, the user device D230 sends the response message Enc(K * _ses ,N _b ) to the medical system D210 of the hospital as a response to the query message.

In step S378, upon receipt of the response message, the medical system D210 decrypts the received response message Enc(K * _ses ,N _b ) with the original key K _ses so as to obtain the decrypted response content Nb*. In step S379, the medical system D210 determines whether the above predetermined rule is met between the decrypted response content Nb* and the original content N ₀ . For example, the medical system D210 determines whether Nb* is equal to Na+1 in this embodiment. As described above, if the user device D230 can calculate the original session key correctly, that is K * _ses = K _ses , then the medical system D210 can decrypt N _b *=N _b =Na+l correctly with the original session key K _ses . In other words, the predetermined rule is met between the decrypted response content Nb* and the query content N ₀ . If it is determined in step S379 that the predetermined rule is met between the response content Nb* and the query content N ₀ , it means that the sub-pseudonym of the user device D230 is valid. Equivalent Iy, it is proved that the sub-pseudonym is generated on the basis of the prime pseudonym assigned by the PIM identified by ID _server .

With the above authentication, if the sub-pseudonym is authenticated to be valid, the user has made a successful registration in the medical system D210. Then he may go to the hospital with the sub-pseudonym, and his health records may be stored and managed in the name of the sub-pseudonym P _pseu =< Q _A ,Q _B ,c _A > .

In the above authentication process, the sub-pseudonym of the user device D230 to be authenticated as valid has the precondition that the user device D230 has obtained information about the prime pseudonym P _pnme =< H ₁ (ID _user ), H ₁ ³ (ID _user ) > assigned by the

PIM D220. Since the set of private parameters d and H ₁ is private here, and the first hash function H ₁ is one-way, other unauthorized users cannot calculate the prime pseudonym P _pnme =< H _l (ID _user ),H*(ID _user ) > inversely based on the sub-pseudonym and the set of public parameters with no knowledge of d and H ₁ . Therefore, the authentication result obtained by zero -knowledge proof exchange in steps S373-S379 is both reliable and secure.

Reverting to FIG. 2, the authentication process is performed between the medical system D210 and the user device D230. The PIM D220 is not involved in the authentication and only provides a set of public parameters to the medical system D210. No matter whether the medical system D210 is within the region of the PIM, the validation of the sub-pseudonym provided by the user may thus be authenticated as long as the medical system D210 can obtain a set of public parameters published by the PIM D220 via, for example, the network. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the medical system D210 of the hospital may therefore be a third-party device within any region independent of the PIM. Accordingly, a cross-regional pseudonym service may be securely provided to the user with the method for pseudonym generation and authentication as shown in FIG. 2.

Although the sub-pseudonym provided from the user device D230 is authenticated by the medical system D210 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the invention is not limited to this case. Alternatively, the authentication process may be implemented by the PIM D220. In this case, the user device D230 may send the sub-pseudonym p _pseu =< Q _A ,Q _B ,c _A > to the PIM D220. The PIM D220 then interacts with the user device

D230 so as to authenticate the sub-pseudonym. Since the PIM D220 knows all private parameters, the user device D230 may perform authentication by providing its prime pseudonym to the PIM D220. Alternatively, authentication may be performed by exchanging zero -knowledge proofs between the PIM D220 and the user device D220.

User identity tracing

Referring again to FIG. 2, after the sub-pseudonym provided by the user device D230 has been authenticated to be valid, as described above, the user may enjoy various medical services in the hospital in the name of the sub-pseudonym. In some situations, however, the medical system D210 of the hospital may desire to obtain the real identity ID _user of the user (phase S290).

When the real identity of the user is desired, the medical system D210 sends the sub-pseudonymError! Bookmark not defined, provided by the user device D230 to the PIM D220 in step S291 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2. Then, in step S293, the PIM D220 calculates a query parameterError! Bookmark not defined, corresponding to the sub-pseudonym based on the received sub-pseudonym EMBED Equation.3 \ P _pseu ^=< Q _{A >} Q _{B >} ^C _A ^{> an} d i ⁿ the set of public parameters. Subsequently, in step S295, the PIM D220 searches a database storing ID _user with the query parameterError! Bookmark not defined.. For example, for each ID _user in the database, the PIM D220 checks whether there is an ID ' _user meeting the following equation:Error! Bookmark not defined..

If an ID ' _user is found to meet the above equation with the query parameter Ver, the resulting ID _user is taken as the real identity of the user corresponding to the sub-pseudonym sent from the medical system D210. Finally, in step S297, the PIM D220 returns the resulting ID ' _user to the medical system D210 of the hospital. The medical system D210 may therefore contact the user in a timely manner based on the real identity of the user obtained from the PIM D220 when it is needed.

In the above tracing process, a user identity ID _user corresponding to the sub-pseudonym may be found by traversing the user identities in the database. Even if the PIM D220 does not store a prime pseudonym corresponding to the user identity ID _user in the embodiments of the invention, the corresponding real identity of the user may thus be found according to the sub-pseudonym from the medical system D210. This mechanism reduces the workload on the PIM D220 while decreasing its cost. Of course, the tracing method of the invention is not limited to this case, and other alternative methods may be used to find the user identity.

A method for pseudonym generation and authentication according to an embodiment of the invention has been described above in detail with reference to FIG. 2. Each step in the flow chart of FIG. 2 may be implemented in software, hardware, or in combination of both.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example in which messages are delivered among three entities when the method of FIG. 2 is implemented in hardware. As shown in FIG. 4, the PIM D220 provides a set of public parameters (message Ml) to the user device D230 and the medical system D210 of the hospital, and assigns a prime pseudonym P _pnme (message M3) to the user in response to a pseudonym registration request (ID _user ) (message M2) from the user device D230. The user device D230 itself may generate a sub-pseudonym P _pseu based on the assigned prime pseudonym P _pnme , and sends the sub-pseudonym P _pseu and the identifier IDserver of the PIM D220 (message M4) as a hospital registration request to the medical system D210. Based on the received sub-pseudonym P _pseu and the set of public parameters obtained from the PIM D220 identified by ID _server , the medical system D210 may authenticate the validation of the sub-pseudonym P _pseu by transmitting a query message (message M5) to the user device 30 and receiving a response message (message M6) from the user device D230. The medical system D210 may also transmit a query request (message M7) containing the sub-pseudonym P _pseu to the PIM D220 so as to obtain the real identity of the user ID ' _user corresponding to the sub-pseudonym (message M8) from the PIM D220. The messages illustrated in FIG. 4 are merely examples, while the invention may have various changes and is not limited in this regard. FIGS. 5-7 illustrate the block diagram of each of the three entities in FIG. 4. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that each unit in the block diagrams of FIGS. 5-7 may be combined with each other, or may be split into more according to its functions as desired. Therefore, the hardware structure as shown in FIGS. 5-7 is merely an example and is not limiting.

FIG. 5 illustrates the block diagram of the PIM D220. In FIG. 5, the PIM D210 comprises a receiving unit 510, a generating unit 520, a determining unit 530, a transmitting unit 540, a storage unit 550, a searching unit 560, and a calculating unit 570.

As shown in FIG. 5, the determining unit 530 may determine a set of public parametersError! Bookmark not defined, and a set o to be used for pseudonym generation and authentication. The set of public parameters may be transmitted via the transmitting unit 540 to any other device, such as the user device D230 or a medical system D210 of a hospital within any region.

On the one hand, the receiving unit 510 shown in FIG. 5 receives ID _user (message M2) from the user device D230. The received ID _user is stored in the database of the storage unit 550 for query from the hospital. At the same time, the received ID _user is fed into the generating unit 520. Based on the inputted ID _user and the set o determined by the determining unit 530, the generating unit 520 may generate a prime pseudonymError! Bookmark not defined, corresponding to ID _user . The prime pseudonymError! Bookmark not defined, (message M3) generated by the generating unit 520 may be sent to the user device D230 via the transmitting unit 540.

On the other hand, the receiving unit 510 receives a sub-pseudonym P _pseu (message M7) from the medical system D210 of the hospital. As shown in FIG. 5, the received sub-pseudonym P _pseu is fed into the calculating unit 570 so as to calculate the query parameterError! Bookmark not defined.. The calculating unit 570 outputs the calculated query parameterError! Bookmark not defined, into the searching unit 560. Based on the inputted query parameter Ver, the searching unit 560 may search the database of the storage unit 550 for an ID ' _user so thatError! Bookmark not defined.. If it can be found, the searching unit 560 may send the found ID ' _user to the medical system D210 via the transmitting unit 540 as the user identity corresponding to the sub-pseudonym P _pseu (message M8).

FIG. 6 illustrates the block diagram of the user device D230 according to an embodiment of the invention. In FIG. 6, the user device D230 comprises a receiving unit 610, a storage unit 620, a generating unit 630 including a selecting unit 632 and a calculating unit 636, a transmitting unit 640, and an authenticating unit 650 including a session key acquisition unit 652, a decrypting unit 654, and an encrypting unit 656.

On the one hand, the transmitting unit 640 shown in FIG. 6 sends the real identity of the user ID _user pre-stored in the storage unit 620 as a registration request (message M2) to the PIM D220. Then, the receiving unit 610 receives a registration response from the PIM D220, that is, the prime pseudonymError! Bookmark not defined, (message M3). At the same time, the receiving unit 610 also receives a set of public parameterError! Bookmark not defined, (message Ml) from the PIM D220. The received set of public parameters and the prime pseudonymError! Bookmark not defined, are stored in the storage unit 620 for use in sub-pseudonym generation. In the generating unit 630, the selecting unit 632 selects two random numbers ki and fe based on the stored set of public parameters,Error! Bookmark not defined., and sends them to the calculating unit 636. The calculating unit 636 itself may generate a sub-pseudonymError! Bookmark not defined, based on ki and fo, the set of public parameters and the prime pseudonym P _prime stored in the storage unit. The generated sub-pseudonymError! Bookmark not defined, and the identifier ID _server of the PIM D220 (message M4) may be transmitted to the medical system D210 via the transmitting unit 640, for use in the hospital.

On the other hand, after the transmitting unit 640 sends the sub-pseudonymError! Bookmark not defined, to the medical system D210, the medical system D210 may authenticate the validation of the sub-pseudonym. For example, the receiving unit 610 in

FIG. 6 receives a query messageError! Bookmark not defined, for authentication

(message M5) from the medical system D210. The received query message is fed into the session key acquisition unit 652 in the authenticating unit 650. The session key acquisition unit 652 calculates a session key EMBED Equation.3 | K * _ses based on the set of public parameters and the prime pseudonym stored in the storage unit 620 with the following equation:Error! Bookmark not defined..

The calculated session keyError! Bookmark not defined, is fed into the decrypting unit 654. The decrypting unit 654 decrypts the encrypted contentError! Bookmark not defined, in the query message with the calculated session key EMBED Equation.3 I K * _ses so as to obtain a decrypted content N ₀ *. The decrypted content Na* is fed into the encrypting unit 656. The encrypting unit 656 selects a response content N _b corresponding to the decrypted content N ₀ * in accordance with a predetermined rule, and encrypts the response content Nb with the calculated session keyError! Bookmark not defined, so as to obtain a response message EMBED Equation.3 | Enc(K * _ses , N _b ) . The response messagError! Bookmark not defined, (message M6) may be transmitted via the transmitting unit 640 to the medical system D210 for authentication. Here, the authenticating unit may be implemented in many other manners, and is not limited to the configuration shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 7 illustrates the configuration of the medical system D210 according to an embodiment of the invention. In FIG. 7, the medical system D210 comprises a receiving unit 710, a storage unit 730, an authenticating unit 740, and a transmitting unit 750. The authenticating unit 740 comprises a selecting unit 741, a query message generating unit 743, a decrypting unit 745, and a determining unit 747.

As shown in FIG. 7, the receiving unit 710 receives a sub-pseudonym P _pseu and the identifier ID _server for identifying the PIM D220 with which the user registers. As shown in FIG. 7, the receiving unit 710 receives a sub-pseudonym P _pseu and the identifier ID _server for identifying the PIM D220 with which the user registers (message M4) from a user device D230. An acquisition unit (not shown) obtains a set of public parametersEMBED Equation.3 | {g,g ^d , G _l , G ₂ ,e,H ₂ ,p} (message Ml) published from the corresponding PIM D220 via the receiving unit 710 based on the received ID _server . The received P _pseu and the set of public parameters are stored in the storage unit 730 and sent to the authenticating unit 740 at the same time so that the validation of P _pseu may be authenticated in the authenticating unit 740. The authenticating unit of FIG. 7 may be implemented in many manners. FIG. 7 illustrates only one of these manners.

Specifically, the selecting unit 741 in the authenticating unit 740 selects a random numberError! Bookmark not defined., an original session key K _ses , and a query content N ₀ , for generating a query message. The original session key EMBED Equation.3 | K _ses is used to encrypt the query content N ₀ so as to obtain an encrypted content EMBED Equation.3 | Enc{K _ses ,N _a ) . Based on the selected parameter selected by the selecting unit 741, the sub-pseudonym, and the set of public parameters, the query message generating unit 743 generates a query messageError! Bookmark not defined., and sends the query message (message M5) to the user device D230 via the transmitting unit 750. Then, after receiving the response messageError! Bookmark not defined, (message M6) from the user device D230, the receiving unit 710 sends the response message to the authenticating unit 740. The decrypting unit 745 in the authenticating unit 740 decrypts the response messageError! Bookmark not defined, with the original session keyError! Bookmark not defined.. The determining unit 747 determines whether the predetermined rule is met between the decrypted response content Nb* and the query content N ₀ , and determines that the sub-pseudonym P _pseu is authenticated to be valid when the predetermined rule is met.

Specific embodiments of the invention have been described above with reference to FIGS. 1-7. In these embodiments, the user device may generate at least one sub-pseudonym securely based on a prime pseudonym from the PIM D220 whenever the hospital is visited. In the embodiments of the invention, the PIM D220 therefore has no need to generate pseudonyms frequently for the user, and the workload on the PIM is mitigated.

Moreover, in the embodiments described above, the medical system D210 of the hospital may authenticate the user-generated sub-pseudonym by interacting with the user device D230 on the basis of a set of public parameters obtained from the PIM D220. In this manner, the user-generated sub-pseudonym may be used in hospitals within different regions, and a cross-regional pseudonym service may thus be implemented.

Additionally, in the embodiments described above, the PIM D220 may find a corresponding user identity by traversing the ID _user stored in the database for a corresponding user identity based on the sub-pseudonym provided by the medical system D210. In this manner, the PIM D220 has no need to store the prime pseudonym for each user, which further decreases the database requirements for the PIM D220 and thus decreases its cost.

Specific embodiments of the invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is to be noted that the above embodiments are intended to illustrate, rather than to limit the invention. It is to be understood by those skilled in the art that various improvements and modifications may be made to the apparatus and method of the invention without departing from the basis of the invention, the scope of which is to be defined by the attached claims. Moreover, any reference numeral in a claim shall not be cons trued as limiting the claim.