|
The quantum computing era is coming, and it will change everything about how the world connects online. While quantum computing will yield tremendous benefits, it will also create new risks, so it’s essential that we prepare our critical internet infrastructure for what’s to come. That’s why we’re so pleased to share our latest efforts in this area, including technology that we’re making available as an open source implementation to help internet operators worldwide prepare.
In recent years, the research team here at Verisign has been focused on a future where quantum computing is a reality, and where the general best practices and guidelines of traditional cryptography are re-imagined. As part of that work, we’ve made three further contributions to help the DNS community prepare for these changes:
First, a brief refresher on what MTL mode is and what it accomplishes:
MTL mode is a technique developed by Verisign researchers that can reduce the operational impact of a signature scheme when authenticating an evolving series of messages. Rather than signing messages individually, MTL mode signs structures called Merkle tree ladders that are derived from the messages to be authenticated. Individual messages are authenticated relative to a ladder using a Merkle tree authentication path, while ladders are authenticated relative to a public key of an underlying signature scheme using a digital signature. The size and computational cost of the underlying digital signatures can therefore be spread across multiple messages.
The reduction in operational impact achieved by MTL mode can be particularly beneficial when the mode is applied to a signature scheme that has a large signature size or computational cost in specific use cases, such as when post-quantum signature schemes are applied to DNSSEC.
Recently, Verisign Fellow Duane Wessels described how Verisign’s DNSSEC algorithm update—from RSA/SHA-256 (Algorithm 8) to ECDSA Curve P-256 with SHA-256 (Algorithm 13)—increases the security strength of DNSSEC signatures and reduces their size impact. The present update is a logical next step in the evolution of DNSSEC resiliency. In the future, it is possible that DNSSEC may utilize a post-quantum signature scheme. Among the new post-quantum signature schemes currently being standardized, though, there is a shortcoming; if we were to directly apply these schemes to DNSSEC, it would significantly increase the size of the signatures1. With our work on MTL mode, the researchers at Verisign have provided a way to achieve the security benefit of a post-quantum algorithm rollover in a way that mitigates the size impact.
Put simply, this means that in a quantum environment, the MTL mode of operation developed by Verisign will enable internet infrastructure operators to use the longer signatures they will need to protect communications from quantum attacks, while still supporting the speed and space efficiency we’ve come to expect.
For more background information on MTL mode and how it works, see my July 2023 blog post, the MTL mode I-D, or the research paper, “Merkle Tree Ladder Mode: Reducing the Size Impact of NIST PQC Signature Algorithms in Practice.”
In my July 2023 blog post titled “Next Steps in Preparing for Post-Quantum DNSSEC,” I described two recent contributions by Verisign to help the DNS community prepare for a post-quantum world: the MTL mode I-D and a public, royalty-free license to certain intellectual property related to that I-D. These activities set the stage for the latest contributions I’m announcing in this post today.
Verisign is grateful for the DNS community’s interest in this area, and we are pleased to serve as stewards of the internet when it comes to developing new technology that can help the internet grow and thrive. Our work on MTL mode is one of the longer-term efforts supporting our mission to enhance the security, stability, and resiliency of the global DNS. We’re encouraged by the progress that has been achieved, and we look forward to further collaborations as we prepare for a post-quantum future.
Sponsored byDNIB.com
Sponsored byCSC
Sponsored byIPv4.Global
Sponsored byVerisign
Sponsored byVerisign
Sponsored byWhoisXML API
Sponsored byRadix