Authenticating strangers in Online Social Networks

Xinxin Zhao, Lingjun Li, Guoliang Xue

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

In current Online Social Networks (OSNs), it is necessary for a user to determine whether a claimed public key belongs to a target user. In this paper, we design a system to complete this task. We first find a common friend between two users and let her help to prove the ownership of the public key. The common friend is proved to exist with high probability in fast mixing OSNs. We also propose a protocol to securely compute the intersection of friend sets. The effectiveness of the system is demonstrated by simulation.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)237-248
Number of pages12
JournalInternational Journal of Security and Networks
Volume6
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2011

Keywords

  • Authentication
  • Fast mixing
  • OSNs
  • Online Social Networks
  • Secure set intersection
  • Zero-knowledge proof

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality
  • Computer Networks and Communications
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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