RSA Key Generation with Verifiable Randomness

Ari Juels, Jorge Guajardo

Abstract: We consider the problem of proving that a user has selected and correctly employed a truly random seed in the generation of her RSA key pair. This task is related to the problem of key validation, the process whereby a user proves to another party that her key pair has been generated securely. The aim of key validation is to pursuade the verifying party that the user has not intentionally weakened or reused her key or unintentionally made use of bad software. Previous approaches to this problem have been ad hoc, aiming to prove that a private key is secure against specific types of attacks, e.g., that an RSA modulus is resistant to elliptic-curve-based factoring attacks. This approach results in a rather unsatisfying laundry list of security tests for keys.