Discussed are a cross certification method and a certifying device to perform the method. The certifying device can include a certification communication unit; a certification storage unit; and a certification control unit, wherein when a first certification is approved, the certification control unit encrypts a second identification information with a unidirectional encryption algorithm to generate a certification cryptogram, and transmits the certification cryptogram to an electronic device to request a second certification, when receiving a first random number in response to the request for the second certification, the certification control unit inputs the second identification information and an initial vector to a random number generating algorithm to generate a second random number, and the certification control unit compares the first random number and the second random number to verify the first random number, and determines whether to approve the second certification according to a result of the verification.

A method of exchanging a combined cryptographic key between a first node and a second node, the first node and the second node being connected through a first communication and a second communication network, wherein the first communication network is a quantum communication network wherein information is encoded on weak light pulses; and the first node and the second node being configured to: exchange one or more first cryptographic keys on the first communication network; exchange one or more second cryptographic keys using the second communication network; and form the combined cryptographic key by combining the one or more first cryptographic keys and the one or more second cryptographic keys, such that the first node and the second node share knowledge of the combined cryptographic key.

An integrated circuit features technology for generating a keystream. The integrated circuit comprises a cipher block with a linear feedback shift register (LFSR) and a finite state machine (FSM). The LFSR and the FSM are configured to generate a stream of keys, based on an initialization value and an initialization key. The FSM comprises an Sbox that is configured to use a multiplicative mask to mask data that is processed by the Sbox when the LFSR and the FSM are generating the stream of keys. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

A method of determining a confidence level associated with a device using heuristics of trust includes receiving, by an evaluating device, at least a communication from a first remote device, determining, by the evaluating device, an identity of the first remote device as a function of the at least a communication, calculating, by the evaluating device, at least a heuristic of trust as a function of the at least a communication and the identity, assigning, by the evaluating device, a first confidence level to the first remote device as a function of the at least a heuristic of trust, and assigning, by the evaluating device, an access right as a function of the first confidence level.

A system for preventing or inhibiting Payment Card fraud. When a Payment Card transaction is initiated, the card network conveys cardholder identifying information to the bank that issued the Payment Card. The issuing bank generate a random, one time data code (OTDC) upon receipt of cardholder identifying information. Alternatively, the cardholder may request an OTDC, by directly messaging the issuing bank or via an automated communication between the cardholder's mobile device and the issuing bank. The issuing bank then sends the cardholder an OTDC, preferably via an encrypted, secured transmission. The cardholder provides the OTDC to the merchant. The OTDC is part of the issuing bank's transaction approval criteria. The transaction should not be approved unless the merchant provides the OTDC to the issuing bank. The OTDC will only work for the transaction in question, and it will preferably expire shortly after its generation, if it remains unused.

Described are techniques for securing a most recent block in a data structure such as a blockchain. Techniques include configuring a data processing node that is deployable to a physical location, with a module that generates a verification signing key (VSK) pair, the VSK pair including a private VSK key that is known only to the data processing node, and a public VSK key, receiving by the data processing node, an indication of the deployment to the physical location, generating in response to the indication, by the data processing node the verification signing key (VSK) pair, and transmitting from the data processing node the public VSK key to one or more electronic devices. These techniques assure to a high degree that the generated private key remains unknown and thus can be used to secure the most recent block that is added to a data structure such as a blockchain.

Various embodiments are directed to securely generating and managing passwords using a near-field communication (NFC) enabled contactless smart card. For example, a secure password may be generated by generating a random number via a random number generator of the contactless smart card and converting the random number to one or more human-readable characters. In another example, a secure cryptographic hash function of the contactless smart card may generate a hash output value, which may be converted to one or more human-readable characters. The human-readable characters may be used as the secure password or it may be transformed to add more layers of security and complexity.

The present innovative solution increases security to interceptor attacks while not significantly minimizing the processing resource and time requirements of cryptography processes that are used. A novel RPC is used in conjunction with a public key, used to create private keys, for scrambling ASCII dictionary strings, which are then used to calculate distances among characters in the scrambled dictionary. The end result of the encryption process is not a ciphertext string but, instead, it is a string of character distances that any interceptor cannot use since he cannot recreate the scrambled dictionary or deduce what distances represent. The encryption process is simplified by converting computationally intensive operations into simple lookup operations in position strings calculated once for each scrambled dictionary. During decryption the scrambled dictionary and the matching position string are recreated and the original plaintext is recovered by simple lookup operations.

Methods and systems for securing data using random bits and encoded key data. A plurality of true random number generator (TRNG) disks and a plurality of key data sets are provided. A key data set from the plurality of key data sets is associated with each of the plurality of TRNG disks, respectively. The key data set comprises at least a block of random bits of an associated TRNG disk. An encoded key data set is formed by encoding at least two of the key data sets together. The source data can be encrypted with the encoded key data set to produce a quantity of encrypted data. The encrypted data can be decrypted with the encoded key data set or the at least two of the key data sets retrieved from the associated TRNG disks.

Methods, systems, and apparatus are described herein for tracking objects and managing data. One or more objects may be determined in a first image. An avatar may be generated which is associated with the one or more objects in the first image. A second image may be received. The second image may comprise a change in at least one object of the one or more objects. Based on the change, in the at least one object, the avatar may be updated and the information kept for a predetermined period of time.