STRENGTHENED PUBLIC KEY PROTOCOL

A cryptosystem utilizes the properties of discrete logs in finite groups, either in a public key message exchange or in a key exchange and generation protocol. If the group selected has subgroups of relatively small order, the message may be exponentiated by a factor of the order of the group to place the message in a subgroup of relatively small order. To inhibit such substitution, the base or generator of the cryptosystem is chosen to be a generator of a subgroup of prime order or a subgroup of an order having a number of relatively small divisors. The message may be exponentiated to each of the relatively small divisors and the result checked for the group identity. If the group identity is found, it indicates a vulnerability to substitution and is rejected.