4 ms·

DH + HMAC on its own doesn't give you authentication, anyone can establish a symmetric key. It's possible to build authentication on top but it requires pre-sha

DH + HMAC on its own doesn't give you authentication, anyone can establish a symmetric key. It's possible to build authentication on top but it requires pre-shared data or PKI.

nmadden 2y ago
The way DH is used typically for encryption (ECIES) or in TLS doesn’t give you authentication. But you can get authentication from DH alone, without PSK or PKI. See https://neilmadden.blog/2021/04/08/from-kems-to-protocols/ https://neilmadden.blog/2021/04/08/from-kems-to-protocols/ for some details on the security properties of various types of DH.
- ramchip 2y ago
  I meant that some data still needs to be distributed securely, just it's the sender's public key rather than a PSK. I recon "pre-shared data" was not the best choice of words... (Still love the blog post!)
  - nmadden 2y ago
    Ok, makes sense.