Secure-Positioning-Protocol-Based Symmetric
Cryptography
Qingshui Xue
Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering
Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Shanghai, China
xue-qsh@sjtu.edu.cn
Fengying Li
School of Continuous Education
Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Shanghai, China
fyli@sjtu.edu.cn
Zhenfu Cao
Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering
Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Shanghai, China
zfcao@cs.sjtu.edu.cn
Abstract—Position-based cryptography has attracted lots of
researchers’ attention. In the mobile Internet, there are lots of
position-based security applications. For the first time, one new
conception, positioning-protocol-based symmetric cryptography
is proposed. Based on one secure positioning protocol, one
symmetric model is proposed. In the model, positioning protocols
are bound to symmetric cryptography tightly, not loosely.
Moreover, we propose one concrete positioning-protocol-based
symmetric scheme, its correctness is proved and its security is
simply analyzed as well. To our best knowledge, it is the first
positioning-protocol-based symmetric scheme.
Keywords-positioning protocol; symmetric cryptography; UC
security; model; scheme
I. INTRODUCTION
In the setting of the mobile Internet, position services and
position binding security applications become key
requirements, especially the latter. Position services include
position inquiring, secure positioning and so on. Position
inquiring consists of inquiring your own position and
positioning of other entities, which can be realized by
TOA/AOA/RMS (radio/light or sound), Camera, Sensor and so
forth [1-6]. The technology of inquiring your own position has
GPS (Global Positioning System) and so on. The technology of
positioning of other entities has Radar and so forth [2-6]. As we
all know, the positioning of other entities is a more challenging
one. Position binding security applications such as position-
based encryption and position-based signature and
authentication. For example, when one mobile user sends
messages to one specified position which is one either physical
or logical address (such as Internet Protocol address), it is
desirable that only the user who is indeed at that address can
receive it and decrypt messages. If the original receiver at that
position because of some reasons leaves that address, it will not
be able to receive or decrypt messages any more. In addition, if
the original receiver at that place moves to another place,
maybe he/she hopes he/she can receive messages at the new
place. Take position-based signature and authentication, for
example. One mobile or fixed user signs messages at one place
and sends them to another mobile user. The receiver can
receive the signed message and verify that received messages
are really signed at the place by the sender. Even if the signer
moves to another address, it will not influence the receiving
and verification of signed messages. On March 8 of 2014, the
missing Malaysian Airline MH370 can’t be found till now, as
reminds us of the significance of positioning and related
security applications.
Currently, research on position-based cryptography focuses
on secure positioning, about which some works had been
proposed [1]. These positioning protocols are based on one-
dimension, two-dimension or three-dimension spaces,
including traditional wireless network settings [1], as well as
quantum settings [7-9]. It seems to us that position-based
cryptography should integrate secure positioning with
cryptographic primitives. If only concentrating on positioning
protocols, perhaps we will become far away from position-
based cryptography. In other words, nowadays positioning
protocols are bound loosely with relevant security applications,
not tightly, as results in slow progresses of position-based
cryptography and applications. Resorting to the thoughts, in the
paper, our main contributions are as follows.
(1) We propose the definition and the model of positioning-
protocol-based symmetric cryptography. First, positioning-
protocol-based symmetric cryptography is a kind of symmetric
one, but a novel one. The definition is given and its model is
constructed. We define its security properties as well.
(2) To realize the kind of symmetric cryptography, one
secure-positioning-protocol-based symmetric scheme is
proposed and its security is analyzed in brief.
In the paper, we will organize the rest as follows. In Section
2, we will introduce the function of positioning protocols and