A Practical Set-Membership Proof for Privacy-Preserving NFC Mobile Ticketing
Authors: Ghada Arfaoui (Orange Labs, F-14066 Caen, INSA Centre Val de Loire, F-18020 Bourges, France), Jean-François Lalande (INSA Centre Val de Loire - Inria, F-18020 Bourges), Jacques Traoré (Orange Labs, F-14066 Caen, France), Nicolas Desmoulins (Orange Labs, F-14066 Caen, France), Pascal Berthomé (INSA Centre Val de Loire, F-18020 Bourges, France), Saïd Gharout (Orange Labs, F-92130 Issy-les-moulineaux, France)
Volume: 2015
Issue: 2
Pages: 25–45
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/popets-2015-0019
Abstract: To ensure the privacy of users in transport systems, researchers are working on new protocols providing the best security guarantees while respecting functional requirements of transport operators. In this paper1 , we design a secure NFC m-ticketing protocol for public transport that preserves users’ anonymity and prevents transport operators from tracing their customers’ trips. To this end, we introduce a new practical set-membership proof that does not require provers nor verifiers (but in a specific scenario for verifiers) to perform pairing computations. It is therefore particularly suitable for our (ticketing) setting where provers hold SIM/UICC cards that do not support such costly computations. We also propose several optimizations of Boneh-Boyen type signature schemes, which are of independent interest, increasing their performance and efficiency during NFC transactions. Our m-ticketing protocol offers greater flexibility compared to previous solutions as it enables the post-payment and the off-line validation of m-tickets. By implementing a prototype using a standard NFC SIM card, we show that it fulfils the stringent functional requirement imposed by transport operators whilst using strong security parameters. In particular, a validation can be completed in 184.25 ms when the mobile is switched on, and in 266.52 ms when the mobile is switched off or its battery is flat.
Keywords: Set membership proof, zero-knowledge proof, m-ticketing, privacy, anonymity, unlinkability, postpayment
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