CPK-based login authentication for electricity operation information system

Login authentication security is indispensable to applications of client/server (C/S) structure. Although some security technology in login authentication is relatively mature after years of development, it cannot meet high security requirements for the system in the case of limited resources. To deal with it, this paper proposes a new login authentication solution and applies it in electricity operation information system (EOIS), an application aiming at electrical equipment overhaul and report. The authors firstly discuss the reason why combined public key (CPK) is adopted as the key technology instead of the common one public key infrastructure (PKI). Secondly, they expatiate on CPK generation mechanism and the realizing process of login authentication, including local authentication using CPK-based digital signature and remote authentication using web service. Then, some results from three encryption methods (message-digest algorithm 5(MD5), secure hash algorithm (SHA-1) and CPK-based digital signature) to test EOIS are given, which show that the new solution builds its security on Hash function chosen and protection of combined private key. Finally, the security analysis reveals that CPK-based login authentication is safer to ensure the certainty of user identity, the integrality and non-repudiation of messages, and the confidentiality of transmission.