Online conversation application with confidentiality, anonymity, and identity requirements

Abstract

The increase in usage of smartphones and the ubiquity of Internet access have made mobile communications services very attractive to users. Messaging services are among the most popular services on the Internet. In recent years, this services started to support confidentiality and anonymity. A recurrent problem with the existing messaging solutions is their lack of resistance to impersonation attacks. The proposed solution addresses the impersonation problem, without neglecting user confidentiality and anonymity, by forcing users to exchange the required cryptographic material among themselves. Moreover, this exchange must use a proximity communication technology, forcing the users to physically meet. © Springer International Publishing AG 2017.