Friday, January 14, 2011

CyLab Researchers Release KeySlinger, Security App for iPhone and Android



"We anticipate that KeySlinger could become a general mechanism for secure local exchange of information, such as e-mail signature keys, SMS encryption and authentication keys, trustworthy Facebook account information, etc.," says Adrian Perrig, CyLab Technical Director, and one of Keyslinger's developers. "KeySlinger could enable truly trustworthy and secure person-to-person communication, without requiring expert security knowledge."

CyLab Researchers Release KeySlinger, Security App for iPhone and Android

CyLab researchers Adrian Perrig, Jonathan McCune, Ahren Studer, Ghita Mezzour, Michael Farb and Jason Lee have developed a security app for iPhone and Android smartphones. Their app, KeySlinger, offers a means to securely exchange data among a group of users. You may select any fields from your personal contact, photo, and/or developer-designed keys for exchange.

"We anticipate that KeySlinger could become a general mechanism for secure local exchange of information, such as e-mail signature keys, SMS encryption and authentication keys, trustworthy Facebook account information, etc.," says Adrian Perrig, CyLab Technical Director, and one of KeySlinger's developers. "KeySlinger could enable truly trustworthy and secure person-to-person communication, without requiring expert security knowledge."

In a CyLab Chronicles Q&A, Michael Farb, another one of KeySlinger's developers, elaborates.

"KeySlinger is the result of research at Carnegie Mellon’s CyLab that resolves a specific security problem. The problem: How can we start a trusted relationship between people, on the fly, without people having sophisticated knowledge of security protocols? In the past, people may meet to digitally sign each other’s PGP keys, which leverages physical proximity to bootstrap trust. This method, however, requires all parties to have some sophisticated knowledge of security protocols. Another method would be to use a certificate authority that signs keys. The latter method requires considerable investment in infrastructure and administration and, as such, is not a good fit for small, spontaneous groups. To solve this, we easily bootstrap secure communication in-person with a smartphone, which most people already own, in just a few easy steps."

KeySlinger is available for iPhone in the iTunes store. KeySlinger is also available for Android in the Android Market (link is accessible from Android devices).

Related Links

Download the app and learn more about KeySlinger
CyLab Chronicles Q&A with Michael Farb