Identity-based cryptography for grid security

The majority of current security architectures for grid systems use public key infrastructure (PKI) to authenticate identities of grid members and to secure resource allocation to these members. Identity-based cryptography (IBC) has some attractive properties which seem to align well with the demands of grid computing. This paper presents a comprehensive investigation of the use of identity-based techniques to provide an alternative grid security architecture. We propose a customised identity-based key agreement protocol which fits nicely with the grid security infrastructure (GSI) and provides a more lightweight secure job submission environment for grid users. Single sign-on and delegation services are also supported in a very natural way in our identity-based architecture