Cryptographic master-key-generation scheme and its application to public key distribution

Presents a cryptographic master-key-generation scheme based on a recently developed cryptographic multi-level key generation scheme. That multilevel key generation scheme is a logical complement to the well known Akl-Taylor-MacKinnon-Meijer scheme, and is particularly efficient for hierarchical structures of limited depth, which is the case for the master-key application at hand. The master-key problem is defined in the paper and a solution is presented, and illuminated, by way of comparison with a solution presented recently by Chick and Tavares, based on a variation on the Akl-Taylor-MacKinnon-Meijer scheme. Once this master key scheme is obtained and understood, it becomes a natural step to apply it to solve the public-key-distribution problem. This is achieved in a manner, which, unlike the earlier Diffie/Hellman solution, is extendible to groups of more than two users.