ViDPSec Visual Device Pairing Security Protocol

Pairing devices over insecure wireless channels is a difficult task, especially when there is no trusted third party or when either the delivering network or the third party itself can´t be trusted. In this work we present a light-weight yet sophisticated protocol for establishing secure communications channels between devices. The protocol uses any asymmetric cryptosystem´s keys and a novel exchange mechanism to establish a symmetric key that encrypts any data exchanged over the channel. The protocol requires user intervention for its operation; challenge signature/tokens are sent at first that are verified at the end by the user; if the exchanged tokens are verified then the channel is secured by the symmetric key exchanged inline. The only requirement posed on the devices is that they must be equipped with a display. The protocol is ideal for secure pairing among any display-equipped user device with an adequate processor to play MP3 music.