Time-specific encryption from forward-secure encryption: generic and direct constructions

Paterson and Quaglia (SCN 2010 ) proposed the concept of time-specific encryption (TSE) and its efficient constructions. TSE is a type of public-key encryption with an additional functionality where an encryptor can specify a suitable time interval, meaning that the ciphertexts may only be decrypted within this time interval. In this work, we propose a new methodology for designing efficient TSE schemes by using forward-secure encryption (FSE), and based on this methodology, we present a specific TSE scheme using Boneh–Boyen–Goh FSE, and a generic construction from any FSE. Our proposed TSE schemes are practical in all aspects with regard to computational costs and data sizes. The sizes of the ciphertext and the public parameter in our schemes are significantly smaller than those in previous schemes in an asymptotic sense.