Key authentication scheme for cryptosystems based on discrete logarithms

Protecting public keys against intruders is very important in public key cryptosystems. Most key authentication schemes require one or more authorities to authenticate keys. In this paper, we propose a new scheme for cryptosystems based on discrete logarithms. It is similar to the conventional certificate-based schemes, yet it requires no authorities. The certificate of the public key of a user is a combination of his password and private key. Our scheme is highly secure and the authentication process is very simple.