Technical Summary
This document describes several Verifiable Randon Function (VRF) functions,
which can be used as a public-key version of a keyed cryptographic hash. The
document describes algorithms for VRFs based on Elliptic Curves and RSA. It
includes detailed documentation on implementing these algorithms through a
framework of cipher suites. The document also provides an overview of the
construction's security properties and information about which properties are
needed in different scenarios. This document is a product of the Crypto Forum
Research Group (CFRG) in the IRTF.
Working Group Summary
The document was adopted back in 2017. It has gone through multiple iterations
and improvements after adoption. This includes broadening the scope from
Elliptic Curve VRFs to a wider spectrum of VRFs by including an RSA full-domain
hash version. This document predated the CFRG hash-to-curve document but has
subsequently been adapted to be compatible with the constructions provided in
that document. There was a Research Group Last Call for the draft in February
2021.
Document Quality
This document went through an expert review by Chloe Martindale on the Crypto
Review panel and extensive review from CFRG participants, including Christopher
Peikert, Burt Kaliski, Christopher Wood, Riad Wahby, Antonio Marcedone,
Christopher Patton, Hoeteck Wee, and others. There is a reference C++
implementation with test vectors, and there are alternative implementations of
different aspects of this draft available in Sage, Python, C, JavaScript, and
Rust.
Personnel
Nick Sullivan is the Document Shepherd.
Colin Perkins is the IRTF Chair.