Hash-based digital signatures for hierarchical internet public key infrastructure

Abstract

Techniques for signing internet data are disclosed. The techniques include accessing a plurality of internet data records. The techniques also include generating, using at least one electronic processor, leaf nodes from the plurality of internet data records, and constructing a recursive hash tree from the plurality of leaf nodes. The techniques also include deriving information sufficient to validate the root node, and publishing, in an internet public key infrastructure (PKI) as a synthesized public key, the information sufficient to validate the root node. The techniques also include providing, through the internet and as a signature on at least one of the plurality of internet data records, validation data including sibling path data from the recursive hash tree, such that an internet client validates the at least one of the internet data records using at least the validation data and the synthesized public key.