Aggregating Atomic Clocks for Time-Stamping

Published

August 3, 2020

Author(s)

Temur Saidkhodjaev, Jeff Voas, D. Richard Kuhn, Joanna DeFranco, Phil Laplante

Abstract

A timestamp is a critical component in many applications, such as proof of transaction ordering or analyzing algorithm performance. This paper reports on a method called Verified Timestamping (VT) that improves the standard timestamp protocol. VT was developed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for use in algorithms where timestamp accuracy is critical. VT is an aggregation of the outputs from various atomic clocks to create a Timestamping Authority (TsA). The motivation for this research effort included malicious delay issues in Networks of Things [NST SP 800-183] as well as race conditions associated with the inclusion of new blocks into blockchains. This paper presents the TsA design and the results of VT, which indicate that atomic clock aggregation is not only possible, but a viable means to produce higher integrity timestamps at the milli-second level of performance.

Proceedings Title

2020 IEEE International Conference on Service Oriented Systems Engineering (SOSE)

Volume

1

Conference Dates

August 3-6, 2020

Conference Location

Oxford, UK

Pub Type

Conferences

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1109/SOSE49046.2020.00008

Local Download

Keywords

timestamp, network of things, performance, blockchain

Citation

Saidkhodjaev, T. , Voas, J. , Kuhn, D. , DeFranco, J. and Laplante, P. (2020), Aggregating Atomic Clocks for Time-Stamping, 2020 IEEE International Conference on Service Oriented Systems Engineering (SOSE), Oxford, UK, [online], https://doi.org/10.1109/SOSE49046.2020.00008, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=928808 (Accessed October 27, 2025)