# Client-Side End-to-End Encryption for Appointment Bookings
## Overview
This document describes the revised concept for end-to-end encrypted appointment bookings with client-side encryption. The system implements a zero-knowledge architecture where the server never has access to unencrypted personal data.
## Security Principles
1. **Zero-Knowledge Server**: Server never sees plaintext data
2. **Client-Side Encryption**: All crypto operations in the browser
3. **PIN stays secret**: PIN never leaves the client
4. **Challenge-Response**: Secure authentication without PIN transmission
5. **Post-Quantum Cryptography**: ML-KEM-768 (Kyber) for key exchange
6. **ClientAppointments Tunnel**: Scalable appointment encryption like chat channels
## Architecture Components
### 1. ClientAppointments Tunnel Concept
Each client has an encrypted "tunnel" with all their appointments for a tenant:
```
ClientAppointmentsTunnel:
├── Encrypted Appointments (List)
├── Tunnel Key (AES-256)
├── Client Key Share (PIN-derived)
└── Staff Key Shares (Kyber-encrypted)
```
### 2. Cryptographic Primitives
- **ML-KEM-768 (Kyber)**: Post-Quantum Key Exchange (encrypts the tunnel key)
- **AES-256-GCM**: Symmetric encryption of appointment data (encryption unique per tunnel)
- **Shamir Secret Sharing**: Private Key Split (2-of-2)
- **Argon2**: PIN-based key derivation
- **Challenge-Response**: Secure authentication for clients (based on the PIN)
## Flow Diagrams
### Flow 1: New Client
```mermaid
sequenceDiagram
participant C as Client (Browser)
participant S as Server
Note over C,S: Step 1: Initialization
C->>S: GET /api/appointments/staff-public-keys?tenantId=xxx
Note right of C: Get staff public keys for encryption
S->>S: Get staff public keys for tenant
S->>C: 200 Staff Public Keys
Note left of S: { staffPublicKeys: [{ userId, publicKey }] }
Note over C,S: Step 2: Client-Side Encryption
C->>C: Enter PIN
C->>C: Generate tunnel key (AES-256)
C->>C: Encrypt appointment data with tunnel key
C->>C: Generate client keypair (Kyber)
C->>C: Split private key with PIN (Shamir 2-of-2)
C->>C: Encrypt tunnel key for each staff member
Note over C,S: Step 3: Encrypted Transmission
C->>S: POST /api/appointments/create
Note right of C: {
encryptedAppointment,
staffKeyShares,
clientPublicKey,
privateKeyShare,
clientKeyShare
}
S->>S: Store encrypted data
S->>S: Create ClientAppointments Tunnel
S->>C: 201 Success
Note left of S: { appointmentId, appointmentDate, status }
```
### Flow 2: Existing Client
```mermaid
sequenceDiagram
participant C as Client (Browser)
participant S as Server
Note over C,S: Step 1: Challenge-Response Authentication
C->>S: POST /api/appointments/challenge
Note right of C: { emailHash }
S->>S: Generate challenge (UUID)
S->>S: Encrypt challenge with client public key
S->>C: 200 Challenge + Private Key Share
Note left of S: {
challenge,
encryptedChallenge,
privateKeyShare
}
Note over C,S: Step 2: Client-Side Challenge Solution
C->>C: Enter PIN
C->>C: Reconstruct private key (PIN + privateKeyShare)
C->>C: Decrypt challenge with private key
C->>S: POST /api/appointments/verify-challenge
Note right of C: { emailHash, challengeResponse }
S->>S: Verify challenge response
alt Challenge correct
S->>S: Get staff public keys + tunnel
S->>C: 200 Authenticated
Note left of S: {
staffPublicKeys,
encryptedTunnelKey
}
else Challenge incorrect
S->>C: 401 Unauthorized
end
Note over C,S: Step 3: Add new appointment
C->>C: Decrypt tunnel key with private key
C->>C: Encrypt new appointment with tunnel key
C->>S: POST add-to-tunnel
Note right of C: {
emailHash,
tunnelId,
appointmentDate,
encryptedAppointment
}
S->>S: Add to ClientAppointments Tunnel
S->>C: 201 Success
```
### Flow 3: Client loads an apppointment
```mermaid
sequenceDiagram
participant C as Client (Browser)
participant S as Server
Note over C,S: Authentication (like Flow 2, Steps 1-2)
C->>S: Challenge-Response Authentication
S->>C: Authenticated + Tunnel Access
Note over C,S: Load and decrypt appointment
C->>S: GET appointments/(id)
S->>S: Get encrypted appointment for client
S->>C: 200 Encrypted appointment
Note left of S: {
appointments: [{
id, appointmentDate, status,
encryptedData: { encryptedPayload, iv, authTag }
}],
encryptedTunnelKey
}
Note over C,S: Client-Side Decryption
C->>C: Decrypt tunnel key with private key
C->>C: Decrypt each appointment with tunnel key
C->>C: Display decrypted appointments in UI
```
## Security Considerations
### What the server never sees:
- ✅ Client's PIN
- ✅ Plaintext names, email, phone
- ✅ Complete private key
- ✅ Tunnel key in plaintext
### What the server sees:
- ✅ Email hash (for client identification)
- ✅ Appointment date and time
- ✅ Tunnel ID (public)
- ✅ Encrypted payloads
- ✅ Appointment status
### Attack vectors and countermeasures:
1. **Server compromise**: Server cannot decrypt encrypted data
2. **Man-in-the-Middle**: HTTPS + Key-Pinning can protect transmission
3. **Brute-Force PIN**: Argon2 + Client-Side Rate-Limiting
4. **Timing attacks**: Constant response times for challenge-response
5. **Side-Channel**: All crypto operations in Web Crypto API
## Performance Considerations
### Client-Side:
- Kyber Key Generation: ~10ms
- AES Encryption: <1ms per appointment
- Challenge-Response: <5ms
- **Total time new client**: ~50ms
- **Total time existing client**: ~20ms
### Server-Side:
- No crypto operations
- Only database I/O
- **Highly scalable** due to stateless design