[p2p-hackers] P2P Authentication

[Frank Moore]

Hi,

I have the following problem:

I'm working on a hybrid p2p network where there is a central server and
lots of clients (peers). I need a way for clients to authenticate
themselves when they join the network. I've looked at doing a challenge
response type thing using Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol
(CHAP) but that means putting a shared secret key in each client and
the server.

It seems entirely possible that someone could reverse engineer the
client executable to get hold of the shared secret key and then write a
'rogue' client (or server) to subvert the network?

Is there a standard (or any) way of authenticating peers in p2p
networks that doesn't require secret shared keys?

Cheers,
F.