System and method for facilitating operator authentication
First Claim
1. A system for authenticating an operator, comprising:
- at least one resource and a high-security authentication device, the at least one resource being selectively utilizable by an operator;
the high-security authentication device being configured to perform an authentication operation in connection with a prospective operator and generate a credential for the prospective operator if it authenticates the prospective operator; and
, the at least one resource being configured to, in response to the prospective operator attempting to utilize the resource, initiate an operator authentication verification operation using the credential to attempt to verify the authentication of the operator, and allow the prospective operator to utilize the at least one resource in response to the operator authentication verification operation.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system includes at least one resource, such as a computer, and a high-security authentication device, the at least one resource being selectively utilizable by an operator. The high-security authentication device is configured to perform an authentication operation in connection with a prospective operator and generate a credential for the prospective operator if it authenticates the prospective operator. The at least one resource is configured to, in response to the prospective operator attempting to utilize the resource, initiate an operator authentication verification operation using the credential to attempt to verify the authentication of the operator, and allow the prospective operator to utilize the at least one resource in response to the operator authentication verification operation. Since the system may include a number of such resources, a single, relatively expensive high-security authentication device can be used to provide authentication services for prospective operators for one or more resources. It will be appreciated that, since the high-security authentication device gives the credentials to the prospective operator, they can be compromised; however, since the duration during which the credentials may be valid can be limited to a relatively short period of time, the likelihood of compromise and the duration that the credentials may be comprised are reduced.
58 Citations
49 Claims
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1. A system for authenticating an operator, comprising:
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at least one resource and a high-security authentication device, the at least one resource being selectively utilizable by an operator;
the high-security authentication device being configured to perform an authentication operation in connection with a prospective operator and generate a credential for the prospective operator if it authenticates the prospective operator; and
,the at least one resource being configured to, in response to the prospective operator attempting to utilize the resource, initiate an operator authentication verification operation using the credential to attempt to verify the authentication of the operator, and allow the prospective operator to utilize the at least one resource in response to the operator authentication verification operation. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
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25. A method of authenticating an operator, comprising:
operating a system having at least one resource and a high-security authentication device, the at least one resource being selectively utilizable by an operator, the method comprising the steps of;
performing, using a high-security authentication device, an authentication operation in connection with a prospective operator and generating a credential for the prospective operator if it authenticates the prospective operator; and
,in response to the prospective operator attempting to utilize the resource, initiating an operator authentication verification operation using the credential to attempt to verify the authentication of the operator, and conditioning utilization of the resource by the prospective operator in response to the operator authentication verification operation.
Specification