Method and apparatus for creating communities of trust in a secure communication system
First Claim
1. A computing device comprising:
- a processing unit; and
memory operably coupled to the processing unit, wherein the memory stores programming instructions that, when read by the processing unit, causes the processing unit to;
(a) obtain an arbitrary list of trusted public key certificates;
(b) determine whether the arbitrary list of the trusted public key certificates was obtained in a manner consistent with a security policy of a secure community; and
(c) add trusted public key certificates of the arbitrary list to a trusted public key list when the arbitrary list of trusted public key certificates was obtained in a manner consistent with a security policy.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for creating communities of trust within a secure communications system is accomplished by allowing end-users to obtain arbitrary lists of trusted public keys from other end-users and from associated authorities. Once an arbitrary list has been obtained by an end-user, the end-user determines whether it was obtained in a manner consistent with a security policy of the secured community. The security policy may enable an end-user to receive trusted public keys from other end-users, from associated authorities only, to receive public keys of associated authorities, other end users, or any combination thereof. When the arbitrary lists of trusted keys are obtained in a manner consistent with the security policy, the end-user adds keys of the arbitrary lists to a trusted key list. When a security-related operation is to be performed (e.g., verifying a signature of a received message or retrieving the encryption public key of a recipient for an outgoing message), any of the trusted keys contained within the trusted list may be used for authentication purposes.
138 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A computing device comprising:
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a processing unit; and memory operably coupled to the processing unit, wherein the memory stores programming instructions that, when read by the processing unit, causes the processing unit to;
(a) obtain an arbitrary list of trusted public key certificates;
(b) determine whether the arbitrary list of the trusted public key certificates was obtained in a manner consistent with a security policy of a secure community; and
(c) add trusted public key certificates of the arbitrary list to a trusted public key list when the arbitrary list of trusted public key certificates was obtained in a manner consistent with a security policy. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A digital storage medium that stores programming instructions that, when read by a processing unit, causes the processing unit to create communities of trust, the digital storage medium comprises:
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first means for storing programming instructions that, when read by the processing unit, causes the processing unit to obtain an arbitrary list of trusted public key certificates; second means for storing programming instructions that, when read by the processing unit, causes the processing unit to determine whether the arbitrary list of the trusted public key certificates was obtained in a manner consistent with a security policy of a secure community; and third means for storing programming instructions that, when read by the processing unit, causes the processing unit to add trusted public key certificates of the arbitrary list to a trusted public key list when the arbitrary list of trusted public key certificates was obtained in a manner consistent with a security policy. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification