Tamper-proof devices for unique identification

• US 6,175,921 B1
• Filed: 07/16/1997
• Issued: 01/16/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Citibank NA (Citigroup Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Citibank NA (Citigroup Incorporated)
• Inventors: Rosen, Sholom S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Laufer, Pinchus M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): SAYADIAN, HRAYR
• Application Number:
  US08/895,395
• Time in Patent Office: 1,280 Days
• Field of Search: 380/4, 380/23, 380/279, 380/283, 713/156, 713/159, 713/168, 713/173, 705/67, 235/379, 235/380, 340/825.3, 340/825.34
• US Class Current: 713/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/02 involving a neutral party, e.g. certification authority, notary or trusted third party [TTP]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/06 Private payment circuits, e.g. involving electronic currency used among participants of a common payment scheme
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/085 involving remote charge determination or related payment systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/0855 involving a third party
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/105 involving programming of a portable memory device, e.g. IC cards, "electronic purses"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/204 comprising interface for record bearing medium or carrier for electronic funds transfer or payment credit
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/209 Specified transaction journal output feature, e.g. printed receipt or voice output
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/26 Debit schemes, e.g. "pay now"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/367 involving electronic purses or money safes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3674 involving authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3676 Balancing accounts
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3678 e-cash details, e.g. blinded, divisible or detecting double spending
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/382 insuring higher security of transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3821 Electronic credentials
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3829 involving key management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/383 Anonymous user system
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/401 : Transaction verification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 : Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 : Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/188 : Electronic negotiation
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/16 : for devices exhibiting advertisements, announcements, pictures or the like
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/0866 : by active credit-cards adapted therefor G07F7/1008 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/42 : Anonymization, e.g. involving pseudonyms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/56 : Financial cryptography, e.g. electronic payment or e-cash
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/123 : received data contents, e.g. message integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3213 : using tickets or tokens, e.g. Kerberos network architectures or network communication protocols for entities authentication using tickets in a packet data network H04L63/0807
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3247 : involving digital signatures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3263 : involving certificates, e.g. public key certificate [PKC] or attribute certificate [AC]; Public key infrastructure [PKI] arrangements network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using certificates in a packet data network H04L63/0823

Abstract

A system for open electronic commerce having a customer trusted agent securely communicating with a first money module, and a merchant trusted agent securely communicating with a second money module. Both trusted agents are capable of establishing a first cryptographically secure session, and both money modules are capable of establishing a second cryptographically secure session. The merchant trusted agent transfers electronic merchandise to the customer trusted agent, and the first money module transfers electronic money to the second money module. The money modules inform their trusted agents of the successful completion of payment, and the customer may use the purchased electronic merchandise. A certificate data signed by a trusted authority is stored in a tamper proof electronic processing device, which certificate includes a unique device ID and a public key of the device, in addition to device owner ID data. The processing device is programed to validate credential data received from other such processing devices.

Claims

1. A tamper-proof electronic processing device comprising:

an electronic processor;

certificate data stored in said tamper-proof electronic processing device including a unique device identifier and a public key of said device, where said device identifier uniquely identifies said tamper-proof electronic processing device, and where said unique device identifier and said public key are digitally signed by a trusted server;

credential data stored in said tamper-proof electronic processing device including owner identifier data and said unique device identifier, where said owner identifier data identifies the owner of said tamper-proof electronic processing device;

wherein said tamper-proof electronic processing device is programed to validate credential data from another processing device at least by matching device identifiers received from said other device'"'"'s certificate data and credential data.

2. The device of claim 1, where said device is adapted to communicate with said trusted server for an initialization processing during which said unique device identifier is assigned and said certificate data is generated.

3. The device of claim 1, further comprising an interface by which said tamper-proof electronic processing device communicates with another tamper-proof electronic processing device, and wherein said processing device is programmed to transmit said certificate data to said other processing device to uniquely identify said processing device.

4. The device of claim 3, wherein said processing device is programmed to transmit said credential data to said other processing device to identify the owner of said processing device.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein said credential data includes data that permits specific privileges.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein said credential data received from said other processing device includes a plurality of unique device identifiers corresponding to a plurality of transfers of said credential data;

and wherein the last receiver'"'"'s device identifier in said credential data is matched to said device identifier in said other device'"'"'s received certificate data.

7. A tamper-proof electronic processing device comprising:

an electronic processor;

certificate data stored in said tamper-proof processing device including a unique device identifier and a public key of said device, where said device identifier uniquely identifies said tamper-proof electronic processing device, and where said unique device identifier and said public key are digitally signed by a trusted server;

credential data stored in said tamper-proof electronic device including owner identifier device and said unique device identifier, where said owner identifier data identifies the owner of said tamper-proof electronic processing device;

an interface by which said processing device communicates with another electronic processing device and receives said other processing device'"'"'s certificate data and credential data; and

wherein said electronic processing device is programmed to validate said other processing device'"'"'s received credential data at least by matching a unique device identifier in said other processing device'"'"'s received certificate data with a unique device identifier in said other processing device'"'"'s received credential data.

8. The device of claim 7, where said device is adapted to communicate with said trusted server for an initialization process which said unique device identifier is assigned and said certificate data is generated.