Method of physical individual authentication and system using the same

• US 6,775,775 B1
• Filed: 01/27/2000
• Issued: 08/10/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Yoshiura, Hiroshi, Sasaki, Ryoichi, Iwamura, Mitsuru
• Primary Examiner(s): Morse, Gregory
• Assistant Examiner(s): Simitoski, Michael J
• Application Number:
  US09/492,083
• Time in Patent Office: 1,657 Days
• Field of Search: 713/186, 713/185, 713/184, 713/193, 713/171, 713/172, 713/182, 380/30, 340/5.83, 340/5.84, 235/380, 235/379, 705/75, 705/66
• US Class Current: 713/186
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3672 initialising or reloading thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/257 electronically G07C9/26 takes precedence

Abstract

An authentication system for authenticating a particular individual using a recording medium containing information for identifying the individual has a recording medium issuing apparatus including, a database for storing a feature value usable for identification of the individual to be authenticated with the recording medium, means for managing the database to store the feature value of the individual to be authenticated with the recording medium and for generating search information to retrieve the feature value of the individual from the database, means for generating cryptographic information by encrypting the thus generated search information using a private key based on public key cryptography, and means for recording the thus generated cryptographic information and certification information concerning the individual onto the recording medium; and a recording medium authenticating apparatus including, means for decrypting the cryptographic information recorded on the recording medium using a public key paired with the private key to decode the search information, and means for searching the database using the thus decoded search information to retrieve the feature value of the individual.

Claims

1. A recording medium containing information for authenticating a particular individual in a recording medium issuing apparatus, comprising:

a region for managing a database to store a feature value usable for identification of a particular individual to be authenticated with said recording medium, and generating search information containing information for identifying said recording medium issuing apparatus;

a region for recording cryptographic information generated by encrypting the search information to retrieve from the database the feature value usable for identification of a particular individual to be authenticated with said recording medium, using a private key of a certifier based on public key cryptography; and

a region for recording certification information concerning the individual to be authenticated with said recording medium,

wherein the cryptographic information is subseguently decrypted to decode the search information, and decoded search information is used for requesting to search the database identifying said recording medium issuing apparatus.

2. An authentication system for authenticating a particular individual using a recording medium containing information for identifying the individual, comprising:

a recording medium issuing apparatus including;

a database for storing a feature value usable for identification of a particular individual to be authenticated with said recording medium,

means for managing said database to store the feature value usable for identification of the individual to be authenticated with said recording medium, and for generating search information to retrieve from said database the feature value usable for identification of the individual to be authenticated with said recording medium,

means for generating cryptographic information by encrypting the generated search information using a private key of a certifier based on public key cryptography, and

means for recording onto said recording medium the generated cryptographic information and certification information concerning the individual to be authenticated with said recording medium; and

a recording medium authenticating apparatus including;

means for decrypting the cryptographic information recorded on said recording medium using a public key paired with said private key to decode the search information, and

means for requesting the recording medium issuing apparatus to search database using the decoded search information to retrieve the feature value usable for identification of the particular individual to be authenticated with said recording medium, and

a plurality of recording medium issuing apparatuses,

wherein, at one of the plurality of recording medium issuing apparatuses, said means for managing said database generates the search information containing information for identifying the recording medium issuing apparatuses;

wherein, at the recording medium authenticating apparatus, said means for requesting to search database identifies the recording medium issuing apparatuses by the decoded search information containing information for identifying the recording medium issuing apparatuses; and

wherein the recording medium issuing apparatus further comprises means for searching said database using the decoded information to retrieve the feature value and for sending the retrieved feature value to the recording medium authenticating apparatus.

3. The authentication system according to claim 2, wherein the recording medium authenticating apparatus further comprises:

means for performing comparison between the retrieved feature value and a feature value of an individual who would be certified.

4. An authentication method for authenticating a particular individual using a recording medium containing information for identifying the individual, comprising the steps of:

storing, at a recording medium issuing apparatus, into a database a feature value usable for identification of a particular individual to be authenticated with said recording medium, and generating search information to retrieve from said database the feature value usable for identification of the individual to be authenticated with said recording medium;

generating, at the recording medium issuing apparatus, cryptographic information by encrypting the generated search information using a private key of a certifier based on public key cryptography;

recording, at the recording medium issuing apparatus, onto said recording medium the generated cryptographic information and certification information concerning the individual to be authenticated with said recording medium;

decrypting, at the recording medium authenticating apparatus, the cryptographic information recorded on said recording medium using a public key paired with said private key to decode the search information;

requesting, at the recording medium authenticating apparatus, a recording medium issuing apparatus to search said database using the decoded search information to retrieve the feature value usable for identification of the individual to be authenticated with said recording medium;

searching, at the recording medium issuing apparatus, said database using the decoded search information to retrieve the feature value;

sending, at the recording medium issuing apparatus, the retrieved feature value to the recording medium authenticating apparatus; and

performing, at the recording medium authenticating apparatus, comparison between the retrieved feature value usable for identification of the particular individual to be authenticated with said recording medium and a feature value of an individual who would be certified;

wherein the step for generating search information at the recording medium issuing apparatus comprises generating the search information containing information for identifying one of a plurality of recording medium issuing apparatuses; and

wherein the step for requesting to search at the recording medium authenticating apparatus, comprises identifying the recording medium issuing apparatus by the search information containing information for identifying the recording medium issuing apparatus.