System and method using information-based indicia for securing and authenticating transactions

• US 6,820,201 B1
• Filed: 08/04/2000
• Issued: 11/16/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/04/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kioba Processing, LLC (IP Investments Group LLC)
• Original Assignee: SRI International, Inc.
• Inventors: Lincoln, Patrick D., Shankar, Natarajan
• Primary Examiner(s): MEISLAHN, DOUGLAS J
• Application Number:
  US09/631,893
• Time in Patent Office: 1,565 Days
• Field of Search: 380/55, 705/60, 705/62, 705/405, 713/176, 713/178, 713/179
• US Class Current: 713/179
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/108 Remote banking, e.g. home banking
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 17/00733 Cryptography or similar special procedures in a franking system
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 2017/0083 Postal data, e.g. postage, address, sender, machine ID, vendor
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 2017/00927 Certificates, e.g. X.509
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/56 Financial cryptography, e.g. electronic payment or e-cash
• 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 method, system, and apparatus for authenticating transactions and records is disclosed. A nonce stamp is a physical article that is relatively difficult to copy illicitly, and that bears a “nonce” number. The “nonce” is a relatively unique identifier, in that it is chosen from a distribution such that any given user/customer is extremely unlikely to obtain two nonce stamps bearing the same nonce. The method includes: presenting a nonce stamp having a nonce number; presenting a numbered digital certificate derived securely from the nonce number; and authenticating the transaction by comparing the number on the digital certificate and the nonce number. The digital certificate is typically obtained by users/customers in exchange for the purchase price of a desired transaction. The apparatus is an information-based indicium including a nonce stamp, and a digital certificate including a number derived securely from the nonce. The system generates information-based transaction indicia, and typically includes one or more computers configured to receive as input a nonce number from a user; encrypt the nonce number, and provide to the user a digital certificate including the encrypted nonce number, so that the nonce and the digital certificate may be collectively presented as an information-based transaction indicium to authenticate a transaction.

Claims

1. A method for authenticating a transaction comprising the steps of:

presenting a nonce stamp having a nonce, wherein the nonce comprises a relatively unique number that substantially prevents a single user from accumulating multiple nonce stamps bearing the same nonce;

securely deriving a digital certificate from the nonce, wherein the nonce is received via the nonce stamp prior to deriving the digital certificate;

presenting a digital certificate derived securely from the nonce; and

authenticating the transaction by comparing the digital certificate and the nonce.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the nonce is represented on the nonce stamp within a bar code.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the digital certificate is marked on a physical medium.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the digital certificate is represented within a two dimensional bar code.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the digital certificate is derived by encrypting the nonce.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein comparing the digital certificate and the nonce comprises encrypting the nonce, and matching the encrypted nonce against the digital certificate.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein comparing the digital certificate comprises decrypting the digital certificate and matching the decrypted digital certificate with the nonce.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising obtaining the digital certificate for a user by paying a purchase price for the transaction.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein obtaining the digital certificate is performed remotely via an electronic communications network.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the user is in physical possession of the nonce stamp, and wherein obtaining the digital certificate for the user further comprises remotely transmitting the nonce.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein obtaining the digital certificate further comprises deriving the digital certificate by encrypting the nonce remotely transmitted for the user.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein obtaining the digital certificate further comprises transmitting digital certificate information, including the digital certificate, to the user via the electronic communications network.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein obtaining the digital certificate further comprises receiving the digital certificate information and locally printing a tangible copy of the digital certificate.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein obtaining the digital certificate is performed using a tamper-resistant module at a system local to the user, the tamper-resistant storing user account information.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the user connects electronically to a remote vendor in order to purchase credit for the user account stored by the tamper resistant module.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the vendor remotely updates, via electronic network, the account information in the tamper-resistant module.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the digital certificate further comprises a description of at least one element of the transaction selected from the group consisting of purchase price, purchased product/service, transaction authority.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the nonce stamp and the digital certificate are physically coupled together.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the digital certificate is printed on the nonce stamp.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the nonce stamp and the digital certificate are physically coupled to an article of the transaction.

21. The method of claim 1 wherein the transaction comprises depositing an article of mailing, and the method further comprises presenting the nonce stamp and the digital certificate as postage for the article of mailing.