Support for multiple login method

• US 7,529,944 B2
• Filed: 02/07/2002
• Issued: 05/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/07/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Activcard Ireland, Limited (Assa Abloy AB)
• Original Assignee: Activcard Ireland, Limited (Assa Abloy AB)
• Inventors: Hamid, Laurence
• Primary Examiner(s): Abrishamkar; Kaveh
• Application Number:
  US10/067,403
• Publication Number:
  US 20030149882A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,644 Days
• Field of Search: 713185-200, 308/54, 705/51
• US Class Current: 713/186
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/32 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database

Abstract

A method of securing security data stored on a computer system is disclosed. The method comprises providing a data key to the computer system. The data key is used for transforming the security data in a reversible fashion to produce an encoded secure data such that the data key is required in order to perform a reverse transform and extract the security data from the encoded secure data. The encoded secure data are stored secure data in a fashion such that a user authorization process is used to retrieve the encoded secure data. Furthermore, the encoded secure data are stored such that the data key and the user authorization process in combination provide access to the security data and such that the stored data within the computer system is encoded.

Claims

1. A method of securing stored data on a computer system, the method comprising:

receiving one of several different password data at the computer system;

transforming key data with one of the several different password data in a reversible fashion to produce encoded key data such that the one of the several different password data is required in order to perform a reverse transform and extract the key data from the encoded key data; and

storing the encoded key data such that the one of the several different password data and one of a plurality of user authorization processes, in combination, provide access to the key data,

wherein the key data is encoded with each of the several different password data to provide different encoded key data for each user authorization process such that a combination of one of the user authorization processes and a respective password data of the several different password data allows for retrieval and decoding of the key data, and

wherein the key data is for performing at least one of encrypting and decrypting the stored data on the computer system.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each encoded key data is associated with one or more user authorization processes such that a combination of one or more user authorization processes and any of the several different password data allows for retrieval and decoding.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the user authorization process is a biometric information verification process.

4. A method of securing stored data on a computer system, the method comprising:

comparing a biometric information source against stored templates associated with the biometric information source and, based upon a comparison result, pairing a biometric information source with a first individual identity;

receiving one of several different password data associated with the first individual identity, the one of the several different password data being other than that stored on the computer system; and

retrieving encoded key data associated with the biometric information, and using the one of the several different password data for decoding the encoded key data,

wherein the key data is encoded with the several different password data to provide different encoded key data for each user authorization process such that a combination of user authorization by the biometric information source in one of the user authorization processes and a different one of the several different password data allows for retrieval and decoding of the same security data, and

wherein the key data is for performing at least one of encrypting and decrypting the stored data on the computer system.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the decoded key data is for allowing access of the stored data to the identified individual.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising receiving the biometric information source at the computer system before comparing the biometric information source, and wherein receiving the biometric information source comprises imaging the biometric information source using a contact imager.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the contact imager is a fingerprint imager.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein receiving one of several different password data associated with the first individual identity comprises receiving a password.

9. The method of claim 4, wherein receiving one of several different password data associated with the first individual identity comprises receiving information stored on a smart card.

10. A method of securing data, the method comprising:

receiving a first information sample at a computer system;

encoding one of several different password data in dependence upon the first information sample to produce key data, the key data for use in decoding stored encoded data;

receiving at least one biometric information sample; and

securing the key data in dependence upon the at least one biometric information sample,

wherein the key data is encoded with the several different password data to provide different encoded key data for each user authorization process such that a combination of user authorization using the biometric information sample in one of the user authorization processes and a different one of the several different password data allows for retrieval and decoding of the key data, and

wherein the key data is for performing at least one of encrypting and decrypting the stored data on the computer system.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein receiving a first information sample at a computer system comprises hashing the first information sample to produce a first hash value.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

receiving a second other information sample at the computer system;

hashing the second information sample to produce a second hash value;

encoding the one of the several different password data in dependence upon the second hash value to produce second key data; and

securing the second key data in dependence upon the at least one biometric information sample.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein receiving the first information sample at a computer system comprises receiving a password.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein receiving the first information sample at a computer system comprises receiving information stored on a smart card.

15. A method of securing data, comprising:

receiving a first information sample at a computer system;

receiving at least one biometric information sample;

encoding the at least one biometric information sample using the first information sample;

encoding one of several different password data based, at least in part, on the encoded biometric sample to produce key data; and

securing the key data based, at least in part, on the at least one biometric information sample,

wherein the key data is encoded with the several different password data to provide different encoded key data for each user authorization process such that a combination of user authorization using the biometric information sample in one of the user authorization processes and a different one of the several different password data allows for retrieval and decoding of the key data, and

wherein the key data is for performing at least one of encrypting and decrypting the stored data on the computer system.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein:

receiving a first information sample at a computer system comprises receiving a first information sample for decoding the encoded biometric sample; and

wherein the method further comprises comparing the decoded biometric sample against stored templates associated with the biometric information source.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein receiving a first information sample at a computer system comprises hashing the first information sample to produce a first hash value.

18. A computer system for securing stored data, the computer system comprising:

an input device configured to provide at least one of several different password data to the computer system;

a processing device configured to encode key data with the several different password data in a reversible fashion to produce different encoded key data for each user authorization process such that respective ones of the several different password data are required in order to perform a reverse transform and extract the key data from the encoded key data, wherein the processing device uses the key data for performing at least one of encrypting and decrypting the stored data on the computer system;

a memory device configured to store the encoded key data; and

a user authorization process configured to retrieve the encoded key data from the memory device such that at least one of the several different password data and the user authorization process, in combination, provide access to the key data, wherein a combination of user authorization using said user authorization process and a different one of the several different password data allows for retrieval and decoding of the key data.

19. The computer system of claim 18, further comprising a plurality of user authorization processes, wherein each encoded key data is associated with one or more user authorization processes such that a combination of one or more user authorization processes and any of the several different password data allows for retrieval and decoding of the key data.

20. A The computer system of claim 18, wherein the user authorization process is a biometric information verification process.

21. The computer system of claim 18, wherein the one of the several different password data includes a password.

22. A computer system for securing stored data, the computer system comprising:

means for comparing a biometric information source against stored templates associated with the biometric information source and, in dependence upon a comparison result, pairing a biometric information source with a first individual identity;

an input device configured to provide to the computer system a different password data for each user authorization process associated with the first individual identity, the password data being other than stored on the computer system;

means for retrieving encoded key data associated with the biometric information and for using the password data for decoding the encoded key data, wherein a combination of user authorization by the biometric information source in one of the user authorization processes and a different one of the different password data allows for retrieval and decoding of the same key data; and

means for performing at least one of encrypting and decrypting the stored data on the computer system using the decoded key data.

23. The computer system of claim 22, wherein the decoded key data allows access to the stored data by the identified individual.

24. The computer system of claim 22, wherein the comparing means comprises a contact imager configured to image the biometric information source.

25. The computer system of claim 24, wherein the contact imager is a fingerprint imager.

26. The computer system of claim 22, wherein at least one of the different password data comprises a password.

27. The computer system of claim 22, wherein at least one of the different password data is stored on a smart card.

28. A computer system for securing stored data, the computer system comprising:

an input device configured to provide a first information sample to the computer system;

means for encoding a key data with different password data for each user authentication process in dependence upon the first information sample to produce first security data, the key data for use in decoding the stored data;

a biometric input device configured to provide at least one biometric information sample;

means for securing the first security data in dependence upon at least one of the at least one biometric information sample in one of the user authorization processes, wherein a combination of user authorization using the biometric information sample and any of said different password keys allows for retrieval and decoding of the key data; and

means for performing at least one of encrypting and decrypting the stored data on the computer system using the decoded key data.

29. The computer system of claim 28, further comprising means for hashing the first information sample to produce a first hash value.

30. The computer system of claim 28, wherein the first information sample comprises a password.

31. The computer system of claim 28, wherein the first information sample is stored on a smart card.

32. The computer system of claim 28, wherein the encoding means encrypts data using the key data.

33. A computer system for securing stored data, comprising:

an input device configured to provide a first information sample to the computer system;

a biometric input device configured to provide at least one biometric information sample to the computer system;

means for encoding the at least one biometric information sample using the first information sample and for encoding one of several different password data in dependence upon the encoded biometric sample to produce key data, the key data for use in decoding stored encoded data, wherein the key data is encoded with the different password data for each user authorization process to provide different encoded key data such that a combination of user authorization using the biometric information sample in one of the user authorization processes and any of the different password data allows for retrieval and decoding of the key data;

means for securing the key data in dependence upon at least one of the at least one biometric information sample; and

means for performing at least one of encrypting and decrypting the stored data on the computer system using the decoded key data.

34. The computer system of claim 33, further comprising:

means for decoding the encoded biometric sample using a first information sample provided by the input device; and

means for comparing the decoded biometric sample against stored templates associated with the biometric information source.

35. A computer readable storage medium for securing stored data on a computer system, the computer readable storage medium having computer executable instructions stored thereon that, when executed, perform a method comprising:

transforming key data with one of several different password data from the computer system in a reversible fashion to produce encoded key data such that the one of the several different password data is required in order to perform a reverse transform and extract the key data from the encoded key data; and

storing the encoded key data such that the one of the several different password data and one of a plurality of user authorization processes, in combination, provide access to the key data,

wherein the key data is encoded with each of the several different password data to provide different encoded key data for each user authorization process such that a combination of one of the user authorization processes and a respective password data of the several different password data allows for retrieval and decoding of the key data, and

wherein the key data is for performing at least one of encrypting and decrypting the stored data on the computer system.

36. The computer readable medium of claim 35, wherein each encoded key data is associated with one or more user authorization processes such that a combination of one or more user authorization processes and any of the several different password data allows for retrieval and decoding.

37. The computer readable medium of claim 35, wherein the user authorization process is a biometric information verification process.