Method and server for accessing an electronic safe via a plurality of entities

• US 8,621,231 B2
• Filed: 12/10/2008
• Issued: 12/31/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Be-Invest International SA
• Original Assignee: Almerys
• Inventors: Tirbois, Jean-Marie, Chochois, Michal
• Primary Examiner(s): Barron, Jr., Gilberto
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cribbs, Malcolm
• Application Number:
  US12/332,235
• Publication Number:
  US 20090235080A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,847 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 713/185
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6272 by registering files or documents with a third party
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0823 using certificates cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263

Abstract

A method of managing electronic safes, comprising a step of authenticating a user requesting access to a safe, by means of authentication data of said user, said authentication data to be provided by the user being dependant of an entity by means of which the user is requesting said access.

Claims

1. A method of managing electronic safes comprising:

authenticating a user requesting access to an electronic safe, said electronic safe being accessible through a plurality of web portals, hosted respectively on a plurality of servers, by means of authentication data provided by the user;

receiving first authentication data for authenticating said user requesting access to said electronic safe by means of a first web portal among the plurality of web portals, said first authentication data being stored in a first hardware security module assigned to said user and associated specifically with said first web portal,

receiving second authentication data for authenticating said user requesting access to said electronic safe by means of a second web portal among the plurality of web portals, said second authentication data being stored in a second hardware security module assigned to said user and associated specifically with said second web portal,

wherein the first authentication data is different from second authentication data.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

identifying the web portal, among the plurality of web portals, by means of which the user is requesting access to the safe; and

determining the authentication data depending on the identified web portal.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises, when the user requests for the first time an access to the electronic safe by means of a first web portal among the plurality of web portals:

transmitting authentication data which are dependant of said first web portal to a terminal of the user; and

storing said authentication data in a first hardware security module assigned to the user and associated specifically with said first web portal,

wherein the authentication data transmitted and stored in the first hardware security module associated with the first web portal is different from authentication data to be transmitted and stored in a second hardware security module associated with a second web portal among the plurality of web portals.

4. The method according to claim 1, comprising:

signing and/or encrypting, by means of a signature and/or encryption key, the authentication data to be stored on request of said user in said electronic safe,

wherein the key used when the user requests storage in said electronic safe by means of a first web portal among the plurality of web portals is identical to the key used when the user requests storage in said electronic safe by means of a second web portal among the plurality of web portals.

5. An electronic safe management server, comprising:

authentication means to authenticate a user requesting access to an electronic safe by means of authentication data provided by the user, said electronic safe being accessible through a plurality of web portals, hosted respectively on a plurality of servers,

receiving means to receive first authentication data for authenticating said user requesting access to said electronic safe by means of a first web portal among the plurality of web portals, said first authentication data being stored in a first hardware security module assigned to said user and associated specifically with said first web portal; and

said receiving means for receiving second authentication data for authenticating said user requesting access to said electronic safe by means of a second web portal among the plurality of web portals, said second authentication data being stored in a second hardware security module assigned to said user and associated specifically with said second web portal;

wherein the first authentication data is different from second authentication data.

6. The electronic safe management server according to claim 5, further comprising:

means of identifying the web portal, among the plurality of web portals, by means of which the user is requesting access to the electronic safe; and

means of determining authentication data depending on the identified web portal.

7. The electronic safe management server according to claim 5, comprising configuring means arranged to, when the user requests for the first time an access to the electronic safe from the server by means of a first web portal among the plurality of web portals:

transmit authentication data which are dependant of said first web portal to a terminal of the user; and

store said authentication data in a first hardware security module assigned to the user and associated specifically with said first web portal,

wherein the authentication data transmitted and stored in the first hardware security module associated with said first web portal is different from authentication data to be transmitted and stored in a second hardware security module associated with a second web portal among the plurality of web portals.

8. A computer program comprising instructions stored on a non-transitory medium for implementing, during execution of said program on a computer, a step of authenticating a user requesting access to a safe, said safe storing personal items of the user and being accessible through a plurality of web portals, via a web portal among the plurality of web portals hosted respectively on a plurality of servers, by means of authentication data provided by the user, and, when the user requests for the first time an access to the electronic safe by means of a first web portal among the plurality of web portals, a step of transmitting authentication data which are dependant of said first web portal to a terminal of the user, and a step of storing said authentication data in a first hardware security module assigned to the user and associated specifically with said first web portal, wherein the authentication data transmitted and stored in the first hardware security module associated with the first web portal is different from authentication data to be transmitted and stored in a second hardware security module associated with a second web portal among the plurality of web portals.