Digital certificate proxy

• US 20050138364A1
• Filed: 02/07/2005
• Published: 06/23/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: James Anthony Roskind, Robert Lord, Terry N. Hayes
• Original Assignee: James Anthony Roskind, Robert Lord, Terry N. Hayes
• Inventors: Hayes, Terry N., Lord, Robert, Roskind, James Anthony
• Application Number:
  US11/053,157
• Publication Number:
  US 20050138364A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/156
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/367 involving electronic purses or money safes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/56 Financial cryptography, e.g. electronic payment or e-cash
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/76 Proxy, i.e. using intermediary entity to perform cryptographic operations network architectures or network communication protocols using hop-by-hop encryption H04L63/0464
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/80 Wireless network architectures or network communication protocols for wireless network security H04W12/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3234 involving additional secure or trusted devices, e.g. TPM, smartcard, USB or software token network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using an additional device in a packet data network H04L63/0853
• 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

The invention generates a temporary digital certificate with a useful life of only a few minutes to a few hours. An expiration time is attached to such temporary digital certificate by a secure computer platform that is presented with a user'"'"'s smart-card. Expiration dates one or two years after the issuance of the smart-card are conventional. A digital certificate issued by a central authority is carried within the smart card and is used by the secure computer platform to generate temporary digital certificate. The temporary digital certificate functions as a proxy digital certificate that will allow the user to immediately pocket the smart card and thus avoid the possibility of forgetting it in a card reader.

Claims

1. A method comprising the steps of:

receiving a request to authenticate identity of a user at a communication platform;

receiving a digital certificate and a short-term proxy of said digital certificate from said platform, wherein said short-term proxy expires after a predetermined expiration time; and

comparing said digital certificate and said short-term proxy with a plurality of digital certificates issued by a central certificate authority to enable authentication of said user'"'"'s identity.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said comparing step further comprises the steps of:

providing a time-standard input to enable testing of said expiration time of said short-term proxy.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said comparing step further comprises the steps of:

providing a time-standard input to enable testing of an expiration date of said digital certificate.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein said short-term proxy is created upon physical action of said user at said communication platform to position a token containing said digital certificate proximate to said communication platform.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of:

using said short-term proxy as a key to encrypt and decrypt messages at said communications platform.

6. The method according to claim 2, wherein said time-standard input comprises any of an electronic dock, a radio station time broadcast, and a microwave transmission from a navigation satellite.

7. A user authentication system comprising:

a communication platform coupled to a network for securing communications for a user; and

a remote platform coupled to said network, wherein said remote platform further receives a request to authenticate identity of said user at said communication platform, receives a digital certificate and a short-term proxy of said digital certificate from said communication platform, wherein said short-term proxy expires after a predetermined expiration time, and compares said digital certificate and said short-term proxy with a plurality of digital certificates issued by a central certificate authority to enable authentication of said user'"'"'s identity.

8. The system according to claim 7, wherein said remote platform further receives a time-standard input to enable testing of said expiration time of said short-term proxy and an expiration date of said digital certificate.

9. The system according to claim 8, wherein said time-standard input comprises any of an electronic clock, a radio station time broadcast, and a microwave transmission from a navigation satellite.

10. The system according to claim 7, wherein said short-term proxy is created upon physical action of said user at said communication platform to position a token containing said digital certificate proximate to said communication platform.

11. A user authentication system comprising:

means for receiving a request to authenticate identity of a user at a communication platform;

means for receiving a digital certificate and a short-term proxy of said digital certificate from said platform, wherein said short-term proxy expires after a predetermined expiration time; and

means for comparing said digital certificate and said short-term proxy with a plurality of digital certificates issued by a central certificate authority to enable authentication of said user'"'"'s identity.

12. The system according to claim 11, further comprising:

means for providing a time-standard input to enable testing of said expiration time of said short-term proxy and an expiration date of said digital certificate.

13. The system according to claim 11, wherein said short-term proxy is created upon physical action of said user at said communication platform to position a token containing said digital certificate proximate to said communication platform.

14. The system according to claim 11, further comprising:

means for using said short-term proxy as a key to encrypt and decrypt messages at said communications platform.

15. The system according to claim 12, wherein said time-standard input comprises any of an electronic dock, a radio station time broadcast, and a microwave transmission from a navigation satellite.

16. A computer readable medium containing executable instructions, which, when executed in a processing system, cause said processing system to perform a method comprising the steps of:

receiving a request to authenticate identity of a user at a communication platform;

receiving a digital certificate and a short-term proxy of said digital certificate from said platform, wherein said short-term proxy expires after a predetermined expiration time; and

comparing said digital certificate and said short-term proxy with a plurality of digital certificates issued by a central certificate authority to enable authentication of said user'"'"'s identity.

17. The computer readable medium according to claim 16, wherein said method further comprises the step of:

providing a time-standard input to enable testing of said expiration time of said short-term proxy and an expiration date of said digital certificate.

18. The computer readable medium according to claim 16, wherein said short-term proxy is created upon physical action of said user at said communication platform to position a token containing said digital certificate proximate to said communication platform.

19. The computer readable medium according to claim 16, wherein said method further comprises:

using said short-term proxy as a key to encrypt and decrypt messages at said communications platform.

20. The computer readable medium according to claim 17, wherein said time-standard input comprises any of an electronic clock, a radio station time broadcast, and a microwave transmission from a navigation satellite.