DIGITAL CERTIFICATE ISSUER-CORRELATED DIGITAL SIGNATURE VERIFICATION

• US 20130346744A1
• Filed: 06/07/2013
• Published: 12/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Dixon, Bret W., Rumsey, Jonathan L.
• Granted Patent: US 9,197,631 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/156
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/64 Self-signed certificates
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/72 Signcrypting, i.e. digital signing and encrypting simultaneously
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/06 for supporting key management in a packet data network cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key management H04L9/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0823 using certificates cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/20 for managing network security; network security policies in general filtering policies H04L63/0227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/006 involving public key infrastructure [PKI] trust models network architecture or network communication protocol for supporting authentication of entities using certificates in a packet data network H04L63/0823
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/14 using a plurality of keys or algorithms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/30 Public key, i.e. encryption algorithm being computationally infeasible to invert or user's encryption keys not requiring secrecy
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3247 involving digital signatures
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3265 using certificate chains, trees or paths; Hierarchical trust model

Abstract

A message including a digital signature is received at a processor. It is determined whether a specific authorized certificate issuer is configured for a message originator within a data protection policy. In response to determining that the specific authorized certificate issuer is configured for the message originator within the data protection policy, it is determined whether a message originator certificate used to generate the digital signature is issued by the configured specific authorized certificate issuer.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, at a processor, a message comprising a digital signature;

determining whether a specific authorized certificate issuer is configured for a message originator within a data protection policy; and

in response to determining that the specific authorized certificate issuer is configured for the message originator within the data protection policy;

determining whether a message originator certificate used to generate the digital signature is issued by the configured specific authorized certificate issuer.

2. The method of claim 1, where determining whether the message originator certificate used to generate the digital signature is issued by the configured specific authorized certificate issuer comprises:

identifying an indicated certificate issuer of the message originator identified within the message originator certificate;

comparing the indicated certificate issuer of the message originator identified within the message originator certificate with the configured specific authorized certificate issuer; and

determining whether the indicated certificate issuer matches the configured specific authorized certificate issuer.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising identifying, in response to determining that the message originator certificate used to generate the digital signature is not issued by the configured specific authorized certificate issuer, the digital signature as an invalid digital signature.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising identifying, in response to determining that the message originator certificate used to generate the digital signature is issued by the configured specific authorized certificate issuer, the digital signature as a valid digital signature.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising verifying, in response to identifying the digital signature as the valid digital signature, the digital signature of the received message.

6. The method of claim 1, where the data protection policy comprises one of a system-wide data protection policy and a target queue-level data protection policy.

7. The method of claim 6, where the target queue-level data protection policy takes precedence over the system-wide data protection policy.