Method and apparatus for checking the authenticity of individual-linked documents and the identity of the holders thereof
First Claim
1. Method for checking the authenticity of a document, such as credit-card, bank-card, check, access badge, etc., as well as the identity of the holder thereof by data processing, wherein said document is provided with data including a secret message for confirming the document holder identity to control the match between said document holder identity to control the match between said document and message, which comprises:
- providing said document with a specific characteristic which does not necessarily have to be kept secret but which defines a hidden relation notably with said message;
feeding the data pertaining to the message and document characteristic to a computer;
performing with said computer, from said data and possibly also from another remotely-conveyed, non-secret information, a first enciphering according to a first public-key cryptography method using only a first public key to produce first enciphered information;
performing a second enciphering according to a second public-key cryptography method using only a second public key to produce a second enciphered information; and
checking with the computer, by a third party and/or remotely with another computer, whether a match exists between said second enciphered information and at least one non-secret reference number, independent from the document, wherein the authenticity checking method involves only public-key encryption of said secret message.
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Abstract
There is described a method and an apparatus which comprises a reader for reading document characteristics, circuitry permitting the formation of a message confirming the holder identity, a computer connected to said reader and message means, said computer is so designed as to be able to perform from those data obtained by the reader and said means, and possibly from other remotely-conveyed data, a mathematical processing including one or a plurality of encipherings according to a public-key cryptography method and making use therefor but of public keys, means being provided to check with said computer, by a third party, and/or remotely with another computer, the expected match between said collected data, a non-secret number independent from the document, and identification data present unscrambled on the document, which match is disclosed by the mathematical processing.
242 Citations
19 Claims
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1. Method for checking the authenticity of a document, such as credit-card, bank-card, check, access badge, etc., as well as the identity of the holder thereof by data processing, wherein said document is provided with data including a secret message for confirming the document holder identity to control the match between said document holder identity to control the match between said document and message, which comprises:
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providing said document with a specific characteristic which does not necessarily have to be kept secret but which defines a hidden relation notably with said message; feeding the data pertaining to the message and document characteristic to a computer; performing with said computer, from said data and possibly also from another remotely-conveyed, non-secret information, a first enciphering according to a first public-key cryptography method using only a first public key to produce first enciphered information; performing a second enciphering according to a second public-key cryptography method using only a second public key to produce a second enciphered information; and checking with the computer, by a third party and/or remotely with another computer, whether a match exists between said second enciphered information and at least one non-secret reference number, independent from the document, wherein the authenticity checking method involves only public-key encryption of said secret message. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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- 16. Apparatus for checking the authenticity of an individual-linked document, notably credit-card, bank-card, check, access badge, etc. as well as the document-holder identity, comprising a reader for reading at least one characteristic of said document means for forming a secret message confirming said identity, a computer provided with computing and memory functions, connected to said reader and said means for forming the message, for performing from those data obtained by the reader and said forming means, and possibly from other remotely-conveyed data, a mathematical processing including a first enciphering according to a first public-key cryptography method using only a public key to produce first enciphered information, means for checking with said computer, by a third party, and/or remotely with another computer, whether a match exists between said collected data, a non-secret number independent from the document, and identification data present in unscrambled form on the document, which match is disclosed by the mathematical processing, wherein said identification data present in unscrambled form on the document comprises said secret message which has been enciphered using a secret key which corresponds to said first public key, but wherein said checking means comprises means for ascertaining existence of said match using only said first public key.
Specification