System and method for secure electronic commerce transaction

• US 6,560,581 B1
• Filed: 06/08/1998
• Issued: 05/06/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Visa International Service Association (Visa, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Visa International Service Association (Visa, Inc.)
• Inventors: Fox, Barbara L., Waters, Lester L., Thomlinson, Matthew W., Spelman, Jeffrey F., Seidensticker, Robert B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hayes, John W.
• Application Number:
  US09/093,436
• Time in Patent Office: 1,793 Days
• Field of Search: 705/1, 705/26, 705/27, 705/40, 705/64, 705/71, 705/78, 705/75, 705/67, 705/72, 705/74, 705/76, 705/51, 705/52, 705/53, 380/21, 380/24, 380/23, 380/30, 380/25, 380/45
• US Class Current: 705/51
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/00 Payment architectures, schemes or protocols apparatus for performing or posting payment transactions G07F7/08, G07F19/00; electronic cash registers G07G1/12
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/02 involving a neutral party, e.g. certification authority, notary or trusted third party [TTP]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/0855 involving a third party
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3823 combining multiple encryption tools for a transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3829 involving key management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/401 Transaction verification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/4014 Identity check for transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/018 Certifying business or products
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0609 Buyer or seller confidence or verification
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2543 Billing , e.g. for subscription services payment schemes, architectures or protocols G06Q20/00; e-commerce G06Q30/00; arrangements for billing for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/21
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47805 Electronic banking banking in general G06Q30/02

Abstract

An electronic commerce system facilitates secure electronic commerce transactions among multiple participants. Each electronic commerce transaction involves at least one commerce document defining the transaction and at least one commerce instrument defining a payment for the transaction. The electronic commerce system has a credential binding server at a trusted credential authority, multiple computing units at associated participants, and a communication system interconnecting the credential binding server and the multiple computing units. The electronic commerce system operates in two phases: a registration phase and a transaction phase. During the registration phase, each of the computing units generate and send a registration packet over the communication system to the credential binding server. Unique credentials are produced by the credential binding server based upon the registration packets sent back to the computing units. During the transaction phase, an originating computing unit initially requests, receives, and verifies the credentials of expected recipient computing units to ensure communication between authenticate participants. Thereafter, the originating computing unit signs and encrypts the commerce document(s) and the commerce instrument(s) in a manner which ensures that only the intended recipients can decrypt them. The originating computing unit then sends both the commerce document(s) and instrument(s) over the communication system to a first recipient computing unit. The first recipient computing unit decrypts and verifies the commerce document (s) and/or instruments intended for it. The first recipient computing unit then passes the balance of the encrypted commerce document(s) and/or instrument(s) over the communication system to a second recipient computing unit, which decrypts and verifies the commerce document(s) and/or instrument(s) intended for it. This process is continued until all commerce documents and commerce instruments are distributed, decrypted, and verified by their intended recipients.

Claims

1. A method for conducting an electronic transaction involving at least a document related to the transaction and at least an instrument describing a mode of payment for the transaction, the method comprising:

encrypting the document and the instrument at a first participant;

sending the encrypted document and the encrypted instrument from the first participant to a second participant; and

decrypting only one of the document or the instrument at the second participant;

wherein said encrypting further comprises;

supplying the document and the instrument to a cryptographic application program interface (CAPI) resident at the first participant;

selecting a cryptography service provider (CSP) for encrypting the document and the instrument;

establishing communication between the CAPI and the CSP;

verifying, at the CAPI, an authenticity of the CSP;

passing the document and the instrument from the CAPI to the CSP;

encrypting the document and the instrument at the CSP using at least one encryption key maintained by the CSP to produce an encrypted document and an encrypted instrument; and

passing the encrypted document and the encrypted instrument from the CSP back to the CAPI without exposing the encryption key in its non-encrypt form.

2. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising:

encrypting the document and the instrument at the CSP using a symmetric key;

encrypting the symmetric key with a private key from an asymmetric pair of private and public keys unique to the first participant;

passing the encrypted symmetric key to the CAPI; and

retaining the asymmetric private key in confidence within the CSP.

3. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the verifying comprises:

attaching a digital signature of a trusted credential authority to the CSP; and

validating the digital signature to authenticate the CSP.

4. An electronic system comprising:

an first computing unit at a first participant;

a second computing unit at a second participant;

a third computing unit at a third participant;

at least one communication system interconnecting the first computing unit, the second computing unit, and the third computing unit;

an encryption device provided at the first computing unit to encrypt a document related to a transaction and an instrument describing a mode of payment for the transaction;

the first computing unit sending the encrypted document and the encrypted instrument over the communication system to the second computing unit at the second participant;

a first decrypting device provided at the second computing unit to decrypt one of the document or the instrument;

the second computing unit passing the other of the document or the instrument over the communication system to the third computing unit at the third participant; and

a second decrypting device provided at the third computing unit to decrypt the other of the document or the instrument;

wherein communication among the first and second computing units is conducted using a tag-length-value data structure, the tag-length-value data structure comprising;

a fixed-sized identifier field to define commerce data contained in the data structure;

a variable-sized length field containing a length of the commerce data in the data structure; and

a variable-sized value field containing the commerce data.

5. An interactive television system incorporating an electronic system as recited in claim 4.

6. An electronic system comprising:

an originating computing unit at an originating participant;

a first recipient computing unit at a first recipient participant;

a second recipient computing unit at a second recipient participant;

at least one application executing on each of the computing units to facilitate transfer of a document related to a commerce transaction and an instrument describing a mode of payment for the commerce transaction;

each of the computing units having a cryptography system to support the application, the cryptography system comprising;

a cryptographic application program interface (CAPI) to interface with the application when the application requests encryption/decryption of the document and the instrument;

at least one cryptography service provider (CSP) dynamically accessible by the CAPI, the CSP receiving the document and the instrument from the CAPI and encrypting or decrypting the messages using encryption keys, the CSP managing and protecting the encryption keys to prevent exposure of the encryption keys in a non-encrypted form to the CAPI;

the originating computing unit using its cryptography system to encrypt the document and the instrument and then sending the encrypted document and the encrypted instrument to the first recipient computing unit at the first recipient participant;

the first recipient computing unit using its cryptography system to decrypt one of the document or the instrument;

the first recipient computing unit passing the other of the document or the instrument to the second recipient computing unit at the second recipient participant; and

the second recipient computing unit using its cryptography system to decrypt the other of the document or the instrument.

7. An electronic system as recited in claim 6 wherein the CSP is digitally signed with a digital signature unique to a credential binding authority.

8. An electronic system as recited in claim 7 wherein the CAPI verifies an authenticity of the CSP by validating the digital signature of the credential binding authority.

9. An electronic system as recited in claim 6 wherein the CSP digitally signs the document and instrument with a digital signature unique to the participant and passes the signed encrypted document and the signed encrypted instrument back to the CAPI.

10. An electronic system as recited in claim 9 wherein the cryptography system further comprises a private application program interface (PAPI) to interface the CSP with the participant, the PAPI enabling the participant to confirm or reject attaching the digital signature to the document and the instrument.

11. An electronic system as recited in claim 6 wherein the CSP stores at least one unique encryption key.

12. An electronic system as recited in claim 6 wherein the CSP generates the encryption keys used to encrypt the messages.

13. An electronic system as recited in claim 6 wherein the CSP destroys the encryption keys following their use.

14. An electronic system as recited in claim 6 wherein the CSP assigns handles to the encryption keys, the handles being made available to the application through the CAPI, but the encryption keys remaining hidden from the application and the CAPI.

15. An electronic system as recited in claim 6 wherein the CSP is implemented in software as a dynamically linked library which is executable on the computing units.

16. An electronic system as recited in claim 6 wherein the cryptography system further comprises a private application program interface (PAPI) to interface the CSP with the participant, the PAPI presenting an explanation of the document and the instrument to the participant.

17. An electronic system as recited in claim 6 wherein the cryptography system further comprises a private application program interface (PAPI) to interface the CSP with the participant, the PAPI verifying an authenticity of the participant prior to enabling access to the application through the CSP.

18. An electronic system as recited in claim 6 wherein the cryptography system is implemented as a service layer for an operating system on which the application runs, further comprising an application program interface (API) to the cryptography system.

19. An electronic system as recited in claim 18 wherein the originating participant is a consumer and the API is a consumer API constructed for the consumer, the application being configured to communicate with the consumer API to request at least one task selected from a group comprising:

creating a registration credential;

processing a credential registration response;

creating a transaction; and

processing a transaction receipt.

20. An electronic system as recited in claim 18 wherein the first recipient participant is a merchant and the API is a merchant API constructed for the merchant, the application being configured to communicate with the merchant API to request at least one task selected from a group comprising:

creating a registration credential;

processing a credential registration response;

processing a transaction;

creating a transaction authorization request;

processing a transaction authorization response; and

creating a transaction receipt.

21. An electronic system as recited in claim 18 wherein the second recipient participant is an acquirer and the API is an acquirer API constructed for the acquirer, the application being configured to communicate with the acquirer API to request at least one task selected from a group comprising:

(1) creating a registration credential;

(2) processing a credential registration response;

(3) processing a transaction authorization request; and

(4) creating a transaction authorization response.

22. An electronic system as recited in claim 18 further comprising a binder with whom the participants register, wherein the API is a binder API constructed for the binder, the application being configured to communicate with the binder API to request at least one task selected from a group comprising:

(1) processing a registration credential request; and

(2) creating a credential registration response.

23. A computer program product comprising:

code for encrypting a document related to a transaction and an instrument describing a mode of payment for the transaction in a manner which enables a recipient to decrypt one of the document or the instrument, but not the other of the document or the instrument;

code for sending both the encrypted document and the encrypted instrument to the recipient; and

a computer readable storage medium for holding the codes.

24. A computer program product as recited in claim 23, further comprising:

code for signing the document and the instrument with a digital signature.

25. A computer program product comprising:

code for receiving an encrypted document related to a transaction and an encrypted instrument describing a mode of payment for the transaction from an originator;

code for decrypting one of the document or the instrument, but not the other of the document or the instrument;

code for sending the other of the document or the instrument in encrypted form to another party; and

a computer readable storage medium for holding the codes.

26. For execution in an electronic system having multiple computing units interconnected by a network, a computer program product having computer-executable instructions for execution at the computing units, said product comprising:

code for encrypting, at an originating computing unit, a document related to a transaction and an instrument describing a mode of payment for the transaction in a manner which enables a first recipient computing unit to decrypt one of the document or the instrument and a second recipient computing unit to decrypt the other of the document or the instrument;

code for sending the encrypted document and the encrypted instrument from the originating computing unit to the first recipient computing unit;

code for decrypting, at the first recipient computing unit, said one of the document or the instrument;

code for sending the other of the document or the instrument from the first recipient computing unit onto the second recipient computing unit;

code for decrypting, at the second recipient computing unit, said other of the document or the instrument; and

a computer readable storage medium for holding the codes.