Patent ID: 9673979
Date: 2017-06-06
CPC Classifications: H04L

Claim:
1. A method comprising: generating a plurality of items of key information comprising (i) a first item of key information and (ii) a second item of key information that is derived from the first item of key information, wherein said generating comprises (a) creating a randomly-generated seed attributed to a particular cryptographic device, and (b) generating multiple sub-keys derived from the randomly-generated seed, wherein each generated sub-key corresponds to a separate additional cryptographic device, and wherein both the first item of key information and the second item of key information correspond to a distinct one of the generated sub-keys; attributing a distinct authorization level, from a set of multiple authorization levels, to the plurality of items of key information to create (i) a modified version of the first item of key information and (ii) a modified version of the second item of key information; providing the modified version of the first item of key information to a first cryptographic device to be used in connection with processing an authentication request associated with a second cryptographic device; and providing the modified version of the second item of key information to the second cryptographic device to be used, in conjunction with a distinct nonce value, in connection with a submission of an authentication request to the first cryptographic device, wherein the authentication request identifies (i) the cryptographic device at which authentication is sought, (ii) the distinct authorization level associated with the modified version of the second item of key information, and (iii) the distinct nonce value, which is associated specifically with the authentication request.