Patent ID: 7506158
Filing Date: 2009-03-17
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. In a networking environment in which an end entity such as a customer desires to enter into an electronic transaction with a relying party such as a merchant, a computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for implementing at one or more operating environments of the network a method for permitting the relying party to check the status of a certificate of authority previously issued by a certificate authority to the end entity before the relying party enters into the desired electronic transaction requested by the end entity, the method comprising: receiving at a relying party's computing system a first transaction request sent from the end entity's computing system, the first transaction request being associated with a first certificate previously issued by a certificate authority's computing system, the first certificate having a representation of an issuer name associated with the certificate authority and a subject name associated with the end entity; the relying party thereafter communicating with either the certificate authority or an agent of the certificate authority to query for current status information on the first certificate; and in response to the query, receiving at the relying party's computing system a second certificate from either the certificate authority or the certificate authority's agent, the second certificate indicating the current status of the first certificate, and the second certificate having a representation of an issuer name that is associated with either the certificate authority or the certificate authority's agent, and the subject name associated with the end entity.