Patent ID: 6339824
Filing Date: 2002-01-15
Classification: G06F,H04L

Abstract:
In a cryptographic system in which operations of one or more types are initiated upon the concurrence of one or more authorities, a method of controlling the initiation of one of said operations in response to a request from one or more of said authorities, comprising the steps of:defining a plurality of requirements for each of said one or more types, each of said requirements for one of said types specifying a required number of authorities that must concur in an operation and a particular subset of authorities that are permitted to concur in said operation, at least one of the requirements defined for at least one of said one or more types specifying a plural number of authorities; receiving a request to initiate one of said operations from one or more of said authorities; determining for each of the requirements defined for the type of said operation whether a required number of authorities permitted to concur in said operation have concurred in said operation; and initiating said operation only if a required number of authorities permitted to concur in said operation have concurred in said operation for each of the requirements defined for the type of said operation.