Patent ID: 8321677
Filing Date: 2012-11-27
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method for binding an on-line identity to a digital signature, comprising: generating, at a first device, a digital asymmetric key pair associated with each user of the first device, wherein the asymmetric key pair includes a private key and a public key; receiving, at the first device, information for use in registering a user of the first device with a second device, wherein the information includes user identifying information other than the public key; digitally signing, at the first device, at least some of the information about the user of the first device using the private key generated at the first device; providing the digitally signed information to the second device; providing the public key to the second device, wherein the second device decrypts the digitally signed information using the public key, verifies at least some of the information with a data store, and digitally signs the information with a second private key associated with the second device; employing the second device to provide at least the user identifying information to a registration authority; employing the second device to store a digital certificate that includes the public key associated with each user of the first device and the user identifying information if the registration authority verifies the identity of each user of the first device based on at least the provided user identifying information; employing the private key, at the first device, to digitally sign a message to be communicated over a network to a third device; and providing, from the first device, information to the third device enabling the third device to retrieve, from the second device, the information digitally signed with the second private key to verify that the message is associated with the first device.