Patent ID: 8032743

Claim:
A method of managing reliance in an electronic transaction system, the method comprising: obtaining electronic signals representing subscriber assurance of an attribute of a subscriber to the system, the subscriber assurance issued by a certification authority hardware mechanism; obtaining electronic signals representing a request for transactional financial assurance and recourse, the transaction financial assurance and recourse being with respect to electronic infrastructure used in or with a transaction involving the subscriber, and the transactional financial assurance being other than a digital signature of the electronic infrastructure or the electronic signals representing subscriber assurance, the request including a value of the transaction financial assurance and recourse requested; determining whether to provide the requested transactional financial assurance and recourse based on at least the subscriber assurance and whether the requested transaction financial assurance value exceeds or is below a reliance limit associated with the electronic signals representing subscriber assurance; and, depending on the determining, issuing electronic signals representing the requested transactional financial assurance and recourse to a relying party hardware mechanism; and tracking cumulative liability associated with the electronic signals representing subscriber assurance, wherein determining whether the requested transaction financial assurance value exceeds or is below the reliance limit includes determining whether the requested transaction financial assurance value causes the cumulative liability to exceed or be below an acceptable reliance limit in excess of the reliance limit.