Patent ID: 6934855

Claim:
A method for remote administration of at least one smart card via a communication network, the method comprising: associating said at least one smart card with a remote administrator by storing administrator identification information of the remote administrator in said at least one smart card; inserting said at least one smart card in at least one user unit; employing the administrator identification information stored in said at least one smart card to identify the remote administrator associated with said at least one smart card; and establishing communication between the at least one smart card and the remote administrator via the communication network in accordance with the administrator identification information, wherein said establishing comprises: identifying a local administrator other than the remote administrator, the local administrator being positioned in the communication network in proximity to said at least one user unit; and enabling the local administrator to operate as a proxy administrator by transferring, to the local administrator, rights and authorizations to administrate said at least one smart card, by transmitting at least authorization information from the remote administrator to the local administrator, to enable said local administrator to independently perform administrative operations.