Patent ID: 7447903

Claim:
A network station for providing multiple different levels of authentication security for a user associated with (i) a first asymmetric crypto-key including a first private key and a first public key, with the first private key split into a first private key portion corresponding to a password of the user and to a first computation having a first level of complexity, and a second private key portion, and (ii) a second asymmetric crypto-key including a second private key and a second public key, with the second private key split into a first private key portion corresponding to the password and a second computation having a second level of complexity greater than the first level of complexity, and a second private key portion, the network station comprising: a communications network interface configured to receive a first message from the user encrypted with the first private key portion of the first private key, and a second message from the user encrypted with the first private key portion of the second private key; and a processor configured to apply (i) the second private key portion of the first private key to the received first message, to authenticate the first user at a first level of authentication security, and (ii) the second private key portion of the second private key to the received second message, to authenticate the second user at a second level of authentication security which is greater than the first level of authentication security.