Patent ID: 7185193

Claim:
A person authentication system for executing person authentication by comparing a template which is previously acquired person identification data with sampling information input by a user, said system comprising: a person identification authority which creates a person identification certificate for storing the template and which issues the person identification certificate to an entity which executes person authentication, wherein said person identification authority acquires the template and data for person identification from the user to be certified with the person identification certificate, and encrypts the template using a public key and creates and registers, on the basis of the identification of the user, the person identification certificate for storing the encrypted template which is the person identification data, the entity which decrypts the encrypted template stored in the person identification certificate and executes person authentication compares the decrypted template with the sampling information of the user so as to execute person authentication, and the public key used to encrypt or decrypt the template stored in the person identification certificate being a different public key depending upon the entity which executes authentication of a person.