Patent ID: 7602910

Claim:
A method comprising: concatenating a password with other data; generating a value based on the concatenated password and the other data; forming a first asymmetric key pair having a security level by performing a key generation computation on the value, the security level determined by the number of bits of a cryptography algorithm used to perform the key generation computation; formulating a self-signing pseudo public key certificate that includes the first asymmetric key pair, the self-signing pseudo public key certificate having a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) format and is not issued by a PKI central certificate server; exporting the self signing pseudo public key certificate to an external device; and responsive to an authentication session, forming a second asymmetric key pair by performing a key generation computation as part of a digital signature logon process wherein the process relies at least in part on the self-signing pseudo public key certificate as exported to the external device.