Patent ID: 7149894

Claim:
A public key certificate issuance request processing system comprising: a public key certificate issuer authority that issues a public key certificate to an object of certification that transfers data according to a public-key encryption technology; and a hierarchical structure of registration authorities having at least two levels, wherein said hierarchical structure of registration authorities comprises: an uppermost-level registration authority that transfers data to or from said public key certificate issuer authority, certifies a registration authority which ranks immediately below, receives a request for issuance of a public key certificate made by said registration authority that ranks immediately below and that is the object of certification, and transfers the request for issuance of a public key certificate to said public key certificate issuer authority; and a lowermost-level registration authority that ranks lowest within said hierarchical structure of registration authorities, certifies end entities that said lowermost-level registration authority controls, and transfers a request for issuance of a public key certificate, which is made by an end entity, to an upper-level registration authority that ranks immediately above, and wherein: when data is to be transferred between registration authorities included in said hierarchical structure of registration authorities during issuance of a public key certificate, mutual certification is performed using previously stored embedded keys; if the mutual certification succeeds, data is transferred between the registration authorities; and said uppermost-level registration authority included in said hierarchical structure of registration authorities manages public key certificates, which are issued from said public key certificate issuer authority to registration authorities or end entities, to provide a directory service that identifies the public key certificates.