Patent ID: 8370640

Claim:
A method of handling a factor of a multi-factor authentication sequence, said method comprising: receiving a biometric candidate at a device associated with an identity verification element, said device lacking access to a biometric template until received from said identity verification element; generating a cryptographic key from said biometric candidate; decrypting a previously stored, encrypted character sequence associated with said identity verification element, wherein said decrypting employs said cryptographic key and results in a decrypted character sequence; transmitting said decrypted character sequence to said identity verification element; receiving, from said identity verification element, an indication of character sequence verification; determining, from said indication, that said identity verification element has verified said decrypted character sequence; and responsive to said determining, proceeding with said multi-factor authentication sequence by: extracting said biometric template from said identity verification element; and determining that said biometric candidate matches said biometric template.