Patent ID: 7475250

Claim:
A method for assigning certificates and associated private keys to a token, comprising: accessing the token through a token reader connected to a computer system by a certificate authority; reading a token ID and a user-signature certificate from the token; searching for a match for the token ID and the user signature certificate in an authoritative database; creating a certificate and an associated private key, wherein the certificate and the associated private key are wrapped with a public key associated with the token ID and digitally signing the certificate and the associated private key using a signature certificate of the certificate authority if a match for the token ID and the user signature certificate is found in the authoritative database; downloading the certificate and the associated private key to the token; and decrypting the certificate and the associated private key using a private key stored in the token, such that the token stores at least the token ID, the private key, the user signature certificate and the certificate and the associated private key.