Patent ID: 8468353

Claim:
A method of authentication inquiring, wherein the method is applied to a system comprising a first service entity requesting a service, a second service entity providing the service and an Entity Authentication Centre (EAC), wherein, a mutual authentication between the first service entity and the EAC and that between the second service entity and the EAC are respectively performed, the EAC allocates an Interim Service Request Identifier (ISR-ID) to the first service entity and an Interim Authentication Check Identifier (IAC-ID) to the second service entity and acquires the shared key materials respectively for protecting the communications with the first service entity and the second service entity; the method comprising: issuing, by the first service entity, a service request to the second service entity, the service request includes the ISR-ID acquired by the first service entity in the authentication with the EAC; wherein the service request is used for the second service entity, upon receiving the service request, to search whether there is the ISR-ID of the first service entity stored locally to identify the first service entity, if not, the second service entity sends an authentication inquiring request to the EAC and carries the ISR-ID of the first service entity and the IAC-ID of the second service entity; generating, by the EAC upon receiving the authentication inquiring request, a derived key for the first service entity and the second service entity when it is decided that the IAC-ID is valid and the second service entity is entitled to provide the service besides the ISR-ID is valid and the first service entity is entitled to request the service; returning, by the EAC, to the second service entity an authentication inquiring response which carries the derived key which is acquired by enciphering the shared key material of the second entity and the EAC; wherein the authentication inquiring response is used for the second service entity to acquire the derived key from the authentication inquiring response by decrypting and to return a service request response to the first service entity, and the service request response is used for the first service entity to calculate the same derived key by using an algorithm and parameters used by the EAC; wherein the service request which is issued from the first service entity to the second service entity further includes a public identity (UID) of the second service entity for contacting with other service entities; and the authentication inquiring request which is sent from the second service entity to the EAC further carries the UID besides the ISR-ID of the first service entity and the IAC-ID of the second service entity.