Patent ID: 6915430

Claim:
A method in which information of a device that generates digital signatures is reliably identified, comprising the steps of, (a) for each of a plurality of devices manufactured in a secure manufacturing environment, (i) creating, within the secure manufacturing environment, a public-private key pair, (ii) linking, within the secure manufacturing environment, the public key with other information associated with the device, wherein the other information comprises at least one of security features and manufacturing history of the device and wherein the other information defines a relative security level of the device, and (iii) before release of the device from the secure manufacturing environment, storing the private key within the device for utilization in generating a digital signature for an electronic message, (b) recording the linked public key and other information in a database and maintaining the database in a secure environment having a security rating at least comparable to the security level of the device for which the public key thereof is linked, (c) thereafter, when a public key linked in step (a)(ii) successfully authenticates a digitally signed message outside of the secure manufacturing environment, identifying from the database the other information to which the public key was linked in step (a)(ii) as pertaining to the device to which belongs the private key utilized in digitally signing the message without use of a digital certificate.