Patent ID: 7181016

Claim:
A method comprising: accessing a private key of an asymmetric key pair in a key device; deriving a symmetric master key from the private key of the asymmetric key pair using a single sign-on process, the single sign-on process allowing a user to encrypt or decrypt files in response to a file encryption key, the file encryption key being encrypted or decrypted using the symmetric master key; storing the symmetric master key in a computer memory location, wherein the files can be encrypted or decrypted in response to the symmetric master key even if the user deactivates the key device; deactivating the key device; and following the deactivation of the key device, accessing a process that encrypts or decrypts the file encryption key using the previously stored symmetric master key, wherein accessing the process uses the single sign-on process on a remote computer that is remote from a computer that is used to derive the symmetric master key from the private key of the asymmetric key pair.