Patent ID: 8850188

Claim:
A data server comprising a processor and a memory, the processor configured to execute instructions of one or more application modules, the execution of the one or more application modules causing the processor to: receive a certificate search request from a wireless communication device; initiate a certificate search on one or more certificate servers remote from the wireless communication device, wherein at least one query is submitted to the one or more certificate servers to request retrieval of certificates satisfying the certificate search request; retrieve one or more certificates from the one or more certificate servers; for each of the one or more retrieved certificates, process the certificate to determine data comprising certificate data identifying the certificate, and status data by verifying at least one status property of the certificate, wherein the at least one status property is at least one of certificate validity, revocation status, encryption key strength, or trust status; for at least one of the one or more retrieved certificates, transmit data comprising the certificate data and the status data to the wireless communication device; maintain, on the data server, a copy of at least one certificate stored on the wireless communication device; automatically re-verify, periodically, at least one status property of the at least one certificate stored on the wireless communication device for which a copy is maintained on the data server, to determine updated status data for the at least one certificate stored on the wireless communication device for which a copy is maintained on the data server, wherein the re-verifying is not initiated by the wireless communication device; and for each of the at least one certificate stored on the wireless communication device for which a copy is maintained on the data server, maintain, on the data server, a copy of the status data determined at the processing for that certificate, compare the updated status data for that certificate to the copy of the status data maintained on the data server for that certificate, and if the updated status data for that certificate differs from the copy of the status data maintained on the data server for that certificate, transmit the updated status data for that certificate to the wireless communication device, wherein transmission of the updated status data is not initiated by the wireless communication device.