Patent ID: 6996840

Claim:
A method for executing on a computer a security critical activity having at least one action, the security critical activity being initiated by a user of the computer and executed by a security device connected to the computer, the method comprising the steps of: before starting execution of the security critical activity, the user of the computer defining in a proxy letter a situation in which the proxy letter is allowed to handle the security critical activity; starting execution of an action of the security critical activity in a present situation; determining, for the started action and the present situation and based on the proxy letter, whether (a) the proxy letter is allowed to handle the started action without direct user involvement or (b) the user is required to handle the started action; when the started action is handled by the proxy letter or by the user, completing the started action and repeating the starting execution and determining steps for each action in the security critical activity until each action in the security critical activity has been completed; and when started action is handled neither by the proxy letter nor by the user, stopping execution of the security critical activity.