Patent ID: 7213267

Claim:
A method of protecting a microcomputer system against reading and/or manipulation of data stored in the storage assembly of the microcomputer system, comprising: providing a smart card protected by a personal identification number (PIN); storing a private key and an encryption algorithm for an asymmetrical encryption method on the smart card; encrypting or marking the data using the asymmetrical encryption method stored on the smart card; transmitting the encrypted or marked data over a public network to an additional microcomputer system, wherein the additional microcomputer system is a signature server in a trust center; authenticating a user's authorization to encrypt or mark the data, wherein the authentication is performed by the additional microcomputer system using a user database; if the authorization of the user is established, encrypting or marking the transmitted data for storage in the storage assembly using an additional private key and an additional encryption algorithm, the additional private key and the additional encryption algorithm being stored in the additional microcomputer system.