Patent ID: 8745378

Claim:
A computer implemented method for validating SCEP certificate enrollment requests, said method comprising the steps of, in combination: (a) electronically receiving a request via a communications network from a trusted user to preregister for a SCEP challenge to be used in a subsequent certificate request and, in response to the request, generating and storing the SCEP challenge and associated expected certificate content for the SCEP challenge; (b) electronically sending the SCEP challenge via the communications network to the requesting trusted user; (c) after steps (a) and (b), electronically receiving a certificate request including the SCEP challenge via the communications network; (d) electronically validating the certificate request by checking whether the SCEP challenge of the certificate request was preregistered and if so checking whether content of the certificate request matches the preregistered expected certificate content associated with the preregistered SCEP challenge; (e) after step (d), authorizing a certificate for the certificate request if the SCEP challenge of the certificate request was preregistered and the content of the certificate request matches the preregistered expected certificate content associated with the preregistered SCEP challenge, and generating and electronically sending the certificate via the communications network to a sender of the certificate request; and (f) after step (e), denying the certificate request if the SCEP challenge of the certificate request was not preregistered or if the content of the certificate request does not match the preregistered expected certificate content associated with the preregistered SCEP challenge.