Patent · US Expired

Method of extending the validity of a cryptographic certificate

US5373561A · kind A · utility

243Cited by
8References
20Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateDec 21, 1992
Grant dateDec 13, 1994
Priority date
Expiry dateDec 21, 2012

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04L2209/60
  • WIPO fieldIT methods for management
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A cryptographic certificate attesting to the authenticity of original document elements, such as time of creation, content, or source, will lose its value when the cryptographic function underlying the certifying scheme is compromised. The present invention provides a means for extending the reliability of such a certificate by subjecting, prior to any such compromise, a combination of the original certificate and the document digital representation from which that certificate was derived to a scheme based on a different and ostensibly less vulnerable function. The new certificate resulting from this procedure extends the validity of the original authenticity by implacably incorporating the original certificate at a time when that certificate could only have been derived by legitimate means.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.