Method and apparatus for distributing keys to secure devices such as a postage meter
US6295359A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 21, 1998 |
| Grant date | Sep 25, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 21, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG07B2017/00887
- WIPO fieldControl
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A method for assigning keys to a plurality of devices in a public key cryptographic system includes generating a set of more than one master private keys; calculating for each master private key a corresponding master public key; installing in each of the plurality of devices a corresponding device private key derived as a linear combination of at least two of the master private keys from the set of master private keys whereby knowledge of the corresponding device private key installed in any one of the plurality of devices is not sufficient to determine the corresponding device private key of any other of the plurality of devices. A device public key can be calculated as a corresponding combination of the master public keys.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.