US 5,745,574 A
Security infrastructure for electronic transactionsGeneral
US 5,745,574 A
Security infrastructure for electronic transactions
Tech Center:
3600 Transportation, Construction, Electronic Commerce, Agriculture, National Security and License and Review
Examiner:
David C. Cain
Art Unit:
3642 Aeronautics, Agriculture, Fishing, Trapping, Vermin Destroying, Plant and Animal Husbandry, Weaponry, Nuclear Systems, and License and Review
Inventors:
SEAD MUFTIC
Assignee:
Priority:
12/15/95
Filed:
12/15/95
Granted:
04/28/98
Expiration:
12/15/15
Abstract
A plurality of certification authorities connected by an open network are interrelated through an authentication and certification system for providing and managing public key certificates. The certification system with its multiple certification and its policies constitute a public key infrastructure facilitating secure and authentic transactions over an unsecure network. Security services for applications and users in the network are facilitated by a set of common certification functions accessible by well-defined application programming interface which allows applications to be developed independently of the type of underlying hardware platforms used, communication networks and protocols and security technologies.