Method and system for co-termination of digital certificates

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9680819-B2
Application number	US-64683409-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 23, 2009
Priority date	Dec 23, 2009
Publication date	Jun 13, 2017
Grant date	Jun 13, 2017

Abstract

A method of renewing a plurality of digital certificates includes receiving, at a first time, a request from a user to renew a first digital certificate and determining an expiration date for the first digital certificate. The method also includes receiving, at a second time, a request from the user to renew a second digital certificate and determining an expiration date for the second digital certificate. The expiration date for the second certificate is later than the expiration date for the first certificate. The method further includes determining a new expiration date occurring after the first time and the second time and renewing the first digital certificate. An expiration date for the renewed first digital certificate is equal to the new expiration date. Moreover, the method includes renewing the second digital certificate. An expiration date for the renewed second digital certificate is equal to the new expiration date.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of renewing a plurality of digital certificates, the method comprising:
receiving, at a first time, a request from a user to renew a first digital certificate of the plurality of digital certificates;
determining an original expiration date for the first digital certificate;
receiving, at a second time, a request from the user to renew a second digital certificate of the plurality of digital certificates;
determining an original expiration date for the second digital certificate, wherein the original expiration date for the second certificate is later than the original expiration date for the first certificate;
determining, by a processing device, a new expiration date for the first digital certificate and a new expiration date for the second digital certificate, the new expiration date for the first digital certificate and the new expiration date for the second digital certificate both occurring after the original expiration date for the first digital certificate and the original expiration date for the second digital certificate;
separately renewing the first digital certificate with the new expiration date for the first digital certificate and the second digital certificate with the new expiration date for the second digital certificate for the user, wherein the new expiration date for the renewed first digital certificate and the new expiration date for the renewed second digital certificate are equal to cause the renewed first digital certificate and the renewed second digital certificate to terminate on a same expiration date; and
crediting the user with a prorated amount based on a difference between the new expiration date and the original expiration date for the second digital certificate.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the user is associated with the subject field of the first digital certificate and the second digital certificate.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the original expiration date for the first digital certificate is stored as the notAfter date of the validity field of the first digital certificate.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the original expiration date for the second digital certificate is stored as the notAfter date of the validity field of the second digital certificate.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the first time and the second time are a same time.

6. A method of renewing multiple digital certificates, the method comprising:
receiving a request from a user to renew a first digital certificate having a first expiration date;
receiving a request from the user to renew a second digital certificate having a second expiration date later than the first expiration date;
renewing the first digital certificate with a first new expiration date; and
separately renewing the second digital certificate with a second new expiration date, wherein the first new expiration date and the second new expiration date are equal and occur after both the first expiration date and the second expiration date to cause the renewed first digital certificate and the renewed second digital certificate to terminate on a same expiration date; and
crediting the user with a prorated amount based on a difference between the new expiration date and the original expiration date for the second digital certificate.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the user is associated with the subject field of the first digital certificate and the subject field of the second digital certificate.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein renewing the first digital certificate and renewing the second digital certificate is performed by a certificate authority.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the request from the user to renew the first digital certificate and the request from the user to renew the second digital certificate are received through a web site of the certificate authority.

10. A method comprising:
receiving a request from a user to provision a first digital certificate;
determining that the user is associated with a second digital certificate;
determining an original expiration date for the second digital certificate;
renewing the second digital certificate with a new expiration date occurring after the original expiration date; and
separately provisioning the first digital certificate with an expiration date equal to the new expiration date of the second digital certificate to cause the first digital certificate and the second digital certificate to terminate on a same expiration date; and
crediting the user with a prorated amount based on a difference between the new expiration date and the original expiration date for the second digital certificate.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising:
determining that the user is associated with a third digital certificate; and
reissuing the third digital certificate with an expiration date substantially equal to the new expiration date of the second digital certificate.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein an identity of the user is associated with a subject field of the second digital certificate.

13. A method comprising:
receiving a request from a user to provision a first digital certificate;
determining that the user is associated with a second digital certificate having an original expiration date;
receiving a validity term for the first digital certificate from the user;
provisioning the first digital certificate with an expiration date equal to the validity term; and
separately renewing the second digital certificate with a new expiration date equal to the validity term, the new expiration date occurring after the original expiration date, to cause the first digital certificate and the second digital certificate to terminate on a same expiration date; and
crediting the user with a prorated amount based on a difference between the new expiration date and the original expiration date for the second digital certificate.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising:
determining that the user is associated with a third digital certificate; and
renewing the third digital certificate with an expiration date equal to the validity term.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein the validity term is at least one of a year, two years, or three years.

16. The method of claim 13 wherein an identity of the user is associated with a subject field of the second digital certificate.

Assignees

• Liu Quentin
• Barnes Kathleen
• Andrews Richard F
• Symantec Corp

Inventors

• Liu Quentin
• Barnes Kathleen
• Andrews Richard F

Classifications

• H04L2209/56

  Financial cryptography, e.g. electronic payment or e-cash · CPC title

• H04L63/0823 Primary

  using certificates (cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263) · CPC title

• H04L9/3263

  involving certificates, e.g. public key certificate [PKC] or attribute certificate [AC]; Public key infrastructure [PKI] arrangements (network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using certificates in a packet data network H04L63/0823) · CPC title