Secure id checking

Abstract

A cost-effective system that provides for the efficient protection of transmitted non-public attribute information may be used, for example, to control access to a secure area. Encryption of the attribute information may be performed using symmetric encryption techniques, such as XOR and/or stream cipher encryption. A centralized database that stores and transmits the encrypted attribute information may generate the encryption/decryption key based on selected information bytes, for example, as taken from a card inserted into a handheld device used at the secure area. The selected information to generate the encryption key stream may be varied on a periodic basis by the centralized database. Information as to which selected bytes are to be used for a particular access authorization request may be transmitted to the handheld unit or may be input through action of a user of the handheld unit, for example by entry of a PIN code.

1 . A method for secure ID checking, comprising:
 receiving attribute information of a user, wherein at least a portion of said attribute information is encrypted attribute information;   identifying said encrypted attribute information in response to an access request initiated by a card presented by the user;   generating a decryption key for said encrypted attribute information using at least some of the information on the card;   decrypting said encrypted attribute information to generate clear text attribute information;   displaying said clear text attribute information;   granting or denying access of the user to a secure area based on said clear text attribute information.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein generating a the decryption key includes generating a symmetric decryption key. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said attribute information is received from a secure computer. 
     
     
         4 . An apparatus for secure ID checking, comprising:
 machine executable code for receiving attribute information of a user, wherein at least a portion of said attribute information is encrypted attribute information;   machine executable code for identifying said encrypted attribute information in response to an access request initiated by a card presented by the user;   machine executable code for generating a decryption key for said encrypted attribute information using at least some of the information on the card;   machine executable code for decrypting said encrypted attribute information to generate clear text attribute information;   machine executable code for displaying said clear text attribute information to enable granting or denying access of the user to a secure area based on said clear text attribute information.   
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 4 , wherein generating a decryption key includes generating a symmetric decryption key. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 4 , wherein said attribute information is received from a secure computer. 
     
     
         7 . A system for secure ID checking, comprising:
 a database   an access control device coupled to the database and having a card reader device, wherein said access control device receives attribute information of a user from said database, and wherein at least a portion of said attribute information is encrypted; and   a decryption device coupled to said access control device, wherein said decryption device decrypts said encrypted attribute information received from said database to generate clear text attribute information using a decryption key, wherein the decryption key is generated using information obtained by the card reader device from a card presented by the user.   
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein said decryption key is a symmetric decryption key. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein said database is a secure computer. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the attribute information of the user is transmitted periodically from the database to the access control device. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the attribute information is transmitted to the access control device in response to a request from the access control device. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the attribute information of the user is transmitted periodically from the database to the access control device. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the attribute information of the user is transmitted to the access control device in response to a request from the access control device. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 4 , wherein the attribute information of the user is transmitted periodically from the database to the access control device. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 4 , wherein the attribute information of the user is transmitted to the access control device in response to a request from the access control device.