# US 12,223,032 B2 · Password protection method and apparatus, and medium > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,223,032 B2 - Document ID: US12223032B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 18/565,035 - Filed: 2022-04-26 - Published: 2024-08-08 - Granted: 2025-02-11 - Earliest claimed: 2021-10-26 - Assignees: Suzhou Metabrain Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. - Applicants: Suzhou Metabrain Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. - Inventors: Dengwei Li; Rengang Li - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12223032B2 ## CPC - G06F 21/46: by designing passwords or checking the strength of passwords - G06F 21/31: User authentication - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) ## Abstract The present application discloses a password protection method. Aiming at the current problem that, when a plurality of passwords are used, the plurality of passwords may be invalidated after one password is compromised, a password protection method is provided, which comprises: after password authentication is successful, determining, according to a password currently passing the authentication, a specified bit of password invalidation enable identifiers stored in a storage medium, wherein there is only one specified bit because there is only one authenticated password; setting the specified bit to be in an allowed state and other bits to be in a non-allowed state, wherein the password invalidation enable identifiers are in one-to-one correspondence with passwords according to bits, and only when one bit of the password invalidation enable identifiers is in the allowed state, an invalidation operation on the passwords is allowed; determining whether a password invalidation request is received; and if a password invalidation request is received, performing invalidation operation on the password corresponding to the specified bit. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A password protection method, applied to a password protection device comprising a storage medium, wherein the method comprises: after a password authentication is passed, according to a password that is currently authenticated, determining a specified bit of an enabling identifier of password invalidation; wherein the enabling identifier of password invalidation is stored in the storage medium, and is configured for representing whether an invalidation operation is permitted to be performed to the password; setting the specified bit of the enabling identifier of password invalidation to be in a permitting state, and setting other bits to be in a non-permitting state, wherein the enabling identifier of password invalidation is in one-to-one correspondence with each password according to bits, and merely when one of the bits of the enabling identifier of password invalidation is in the permitting state, the invalidation operation is permitted to be performed to the password; and after an invalidation request of the password is received, performing the invalidation operation to the password corresponding to the specified bit. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The password protection method according to claim 1, wherein an available password that is capable of passing the password authentication is unique in one time of the password authentication, the available password is determined by a password state identifier, and states of different bits of the password state identifier indicate whether different passwords are invalid or not, respectively. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The password protection method according to claim 2, wherein the password state identifier is a string of binary numbers, wherein when the second bit is 1, that indicates that the second password is invalidated, when the third bit is 0, that indicates that the third password is valid. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The password protection method according to claim 2, wherein the password state identifier is saved in the internal memory of an apparatus or an external storage medium. ### Claim 5 (depends on 2) The password protection method according to claim 2, wherein the password state identifier is saved in a one-time programmable read-only memory. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The password protection method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: when all passwords are invalid, entering a locking state, to forbid an external input from operating. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The password protection method according to claim 6, wherein the method further comprises: when entering the locking state, playing a prompt message. ### Claim 8 (depends on 6) The password protection method according to claim 6, wherein the method further comprises: after the password is reconfigured and a one-time programmable read-only memory storing the corresponding password state identifier is replaced, releasing the locking state. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The password protection method according to claim 8, wherein in a noisy factory environment, the prompt message is provided in the form of an optical signal by adopting an indicator lamp. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The password protection method according to claim 1, wherein the password is an encryption method for an apparatus, and it is, in terms of the effect, equivalent to a public key and a private key based on an encryption algorithm. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The password protection method according to claim 10, wherein the encryption algorithm comprises an RSA algorithm. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The password protection method according to claim 1, wherein after every time that the password authentication is passed, when an operator considers that the password is still safe, it is not required to perform the password invalidation operation; after a next password authentication, the operator decides whether it is required to perform the invalidation operation to the password. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The password protection method according to claim 1, wherein a quantity of passwords that pass the authentication in one time of the password authentication comprises one password or multiple passwords. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The password protection method according to claim 1, wherein the password that is uncapable to pass the authentication comprises a password that is invalidated and a password that is not invalidated but is unavailable in a current time of authentication. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The password protection method according to claim 1, wherein the enabling identifier of password invalidation is a string of binary numbers, wherein when the second bit is 1, it is permitted to modify the second bit of the password state identifier. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) The password protection method according to claim 1, wherein passwords are sequentially arranged, and, according to the sequence of the passwords that are not invalidated, determining a password to be the available password of current time of the password authentication. ### Claim 17 (depends on 1) A password protection device, wherein the device comprises a memory and one or more processors, the memory stores a computer-readable instruction, and when the computer-readable instruction is executed by the one or more processors, making the one or more processors implement the password protection method according to claim 1. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The password protection device according to claim 17, wherein an available password that is capable of passing the password authentication is unique in one time of the password authentication, the available password is determined by a password state identifier, and states of different bits of the password state identifier indicate whether different passwords are invalid or not, respectively. ### Claim 19 One or more non-transitory computer-readable storage mediums storing a computer-readable instruction, wherein when the computer-readable instruction is executed by one or more processors, making the one or more processors implement the operations comprising: after a password authentication is passed, according to a password that is currently authenticated, determining a specified bit of an enabling identifier of password invalidation; wherein the enabling identifier of password invalidation is stored in the storage medium, and is configured for representing whether an invalidation operation is permitted to be performed to the password; setting the specified bit of the enabling identifier of password invalidation to be in a permitting state, and setting other bits to be in a non-permitting state, wherein the enabling identifier of password invalidation is in one-to-one correspondence with each password according to bits, and merely when one of the bits of the enabling identifier of password invalidation is in the permitting state, the invalidation operation is permitted to be performed to the password; and after an invalidation request of the password is received, performing the invalidation operation to the password corresponding to the specified bit.