Person-centric account-based digital signature system

A method of requesting an account authority to execute an instruction with regard to an account maintained by the account authority, comprising the steps of:

• (a) for a first account,
• (i) composing an electronic message including,
• (A) an instruction regarding the first account, and
• (B) a first unique identifier by which a first account authority identifies the first account from accounts maintained by the first account authority,
• (ii) digitally signing the electronic message using a private key of a public-private key pair for which the public key is associated by the first account authority with the first account, and
• (iii) sending the electronic message and digital signature to the first account authority over a communications medium;
• and
• (b) for a second account,
• (i) composing an electronic message including,
• (A) an instruction regarding the second account, and
• (B) a second unique identifier by which a second account authority identifies the second account from accounts maintained by the second account authority,
• (ii) digitally signing the electronic message using the same private key of the public-private key pair for which the same public key is associated by the second account authority with the second account, and
• (iii) sending the electronic message and digital signature to the second account authority over a communications medium.

A system of communicating electronically over a communications medium regarding an account, comprising the steps of:

• (a) maintaining information pertaining to the account in a database such that the information is retrievable by a unique identifier, the information including security features of a device that generates digital signatures using a private key of a public-private key pair;
• (b) associating the public key of the device with the unique identifier in the database;
• (c) receiving an electronic communication including the unique identifier and a digital signature for a message generated by a suspect device;
• (d) authenticating the message using the public key associated with the unique;
• (e) upon successful authentication of the message, identifying the security features retrievable by the unique identifier as being the security features of the genuine device;
• and
• (f) gauging the risk that said generated digital signature was fraudulently sent based on said identified security features of the genuine device.

A method of managing a database for identification of security features of a device that generates digital signatures, comprising the steps of:

• (a) recording in the database for each of a plurality of devices,
• (i) a public key of a pair of public-private keys of the device, and
• (ii) information including security features of the device, the security features being associated with the public key in the database;
• and
• (b) identifying security features from the database to a recipient of an electronic message for which a digital signature was originated utilizing a private key of the public-private key pair of a particular one of the devices, the security features being for the particular device.