Method for distributed trust authentication

A method for distributed authentication, the method comprising:

• severing a private cryptographic key of a public/private cryptographic key pair into a first private key share and a second private key share;
• providing, via one or more networks, access to the first private key share to a first authenticator;
• providing, via one or more networks, access to the second private key share to a remote second authenticator, wherein the remote second authenticator operates independently and remotely of the first authenticator;
• using, by the first authenticator, the first private key share to generate a first derivation of the first private key share based on a successful authentication of a user operating a computing device with the first authenticator;
• using, by the remote second authenticator, the second private key share to generate a second derivation of the second private key share based on a successful authentication of the user operating the computing device or a different computing device with the remote second authenticator;
• forming, by one of the first authenticator or the second authenticator, a derivations composition using the first derivation and the second derivation;
• and
• enabling the user operating a computing device to authenticate to one or more services of an entity based on a successful validation of the derivations composition using a public cryptographic key of the public/private cryptographic key pair.

A method for distributed authentication of a user attempting to access, via a network, a service provider, the method comprising:

• using a private cryptographic key of a private/public cryptographic key pair to generate, at least, a first private key share and a second private key share;
• separately storing the first private key share and the second private key share at disparate authenticators, wherein the disparate authenticators include a first authenticator and a second authenticator;
• in response to receiving, via one or more networks, a primary authentication request, accessing by the first authenticator the first private key share and using the first private key share to generate a first digital signature;
• in response to receiving, via the one or more networks, a second authentication request, accessing by the second authenticator the second private key share and using the second private key share to generate a second digital signature;
• generating a composite digital signature;
• and
• validating the composite digital signature using a public cryptographic key of the private/public cryptographic key pair to enable authentication of a user operating a computing device to access a service provider.