System that employs inferencing for troubleshooting complex user authentication problems

Abstract

A system that uses inferencing to deal with complex authentication problems such as those that occur when users authenticate themselves by means of tokens. A troubleshooter responds to a user's request for help by inputting an identification code for the user's token into the system. The system uses the identification code to obtain the current authentication state for the token from an authentication database and then inputs the authentication state to an inferencing system such as a knowledge base. The inferencing system uses the authentication state to make inferences concerning the problem. The inferencing process may involve obtaining further information from the troubleshooter an/or the authentication database and may also provide warnings of particular security problems to the troubleshooter. Eventually, the inferencing system reaches a solution, which may include advice that the troubleshooter is to give to the user. The solution may also involve a modification to the authentication database. When that is the case, an indication from the troubleshooter that the system is to modify the database causes the system to automatically perform the modification. In a preferred embodiment, communication between the troubleshooter and the system is via World Wide Web protocols.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.