Methods, apparatus and systems for securing user-associated passwords used for identity authentication

A method of decrypting authentication information, comprising:

• receiving a user-associated password from a user, the user-associated password having a format that comprises a number of characters;
• storing the user-associated password in association with the user;
• sending a request to a user computing device for the user-associated password;
• receiving an encrypted user-associated password having the same format and the same number of characters from the user computing device in place of the requested user-associated password, wherein the encrypted user-associated password, when decrypted, authenticates an identity of the user by matching the stored user-associated password;
• generating a temporary password, at a decryption server as would have been done using the user computing device;
• decrypting the encrypted user-associated password using at least the temporary password, resulting in a user-associated password, the user-associated password being authentication information;
• and
• comparing the decrypted user-associated password to the stored user associated password.

A method of encrypting authentication information, comprising:

• receiving a request for a user-associated password at a user computing device from a requesting device;
• receiving the user-associated password at the user computing device from a user, the user-associated password having a decimal form, wherein the user-associated password is a password that authenticates an identity of the user, thereby being authentication information;
• generating a temporary password, by the user computing device;
• converting, by the user computing device, the user-associated password into a binary form;
• performing, by the user computing device, a bitwise XOR of the binary form of the user-associated password with at least a portion of the temporary password as represented in a binary form resulting in a binary and encrypted form of the user-associated password;
• converting, by the user computing device, the binary form of the encrypted user-associated password into decimal form;
• and
• communicating the decimal form of the encrypted user-associated password from the user computing device to the requesting device in place of the received user-associated password in response to the request for the user-associated password.