Method and apparatus for remote administration of cryptographic devices

A method of performing at least one operation in a cryptographic device in a system comprising an authentication server, the method comprising:

• receiving in the cryptographic device a code generated by the authentication server;
• authenticating the code in the cryptographic device;
• and responsive to authentication of the code, performing said at least one operation in the cryptographic device;
• wherein the code is received in the cryptographic device in association with a request by the authentication server for the cryptographic device to perform said at least one operation;
• and wherein the code is determined as a function of at least an identifier of the operation.

A method of performing at least one operation in a cryptographic device in a system comprising an authentication server, the method comprising:

• receiving in the cryptographic device a code generated by the authentication server;
• authenticating the code in the cryptographic device;
• and responsive to authentication of the code, performing said at least one operation in the cryptographic device;
• wherein the code is received in the cryptographic device in association with a request by the authentication server for the cryptographic device to perform said at least one operation;
• and wherein the code is determined as a function of at least a one-time password generated by the authentication server.

A method of controlling the performance of at least one operation in a cryptographic device in a system comprising an authentication server, the method comprising:

• generating a code in the authentication server;
• and providing the generated code to the cryptographic device;
• wherein the code is authenticated in the cryptographic device, and responsive to authentication of the code, the cryptographic device performs said at least one operation;
• wherein the code is provided to the cryptographic device in association with a request by the authentication server for the cryptographic device to perform said at least one operation;
• and wherein the authentication server generates the code based at least in part on computation of a one-time password OTPs for a future time specified by an offset o relative to a current time ts:
• OTPS=F1((tS+o), k),
• where F1 denotes a cryptographic function, and k denotes a secret shared by the server and the cryptographic device.

A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium storing one or more software programs, wherein the one or more software programs when executed by a processor of a cryptographic device implement:

• receiving in the cryptographic device a code generated by an authentication server;
• authenticating the code in the cryptographic device;
• and responsive to authentication of the code, performing said at least one operation in the cryptographic device;
• wherein the code is received in the cryptographic device in association with a request by the authentication server for the cryptographic device to perform said at least one operation;
• and wherein the operation to be performed by the cryptographic device comprises resetting a time value or event counter value on the cryptographic device.

An apparatus comprising:

• a cryptographic device having a processor coupled to a memory;
• wherein the cryptographic device is configured to receive a code generated by an authentication server;
• wherein the cryptographic device is further configured to authenticate the code generated by the authentication server, and responsive to authentication of the code, to perform at least one operation;
• wherein the code is received in the cryptographic device in association with a request by the authentication server for the cryptographic device to perform said at least one operation;
• and wherein the operation to be performed by the cryptographic device comprises resetting a time value or event counter value on the cryptographic device.

A method of controlling the performance of at least one operation in a cryptographic device in a system comprising an authentication server, the method comprising generating a code in the authentication server;

• and providing the generated code to the cryptographic device;
• wherein the code is authenticated in the cryptographic device, and responsive to authentication of the code, the cryptographic device performs said at least one operation;
• wherein the code is provided to the cryptographic device in association with a request by the authentication server for the cryptographic device to perform said at least one operation;
• and wherein the code is determined as a function of at least one of:
• an identifier of the operation;
• and a one-time password generated by the authentication server.

A system comprising:

• a plurality of cryptographic devices;
• and an authentication server;
• wherein the authentication server is configured to generate a code;
• wherein a given one of the cryptographic devices is configured to authenticate the code generated by the authentication server, and responsive to authentication of the code, to perform at least one operation;
• wherein the code is received in the given one of the cryptographic devices in association with a request by the authentication server for the given one of the cryptographic devices to perform said at least one operation;
• and wherein the code is determined as a function of at least one of:
• an identifier of the operation;
• and a one-time password generated by the authentication server.