Automatic Fraudulent Digital Certificate Detection

• Main Authors: MEHTA YOGESH A, SABOORI ANOOSHIRAVAN, NITTA BRYSTON, PORTER NELLY, JANJUA MUHAMMAD UMAR, VAN HORENBEECK MAARTEN, BAKALOV VASSIL D
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 18.09.2014
• Subjects: ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE; ELECTRICITY; TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHICCOMMUNICATION

A computing device analyzes digital certificates received from various different sites (e.g., accessed via the Internet or other network) in order to automatically detect fraudulent digital certificates. The computing device maintains a record of the digital certificates it receives from these various different sites. A certificate screening service operating remotely from the computing device also accesses these various different sites and maintains a record of the digital certificates that the service receives from these sites. In response to a request to access a target site the computing device receives a current digital certificate from the target site. The computing device determines whether the current digital certificate is genuine or fraudulent based on one or more of previously received digital certificates for the target site, confirmation certificates received from the certificate screening service, and additional characteristics of the digital certificates and/or the target site.