METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SECURE DISTRIBUTION OF AUTHENTICATION CREDENTIALS TO ROAMING USERS

A roaming user needing an his authentication credential (e.g., private key) to access a computer server to perform an electronic transaction may obtain the authentication credential in an on-demand fashion from a credential server accessible to the user over a computer network. In this way, the user is free to roam on the network without having to physically carry his authentication credential. Access to the credential may be protected by one or more challenge-response protocols involving simple shared secrets, shared secrets with one-to-one hashing, or biometric methods such as fingerprint recognition. If camouflaging is used to protect the authentication credential, decamouflaging may be performed either at the credential server or at the user's computer.