Securing system and method using a security device
System ( 1 ) for securing a data processing application, the said system comprising: first means ( 2 ) for interfacing with a security device ( 3 ); second means ( 4 ) for interfacing with the user; third means ( 6 ) for interfacing with the application and adapted for intercepting any request to use the said security device originating from the said application destined for the said security device; authentication means ( 8 ) connected to the first and second interfacing means, adapted for authenticating the user as legitimate user of the security device by requesting at least one secret; means ( 10 ) for storing the result of the authentication; validation means connected to the storage means and to the first and third interfacing means, adapted for authorizing any request originating from the application, destined for the said security device if and only if, the user is authenticated.
1. A system for securing a data processing application, the said system comprising:
a first interface interfacing with a security device holding user authentication information;
a second interface interfacing with a user;
a third interface interfacing with the application and implemented to intercept any request to use the security device originating from the application destined for the security device;
a user authenticator connected to the first and second interfaces and implemented to perform an authentication of the user as a legitimate user of the security device by requesting at least one secret;
a storage device receiving and storing the result of the authentication; and
a validator connected to the storage device and to the first and third interfaces, the validator being implemented to authorize any request originating from the application, destined for the security device upon and only upon, the user being authenticated as a legitimate user of the security device.
2. A securing system according to claim 1 , wherein the validator is implemented to trigger the authenticator if the user is not authenticated.
3. A securing system according to claim 1 , further comprising a verifier that determines whether the application belongs to a list of previously authorized applications stored in the storage device.
4. A securing system according to claim 3 , wherein, upon determining that the application does not belong to the list of authorized applications, the second interface requests an agreement of the user to enable the validator to authorize the application to communicate with the security device.
5. A securing system according to claim 1 , wherein the authenticator is implemented to request the at least one secret for performing the authentication from the user according to a predetermined periodicity.
6. A securing system according to claim 1 , further comprising a monitoring module monitoring access to the security device, the monitoring module being implemented to detect and block any attempt to access the security device by an application without using the first interface and/or the third interface.
7. A method for securing an application using a security device that holds user authentication information to identify a user carried out by a system comprising the security device, the security device authenticating the user by means of at least one secret, the method comprising:
intercepting a request to use the security device addressed by the application to the security device,
verifying whether the user has been authenticated by the security device,
upon failing to verify that the user is authenticated, rejecting the request, and
upon verifying that the user has been authenticated, transmitting the request to the security device.
8. The securing method according to the claim 7 , further comprising, upon interception of the application request, determining whether the application belongs to a list of authorized applications, so that only the authorized applications have access to the security device.
9. The securing method according to claim 8 , further comprising, upon determining that the application does not belong to the list of authorized applications, authorizing the application by the user.
10. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, with computer-readable instructions stored thereon for execution by a processor to perform the method according to claim 7 .
11. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, with a program stored thereon, wherein the program comprises program code instructions for performing the means functions of the securing system according to claim 1 when the said program is executed on a computer.