摘要 |
In an ITSO scheme, construction and initial sealing of ITSO Product Entities (IPEs) is carried out by one of a plurality of ITSO Secure Application Modules ('ISAMs') at a location remote from ticket retailer devices at which the IPE fields are generated. Each ticket retailer device is connected to an ISAM over the Internet or other network by control means operable to select an available ISAM from an ISAM array for the duration of a sealing transaction initiated by that ticket retailer device. Validation of IPEs can also be carried out at a remote ISAM array accessed over the Internet or other network. The remote ISAM array can be used in a variety of ITSO applications, for example, transportation ticket sales or secure systems for the prescription of drugs. In the latter scheme, prescription information is presented by the prescription writer for sealing in the form of an IPE and the patient can later validate the prescription IPE at a pharmacy or other supplier. Such a scheme can be used to reduce prescription fraud significantly because of the security inherent in the ITSO scheme. |