Abstract: For the secure creation of digital signatures and/or for the secure authentication of users with a chip card, an apparatus is plugged into a computer and the PIN is input. The computer operating system activates the autorun function of a read drive in the apparatus and loads an http responder program into the computer. A standard http protocol is used to send a signature request containing all the signature data to the http responder, which writes these data to the interface memory area of a read/write drive in the apparatus, and said interface memory area is read by the internal software in the apparatus, which interprets the data and uses configuration data to check the admissibility of the instruction. If appropriate, the signature request is then forwarded via a chip card read/write apparatus to the chip card, and the signature created by the card is written to the interface memory area, from where it is read by the http responder and is made available to the application as an http response.

Abstract: For the secure creation of digital signatures and/or for the secure authentication of users with a chip card, an apparatus is plugged into a computer and the PIN is input. The computer operating system activates the autorun function of a read drive in the apparatus and loads an http responder program into the computer. A standard http protocol is used to send a signature request containing all the signature data to the http responder, which writes these data to the interface memory area of a read/write drive in the apparatus, and said interface memory area is read by the internal software in the apparatus, which interprets the data and uses configuration data to check the admissibility of the instruction. If appropriate, the signature request is then forwarded via a chip card read/write apparatus to the chip card, and the signature created by the card is written to the interface memory area, from where it is read by the http responder and is made available to the application as an http response.