TWI416922B - Authentication system utilizing image authentication code and method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

An authentication system comprises an authentication code generator, for generating an authentication code; and an authentication code to image converter, for transforming the authentication code to an image; an image capture control and recognition unit, for controlling an image capturing device to capture the image and processing the image; and a translation and verification unit, for translating the image into the authentication code and verifying the correctness of the authentication code for determining whether an user is authenticated or not.

Description

Authentication system using image authentication code and method thereof

The present invention relates to an authentication system and method, and more particularly to an authentication system and method using an image authentication code.

In today's security systems, setting passwords to prevent others from stealing information or important items is a widely used method. However, the form of the password has evolved in different ways with the times, such as passwords, voiceprint passwords, or passwords made using other biometrics, which are burned in the IC chip of the magnetic card. The way passwords are used varies from security system to system, and some even combine two different protection measures to improve security.

In the case of traditional passwords, users often need to remember the password and enter it. If you forget your password, you must re-apply and wait until the system confirms your identity before issuing a new password. If you lose your password, you may be stolen. Moreover, traditional passwords are easily stolen or cracked, especially in an insecure network environment where hackers often use Trojans or worms to embed a user's computer to steal private passwords.

In terms of security systems, there is a potential danger of using magnetically-sensing access cards, which may be recorded. The intruder intends to use electronic skimming equipment to capture information and falsify another passable magnetic card for intrusion.

In the application of biometrics technology to security systems, the currently available biometrics include fingerprint identification, iris recognition, voiceprint recognition, face recognition, and DNA sequencing. The biggest problem with biometrics is the issue of privacy. For example, once the fingerprint file stored in the system flows out, it may be abused by illegal elements.

In view of the lack of the above single password, a one-time password has been developed. The so-called one-time password means that the password can only be used once, and it will be invalid after use. Using a one-time password can effectively solve the problem of password theft. However, when using a one-time password, the user often needs to carry a one-time password generation tool, and then enter the password according to the instructions to pass the authentication, which is very troublesome for the user.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an authentication system that enables a user to obtain authentication through an image authentication code without manually entering an authentication code.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a user authentication module to generate an image authentication code.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a server authentication module to verify an image authentication code.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an authentication method in which a user uses an image authentication code to obtain authentication.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides an authentication system using an image authentication code, which includes an authentication code generator for generating an authentication code in the form of a character; an authentication code to image converter for Converting the authentication code in the form of a character into an image; an image capture control and processing unit for controlling an image capture device to capture the image and performing image processing on the image; and a translation And an authentication unit for translating the image into an authentication code in the form of a character, and verifying the authentication code in the form of the translated character to determine whether the user can pass the authentication.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides a user end authentication module, including an authentication code generator for generating an authentication code in the form of a character, and an authentication code to image converter for The authentication code in the form of a character is converted into an image, wherein the image is used for user authentication.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a server authentication module includes an image capture control and processing unit for controlling an image capture device to capture an image containing authentication code information, and Image processing is performed on the image; and a translation and verification unit is configured to translate the image into an authentication code in the form of a character, and verify the authentication code in the form of the translated character to determine whether the user can pass the authentication.

The authentication code to image converter in the foregoing user end authentication module can convert the authentication code into a plurality of images and repeatedly play the images as an image authentication code. Alternatively, the authentication code and other related information (eg, authentication code file size, key length, etc.) are converted into a plurality of images that are repeatedly played. Correspondingly, the translation and verification unit in the server verification module can translate the images into an authentication code in the form of a character and then verify.

According to another object of the present invention, the present invention provides an authentication method using an image authentication code, comprising the steps of: generating an authentication code in the form of a character; converting the authentication code in the form of a character into an image; And image processing the image; and translating the image into an authentication code in the form of a character, and verifying the verified authentication code in the form of a character to determine whether the user can pass the authentication.

The invention can utilize the concept of a one-time password, which is generated when the user requires authentication. Since the authentication code generated each time is different, it can be used as a "one-time password" to log in or obtain the service provided by the server. The invention converts the traditional one-time text password into an image and then translates and verifies the user without manually inputting the password.

In an embodiment, when authentication is required, the user generates an authentication code using a mobile device (eg, a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant), and converts the authentication code into a two-dimensional barcode. After the image capturing device captures the two-dimensional barcode, the server converts the two-dimensional barcode into an authentication code in the form of a character, and then performs verification to determine whether the user can pass the authentication.

In order to make the above description of the present invention more comprehensible, the preferred embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an authentication system implemented in accordance with the present invention. The authentication system of the present invention includes a user end authentication module 10 and a server end verification module 20. When the user needs to be authenticated, the user authentication module 10 generates an authentication code and converts the authentication code into an image authentication code (that is, an image containing the authentication code information). When the user authenticates, unlike the traditional authentication method, the user does not need to manually input the authentication code in the form of a character, but transmits the image authentication code to the server verification mode through the image capturing device 312. Group 20 is verified. The server verification module 20 extracts the authentication code information contained in the image authentication code, or translates the image authentication code into an authentication code in the form of a character, thereby determining whether the user can pass the authentication. The invention can save the trouble that the user has to manually input the authentication code, and is more convenient to use. On the other hand, in terms of security, the invention does not reduce the security by canceling the manual input of the authentication code, but is more convenient and convenient. Other information security systems combine to enhance security.

Before the user is authenticated, the user needs to register with the server verification module 20 to store the relevant information of the user, such as account number, password, birthday, phone number, and address, into the user database 201. The server verification module 20 generates a key according to the personal data stored in the user database 201, and stores the key in the key management unit 22 of the server verification module 20 on the one hand, and imports the key on the other hand. The key management unit 12 of the client authentication module 10. The user authentication module 10 has a communication interface 11, and the server authentication module 20 has a communication interface 21, and the user authentication module 10 and the server authentication module 20 are mutually connected by the two communication interfaces 11, 21. Send message. For example, the key generated by the key management unit 22 of the server verification module 20 is transmitted to the communication interface 11 of the user authentication module 10 through the communication interface 21, and the key is stored in the key management unit 12, and the key management unit 12, and the information about the success of the reception is sequentially transmitted to the server verification module 20 through the communication interface 11 and the communication interface 21.

In order to achieve the function of verifying the image authentication code, the user authentication module 10 of the present invention includes an authentication code generator 14 for generating an authentication code according to an authentication code to the image converter 16, The authentication code generated by the authentication code generator 14 is converted into an image authentication code. The server verification module 20 of the present invention includes an image capture control and processing unit 26 for controlling the image capture device 312 to capture the authentication code to image converter 16 of the user authentication module 10 An image authentication code, and performing image processing on the image authentication code; a translation and verification unit 24 for translating the processed image authentication code into an authentication code in a character form, and verifying the translated image Authentication Code. In short, the user uses the image authentication code as a means of obtaining authentication to log in or obtain the service provided by the server.

When performing user authentication, the authentication code generator 14 generates an authentication code based on the user authentication information, and the translation and verification unit 24 determines whether the authentication code corresponding to the translated authentication code can be generated according to the user reference authentication information to determine Whether the user can pass the certification. For example, if the user authentication information has the same content as the user reference authentication information, the same authentication code can be generated according to the same authentication code generation rule. The user authentication information is used as the basis for generating the authentication code by the authentication code generator 14 of the user authentication module 10. At least one of the key and the user data and the time of the authentication can be used as the user authentication information. Similarly, the user reference authentication information is the basis for the translation and verification unit 24 of the server verification module 20 to verify the authentication code, and at least one of the key and the user data and the time of the authentication can be used as a user reference. Certification information. For example, both the key and the user data are used as the user authentication information and the user reference authentication information, because the same user account information has the same user authentication information and usage on the user side and the server side. Referring to the certification information, the same authentication code can be generated. Conversely, on the user side and the server side, different user account data may have different user authentication information and user reference authentication information, that is, the same authentication code cannot be generated. When performing user authentication, the user end generates an authentication code according to the user authentication information. The present invention determines, by the server, whether the authentication code generated by the user end can generate the same authentication code as the authentication code generated by the user end. In this way, the user is authenticated. However, it should be noted that the present invention is not limited to this type of authentication, and other authentication methods are also applicable to the present invention.

The user end authentication module 10 of the present invention can be applied to a mobile communication device, such as a mobile phone, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or the like, or a device having a function of displaying an image, such as a digital camera, Notebook computers, mini notebook computers, and audio and video players. The server authentication module 20 of the present invention is used for verifying the image authentication code used by the client authentication module 10, and can be applied to a server or a workstation. In addition, the user end authentication module 10 (the server end verification module 20) may be a hardware, a firmware, an integrated circuit, or a function having a user authentication module 10 (the server authentication module 20). The hardware or firmware of the application.

Figure 2 is a flow chart showing an authentication method implemented in accordance with the present invention. Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to Figs. 1 and 2 .

Step S210: The authentication code generator 14 generates an authentication code according to the user authentication information through a hash function. In this example, the user authentication information includes the user profile and the key transmitted from the key management unit 12 from the key management unit 22. The Her-order function can output data of different file sizes as a fixed-length string of bits. The famous he-order functions are MD2 and MD5 developed by Ronald L. Rivest, SHA-1, SHA-2, and SHA-3 proposed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) of the United States, and the development of the Japan Telephone and Telegraph Corporation (NTT). N-Hash, and RIPE-MD from the European RIPE program.

Step S220: The authentication code to image converter 16 converts the authentication code into an image. In this step, the authentication code to image converter 16 can convert other related information, for example, using the type of the heuristic function, the size of the authentication code file, and the length of the key, together with the authentication code into an image, Make the image contain the digit information. In addition, before the image conversion is performed, the authentication code is rotated to the image converter 16 and an error-correcting code can be generated to cause a reading error due to light and shadow or other external factors when capturing the image. In the case, it is used as a correction. The invention can convert the authentication code into a two-dimensional barcode, or convert the authentication code and other related information into a two-dimensional barcode, and the two-dimensional barcode has various types, for example, a QR code popular in Japan. (QR Code), Quick Mark action bar code developed and designed by Taiwanese manufacturers, ColorCode, MagiCode, and other SemaCode, ShotCode, and Veri code commonly used in Korean mobile phones. VeriCode) and so on.

Step S232: The image capturing control and processing unit 26 controls the image capturing device 312 to capture the image converted in step S220. For the captured image, the image capture control and processing unit 26 initially determines whether the image is of the type supported by the server verification module 20. For example, if the server verification module 20 cannot support the 2D barcode of the Sema Code type and can only interpret the QR Code and the Quick Mark, the Sema Code cannot be read.

Step S234: If the image capture control and processing unit 26 initially determines in step S232 that the captured image is of a type supported by the server verification module 20, the image is processed. Taking the two-dimensional bar code of the black and white image as an example, since the image capturing device 312 is easily affected by the surrounding ambient light and shadow, the captured image of the two-dimensional bar code is not a pure black and pure white block. It is composed of different degrees of gray scale, and the captured image thus causes some distortion. In order to solve this problem, the captured image can calculate the threshold value corresponding to each pixel through the algorithm to restore the original correct color, so that the captured image is close to the original black and white configuration of the original two-dimensional barcode. In addition, when capturing images, whether it is affected by the refraction of light and shadow or the coordinate axis of the user when the image is captured, the situation will be different from the real coordinates. Therefore, it is necessary to calculate the error and perform coordinate conversion to The captured image is labeled as a true two-dimensional coordinate.

Step S240: The translation and verification unit 24 translates the image captured and processed in step S234 into an authentication code. Taking the two-dimensional barcode of the black and white image as an example, the translation and verification unit 24 reads each pixel value of the image processed in step S234, and sets the black point on the image to be digital data to 1, and the white point to digital data. It is 0 to translate the image back to the digital information contained in the authentication code mentioned in step S220, and to check and correct it by using the error correction code. The translation and verification unit 24 verifies the authentication code contained in the digital information. For example, the translation and verification unit 24 determines whether the translated authentication code can be generated according to the user reference authentication information. If the translated authentication code can be generated, the user can be authenticated, otherwise the user cannot pass the authentication. . In this example, corresponding to the user authentication information, the user reference authentication information includes the user data stored in the user database 201 and the key stored in the key management unit 22. Since the same user account has the same content user authentication information and user reference authentication information on the user side and the server side, according to the same authentication code generation rule, the server can generate the same authentication code as the user end. That is, you can pass the certification. On the other hand, different user accounts are different from the user authentication information and the user reference authentication information. Therefore, the server and the user cannot generate the same authentication code, that is, the authentication cannot be passed. In addition, if the account used by the user does not have corresponding account information on the server, the authentication cannot be passed. However, it should be noted that the present invention is not limited to this type of authentication, and other authentication methods are also applicable to the present invention.

The present invention can utilize the concept of "one-time password". When the user needs authentication, the authentication code generator 14 of the user authentication module 10 generates an authentication code, and the authentication code generation process uses the current The time is used as the parameter of the epoch function, that is, the user authentication information includes the key, the user data, and the time at the time of the authentication, so that the authentication code generated each time is different. Therefore, this authentication code can be used as a "one-time password" to log in or obtain the services provided by the server. When the translation and verification unit 24 of the server verification module 20 verifies the authentication code, the user reference authentication information according to the user authentication information also includes the key corresponding to the user authentication information, the user data, and the time at the time of authentication.

It should be noted that, in step S220, the authentication code to image converter 16 of the user authentication module 10 can convert the authentication code into a plurality of images, and repeatedly play the images as an image authentication code. . Alternatively, the authentication code and other related information mentioned in step S220 (using the type of the heuristic function, the authentication code file size, and the length of the key, etc.) are converted into a plurality of images that are repeatedly played. The server verification module 20 then retrieves the plurality of repeatedly played images through the image capturing device 312. Taking the image of the repeated two-dimensional barcode as an example, since the digital information that can be stored in each image of the two-dimensional barcode is limited, the authentication code and the related information may be first divided into several parts, and then the parts are divided into several parts. Converted into a two-dimensional barcode, for example, the authentication code and the related information are divided into several subcodes or several files and then replaced into two-dimensional barcodes. In addition, error correction codes can be added to each section for inspection and correction. After the image capturing control and processing unit 26 in the server verification module 20 performs image processing on the captured image of the plurality of two-dimensional barcodes, the translation and verification unit 24 respectively translates the plurality of two-dimensional barcodes. The digital information contained in the image. The use of repeated playback of a plurality of images as compared to the use of a single image as an image authentication code has better security due to the complexity and the difficulty of being intercepted therefrom.

However, using a plurality of images repeatedly played as an image authentication code causes a problem that the display image is not synchronized with the captured image. For example, if each image in the four images is displayed at a time interval of 0.5 seconds, the image capturing device 312 of the server verification module 20 captures an image every 1 second, and only captures an image. To the image of two different contents, the display speed of the image must be adjusted or the time interval at which the image capturing device 312 captures the image must be reset. In the image capturing process, if the user authentication module 10 has not received the information that the server verification module 20 issues the completion of the retrieval after a predetermined time, the user authentication module 10 will The playback speed of the image is slowed down. For example, in the above example, the time interval for displaying each image is adjusted to 1 second, so that the image capturing device 312 can completely capture all the images. Or, if the server verification module 20 has not completed the predetermined number of images after a predetermined time, the server verification module 20 reduces the time interval for the image capturing device 312 to capture images to speed up The speed of the capture. For example, in the above example, the time interval for capturing images is set to 0.5 seconds, so that the image capturing device 312 can completely capture all the images.

Figure 3 is a block diagram showing another authentication system implemented in accordance with the present invention. Figure 3 shows the authentication system whose structure and function are similar to those in Figure 2. The image authentication code is used to authenticate the user, but the image capture and image processing are based on the access terminal shown in Figure 3. The image is processed by the control module 30, and the image after the image processing is transmitted to the server verification module 20 through the communication interface 31. In this embodiment, the server verification module 20 receives the image processed by the image capture control and processing unit 36 from the access control module 30 through the communication interface 21 to translate and verify the image included. The authentication code in the digital information.

Before the user is authenticated, the user needs to register first, and can register with the server verification module 20 through the access control module 30 to store the related data of the user in the user database 201. When the user accesses the specific resource through the access control module 30, the specific resource mentioned herein may be a physical device or an information system, and the access control module 30 may request the server verification module 20 to verify the use. The identity of the person. At this time, the user needs to output the image authentication code generated by the user authentication module 10 to the access control module 30 through the image capturing device 312, and the access control module 30 will capture the image. The image processed with the image is transmitted to the server verification module 20. The server verification module 20 then translates the image into an authentication code and verifies the authentication code to determine whether the user can pass the authentication. The server verification module 20 transmits the verification result to the user authentication module 10 and the access control module 30. The access control module 30 can determine whether the user can log in or provide services to the user through the verification result. It should be noted that the user authentication module 10 can convert the authentication code into a plurality of images, and repeatedly play the images as an image authentication code, and the image is captured by the access control module 30. After the control and processing unit 26 controls the image capturing device 312 to capture the images, the server verification module 20 converts the images into an authentication code and verifies the authentication code to determine whether the user can pass the authentication.

The access control module 30 of the present invention can be applied to various terminal modules, for example, applied to personal computers, laptop computers, and terminals with control access functions (for example, cash machines, ATMs, and tonics). Machine, cash register, etc.). The access control module 30 can be a hardware, a firmware, an integrated circuit, or a hardware or firmware that installs an application having the functionality of the access control module 30.

In view of the above, the present invention has been disclosed in the above preferred embodiments, and is not intended to limit the invention, and the present invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Various modifications and refinements are made, and the scope of the present invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims.

10. . . User authentication module

11. . . Communication interface

12. . . Key management unit

14. . . Authentication code generator

16. . . Authentication code to image converter

20. . . Server authentication module

twenty one. . . Communication interface

twenty two. . . Key management unit

twenty four. . . Translation and verification unit

26. . . Image capture control and processing unit

201. . . User database

30. . . Access control module

31. . . Communication interface

36. . . Image capture control and processing unit

312. . . Image capture device

S210. . . step

S220. . . step

S232. . . step

S234. . . step

S240. . . step

Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an authentication system implemented in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a flow chart showing an authentication method implemented in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 3 is a block diagram showing another authentication system implemented in accordance with the present invention.

10. . . User authentication module

11. . . Communication interface

12. . . Key management unit

14. . . Authentication code generator

16. . . Authentication code to image converter

20. . . Server authentication module

twenty one. . . Communication interface

twenty two. . . Key management unit

twenty four. . . Translation and verification unit

26. . . Image capture control and processing unit

201. . . User database

312. . . Image capture device

Claims (43)

An authentication system using an image authentication code, comprising: a user end authentication module, comprising: an authentication code generator, configured to generate an authentication code in the form of a character, wherein the authentication code includes time information at the time of authentication And an authentication code to image converter for converting the authentication code in the form of a character into an image; and a server verification module comprising: an image capture control and processing unit for controlling one An image capture device for capturing the image and performing image processing on the image; and a translation and verification unit for translating the image into an authentication code in the form of the character, and verifying the translated word The meta-form authentication code is used to determine whether the user can pass the authentication. The authentication system of claim 1, wherein the authentication code to image converter converts the authentication code in the form of a character into a plurality of images, the images being played repeatedly. The authentication system of claim 2, wherein the authentication code to image converter divides the authentication code in the form of a character into a plurality of parts, each part being converted into an image. The authentication system of claim 2, wherein the image capturing device completely captures the images by slowing down the playback speed of the images. The authentication system of claim 1, wherein the image capture control and processing unit performs coordinate rotation processing on the captured image. The authentication system of claim 1, wherein the authentication code generator generates an authentication code in the form of a character according to user authentication information, and the translation and verification unit verifies the user according to the authentication information. a translated character in the form of a character, wherein the user reference authentication information is used to authenticate the user, and when the translation and verification unit determines that the user reference authentication information is used, the translated code in the form of the translated character can be generated. , indicating that the user authentication passed. For example, in the authentication system described in claim 6, wherein the user authentication information and the user reference authentication information include a key and a user data. For example, in the authentication system described in claim 7, wherein the user authentication information and the user reference authentication information further include the time of the certification. The authentication system of claim 1, wherein the image is a two-dimensional barcode. For example, the authentication system described in claim 9 wherein the type of the two-dimensional barcode is selected from a QR code, a Quick Mark action bar code, a Color code, a Magi code, and a Sema code. ), the group of Shot code (ShotCode), and Veri code (VeriCode). The authentication system of claim 1, wherein the authentication code in the character form is a fixed length bit string generated by a hash function. The authentication system of claim 11, wherein the heuristic function is selected from the group consisting of MD2, MD5, SHA-1, SHA-2, SHA-3, N-Hash, and RIPE-MD. . The authentication system described in claim 1, wherein the authentication code is converted to image conversion The character-form authentication code plus the error-correcting code is converted into the image. A user end authentication module includes: an authentication code generator for generating an authentication code in the form of a character, wherein the authentication code includes time information at the time of authentication; and an authentication code to image converter for The authentication code in the form of a character is converted into an image, wherein the image is used for user authentication. The user authentication module according to claim 14, wherein the authentication code to image converter converts the authentication code in the form of a character into a plurality of images, and the images are repeatedly played. The user authentication module according to claim 15, wherein the authentication code to image converter slows down the playback speed of the images so that the images can be completely captured. The user authentication module according to claim 14, wherein the authentication code generator generates the authentication code in the character form according to the user authentication information. The user authentication module according to claim 17, wherein the user authentication information includes a key and a user data. The user authentication module according to claim 18, wherein the user authentication information further includes the time of the authentication. The user authentication module according to claim 14, wherein the image is a two-dimensional barcode. For example, the user end authentication module described in claim 14 of the patent scope, wherein the character form The authentication code is a fixed length bit string generated by a hash function. The user authentication module according to claim 14, wherein the authentication code to image converter converts the authentication code in the form of a character with an error-correcting code into the image. . A server-side verification module includes: an image capture control and processing unit, configured to control an image capture device to capture an image containing the authentication code information, and perform image processing on the image, wherein The authentication code includes time information at the time of authentication; and a translation and verification unit for translating the image into an authentication code in the form of a character, and verifying the translated code in the form of the translated character to determine whether the user can Certification passed. The server verification module according to claim 23, wherein the image capture control and processing unit controls the image capture device to capture a plurality of images including the authentication code information and repeatedly playing, and Image processing is performed on the images. The server verification module according to claim 24, wherein the image capture control and processing unit speeds up the capture speed of the images by controlling the image capture device to completely capture the images. image. The server verification module according to claim 23, wherein the image capture control and processing unit performs a coordinate rotation process on the captured image. The server verification module according to claim 23, wherein the translation and verification unit authenticates the user according to the user reference authentication information, and the translation and verification unit determines whether the authentication information can be generated according to the user reference information. Recognition of the character form after translation The code is used to determine whether the user can pass the authentication. For example, the server verification module described in claim 27, wherein the user reference authentication information includes a key and user data. For example, the server verification module described in claim 28, wherein the user reference authentication information further includes the time at the time of authentication. The server verification module according to claim 23, wherein the image is a two-dimensional barcode. The server verification module according to claim 23, wherein the authentication code in the character form is a fixed length bit string generated by a hash function. An authentication method using an image authentication code, comprising the steps of: generating a verification code in the form of a character by using a user authentication module, wherein the authentication code includes time information at the time of authentication; and using the user authentication module Converting the authentication code in the form of a character into an image; capturing the image by using a server verification module and performing image processing on the image; and translating the image into the word by using the server verification module The authentication code in the form of a meta-type, and the authentication code in the form of the translated character is verified to determine whether the user can pass the authentication. The authentication method according to claim 32, wherein the authentication code of the character form is converted into a plurality of images, and the images are repeatedly played. The authentication method of claim 33, wherein the images are completely captured by slowing down the playback speed of the images. The authentication method described in claim 32 of the patent application further includes the step of performing coordinate rotation processing on the captured image. The authentication method according to claim 32, wherein in the step of generating the authentication code in the character form, the authentication code in the character form is generated according to the user authentication information, and the word after the translation is verified. In the step of the authentication code of the meta-form, the authentication code in the form of the translated character is verified according to the user's reference authentication information, wherein the user refers to the authentication information for authenticating the user, and when determining to use the user reference The authentication information can generate the authentication code in the form of the translated character, indicating that the user authentication is passed. For example, the authentication method described in claim 36, wherein the user authentication information and the user reference authentication information both include a key and user data. For example, the authentication method described in claim 37, wherein the user authentication information and the user reference authentication information further include the time at the time of certification. The authentication method of claim 32, wherein the image is a two-dimensional barcode. The authentication method described in claim 39, wherein the type of the two-dimensional barcode is selected from a QR code, a Quick Mark action bar code, a Color code, a Magi code, and a Sema code. ), the group of Shot code (ShotCode), and Veri code (VeriCode). The authentication method of claim 32, wherein the authentication code of the character form is a fixed length bit string generated by a hash function. The authentication method according to claim 41, wherein the heuristic function is selected from the group consisting of MD2, MD5, SHA-1, SHA-2, SHA-3, N-Hash, and RIPE-MD. . The authentication method according to claim 32, wherein the authentication code in the character form is added to the image by an error-correcting code.