U.S. patent application number 13/245384 was filed with the patent office on 2012-01-26 for system and method for protecting data in a synchronized environment.
This patent application is currently assigned to Broadcom Corporation. Invention is credited to Edward H. FRANK.
Application Number | 20120021723 13/245384 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36387053 |
Filed Date | 2012-01-26 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120021723 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
FRANK; Edward H. |
January 26, 2012 |
System and Method for Protecting Data in a Synchronized
Environment
Abstract
A system includes a mobile device providing a plurality of
applications and an agent providing first and second authentication
procedures for authenticating a user of the mobile device to first
and second applications running on the mobile device. A first
application is enabled by authenticating a user through a first
authentication procedure, and a second application is enabled by
authenticating a user through a second authentication procedure.
The agent authenticates the user to the first application following
the first authentication procedure, and the agent authenticates the
user to the second application following the second authentication
procedure.
Inventors: |
FRANK; Edward H.; (Atherton,
CA) |
Assignee: |
Broadcom Corporation
Irvine
CA
|
Family ID: |
36387053 |
Appl. No.: |
13/245384 |
Filed: |
September 26, 2011 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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11239828 |
Sep 29, 2005 |
8027665 |
|
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13245384 |
|
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60621385 |
Oct 22, 2004 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
455/411 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 21/40 20130101;
G06F 21/34 20130101; H04M 1/66 20130101; H04L 63/0853 20130101;
H04M 1/72451 20210101; H04W 12/37 20210101; H04M 1/72457 20210101;
H04M 1/72436 20210101; H04L 63/0861 20130101; G06F 21/33 20130101;
H04L 63/105 20130101; H04W 12/06 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
455/411 |
International
Class: |
H04W 12/06 20090101
H04W012/06 |
Claims
1-20. (canceled)
21. A mobile device comprising: a first application module
configured to perform a plurality of first functional operations; a
second application module configured to perform a plurality of
second functional operations; and an authentication module
configured to permit use of the first application module only after
authentication of first authentication data, and to permit use of
the second application module only after authentication of second
authentication data.
22. The mobile device of claim 21, wherein the first authentication
data is different from the second authentication data.
23. The mobile device of claim 21, wherein types of authentication
data include passcode, biometric, location, time and proximity
data.
24. The mobile device of claim 23, wherein the first authentication
data is a first type of authentication data, and wherein the second
authentication data is a second type of authentication data.
25. The mobile device of claim 24, wherein the first type of
authentication data is different from the second type of
authentication data.
26. The mobile device of claim 23, wherein the first authentication
data includes a plurality of types of authentication data.
27. The mobile device of claim 23, wherein the first authentication
data includes a plurality of one type of authentication data.
28. The mobile device of claim 21, wherein the authentication
module permits use of a first functional operation of the plurality
of first functional operations only after authentication of third
authentication data, and permits use of a second first functional
operation of the plurality of functional operations only after
authentication of fourth authentication data.
29. A mobile device, comprising: a first application module
configured to perform a first. functional operation and a second
functional operation; and an authentication module configured to
permit use of the first functional operation only after
authentication of first authentication data, and to permit use of
the second functional operation only after authentication of second
authentication data.
30. The mobile device of claim 29, wherein the first authentication
data is different from the second authentication data.
31. The mobile device of claim 29, wherein types of authentication
data include passcode, biometric, location, time and proximity
data.
32. The mobile device of claim 31, wherein the first authentication
data is a first type of authentication data, and wherein the second
authentication data is a second type of authentication data.
33. The mobile device of claim 32, wherein the first type of
authentication data is different from the second type of
authentication data.
34. The mobile device of claim 31, wherein the first authentication
data includes a plurality of types of authentication data.
35. The mobile device of claim 31, wherein the first authentication
data includes a plurality of one type of authentication data.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. application No.
11/239,828, filed Sep. 29, 2005, which claims priority to and the
benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/621,385, filed Oct.
22, 2004, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in
their entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to a system and method for
mobile device authentication.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Cellular communication systems are multi-user, wireless
communication systems capable of concurrent use by large numbers of
users. These systems may be packet wireless communication systems
providing voice and other real-time communications between mobile
terminals operable in such a system. Advancements in communication
technologies have permitted the development and popularization of
new types of mobile devices for use with cellular communication
systems. Multi-function mobile communication systems are exemplary
of systems made possible as result of such advancements.
[0004] In order to ensure the validity of a user of such a system,
authentication procedures are carried out to ensure that traffic
between the server of the network portion of the system and a
mobile device is sent to an intended recipient. Subsequent to
authentication, communications are permitted between a mobile
device and the server of the network portion of the system.
[0005] Recently however, with the advancing sophistication of
mobile devices in general, there is an ever-increasing array of
services available which may be provided on mobile devices
including cell-phones, PDAs and the like. However, authentication
procedures used to protect these services have not similarly
advanced to match the sophistication of today's mobile devices.
Current mobile devices are still authenticated for the most part by
a single authentication procedure (or parameter) such as the entry
of a pass code used to "unlock" the device, providing an "all or
nothing" approach for mobile device authentication.
[0006] Given that the data and services provided by the mobile
device vary in importance to a user, and given that authentication
procedures will ordinarily be more or less cumbersome based on the
level of security they provide, what is needed is a system of
authentication offering a tradeoff between these two ideals by
tailoring authentication procedures to individual services offered
on a mobile device.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] A system includes a mobile device for providing first and
second applications and an agent for providing first and second
authentication procedures for authenticating a user of the mobile
device to the first and second applications running on the mobile
device. The first application is enabled by authenticating the user
through the first authentication procedure, and the second
application is enabled by authenticating the user through the
second authentication procedure. The agent authenticates the user
to the first application following the first authentication
procedure, and the agent authenticates the user to the second
application following the second authentication procedure.
[0008] In an alternative embodiment, the system for authenticating
a user to a mobile device further includes a server for
communicating with the mobile device; a plurality of applications
provided by the mobile device require data from this server. In
another alternative embodiment, authenticating a user of the mobile
device to a particular application provided by the mobile device
allows data to be sent between the server and the mobile
device.
[0009] In another embodiment, a method for authenticating a user to
a mobile device includes providing one or more applications and
assigning a plurality of authentication procedures to the one or
more applications to authenticate a user of the mobile device to
the one or more applications. Each authentication procedure has a
criterion for satisfaction and the criterion for satisfaction of a
first one of the authentication procedures changes in response to
satisfaction of the criterion of a second one of the authentication
procedures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] FIG. 1 shows a network architecture in which one or more
servers on an internal network can communicate with a mobile device
of a wireless network through an external network;
[0011] FIG. 2 shows a simple network in which two sub-networks are
coupled by a router which selectively passes traffic between the
two sub-networks based on the contents of an access control list
stored on the router;
[0012] FIG. 3 is a matrix defining an exemplary access control
list;
[0013] FIG. 4 is an exemplary authentication matrix according to
one embodiment of the present invention;
[0014] FIG. 5 is an alternative authentication matrix according to
another embodiment of the present invention; and
[0015] FIG. 6 is a simplified network architecture used for
illustrating methods of implementing the matrix authentication
procedures described with reference to FIGS. 4 and
[0016] Before any embodiment of the invention is explained in
detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in
its application to the details of construction and arrangements of
components set forth in the following description, or illustrated
in the drawings. The invention is capable of alternative
embodiments and of being practiced or being carried out in various
ways. Also, it is to be understood that the terminology used herein
is for the purpose of illustrative description and should not be
regarded as limiting.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0017] In FIG. 1, a known network architecture 100 is shown to
include an internal network 110 coupled to an external network 150
which is in turn coupled to a wireless network 160. The network
architecture 100 as a whole permits communication between a mobile
device 162 such as a mobile phone or a PDA device associated with
the wireless network 160 and associated components of the internal
network 110 such as one or more servers 115. Exemplary embodiments
of the present invention can be applied to the network architecture
of FIG. 1, as well as to other suitable architectures.
[0018] The internal network 110 may be provided by a LAN covering a
corporate campus or other localized setting and includes one or
more routers 111. Devices such as desktop clients 130 and
telephones 136 are coupled to the one or more routers 111. In one
embodiment, the telephones 136 may be coupled through an
intermediate device, such as the private branch exchange ("PBX")
135 shown in FIG. 1.
[0019] A wireless LAN network ("WLAN") 120 may also be coupled to
the internal network 110. The WLAN 120 includes one or more base
stations 122 communicating with one or more campus mobile devices
121. Servers 115 are provided coupled to the internal network 110.
These servers may be application servers, data servers,
function-providing servers and authentication servers among others.
The servers 115 provide services to a client accessing the internal
network 110 which may require a certain level of protection, such
as e-mail service enclosing sensitive data such as financial
records and the like, personnel services, and payment services
among others.
[0020] In an alterative embodiment of the present invention, the
services provided may not be tied to a specific server 115, rather
they may be distributed over one or more traditional servers or
computers. One or more servers 115 may provide one or more
services, or a service may be implemented by one or more servers
115. Moreover, the servers 115 may provide data, applications,
and/or functions that originally come from outside of the servers
115, or outside of the internal network 110 entirely, such as
Internet-sourced data.
[0021] Coupled to the internal network 110 is an external network
150 allowing the internal network 110 to send data to and receive
data from sources outside the internal network 110, such as to the
wireless network 160 shown in FIG. 1. In one embodiment, the
external network 150 may provide POTS telephony services over a
Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). In alternative
embodiments, the external network 150 is a circuit or packet
switched public data network, or provides higher speed data
services over an integrated services digital network. In a further
alternative embodiment (not shown) the internal network 110 may be
directly coupled to the wireless network 160. It will be understood
by one skilled in the art that the external network 150 may also be
provided by the Internet.
[0022] The wireless network 160 includes one or more base stations
164 for communicating with mobile devices 162 such as a mobile
phones or PDA devices. The mobile device 162 may be any device
adapted for wireless communications with the wireless network 160,
including a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant,
pager, portable computer or a vehicle navigation system as well as
others.
[0023] As is known to one skilled in the art, transmission and
reception between the base stations 164 and the mobile devices 162
occurs in a defined coverage area broken into individual geographic
cells 161, each having its own base station. The one or more base
stations 164 include radio transceivers defining each geographic
cell 161 and providing radio-link protocols to the mobile devices
162. A controller (not shown) may also be coupled between the one
or more base stations 164 and a switching center (not shown) to
manage and efficiently allocate radio resources for the one or more
base stations 164. The controller handles handovers, radio-channel
setup and frequency hopping for the mobile devices 162, for
instance as they move from one geographic cell 161 to another.
[0024] Communication between the base stations 164 and the mobile
devices 162 may utilize such multi-access wireless communications
protocols as general packet radio services, global system for
mobile communications and universal mobile telecommunications
system protocols, as well as others. In alternative embodiments,
High Data Rate (HDR), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access
(WCDMA) and/or Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), may
also be supported.
[0025] As is known to one skilled in the art, a firewall 112 may be
interposed between the external network 150 and the internal
network 110 to better protect data stored on the servers 115 of the
internal network 110 from external attack. Those skilled in the art
will also be familiar with the concept of access control lists
("ACLs"), which may be implemented in routers such as firewalls
positioned between an internal network and an external network such
as the Internet. ACLs are lists configured at a router to control
access to a network, thereby preventing certain traffic from
entering or exiting that network. More specifically, ACLs can be
configured for all routed network protocols to filter the packets
of those protocols as they pass through the router. By using ACLs
to determine which types of traffic are forwarded or blocked at a
router interface, the router can be set up, for example, to permit
e-mail traffic to be routed while at the same time blocking all
Telnet traffic.
[0026] To provide the security benefits of access control lists,
they should at a minimum be configured on the border routers
situated at the edges of a network, such as at the firewall 112
shown in FIG. 1 interposed between the internal network 110 and the
external network 150. This provides a basic buffer from the
external network 150. ACLs are configured for each network protocol
configured on the router interfaces. ACLs can also be used on a
router positioned between two parts of an internal network, such as
the routers 111 shown in the internal network of FIG. 1, to control
traffic entering or exiting specific parts of that internal
network. Accordingly, less controlled areas of the network may be
separated from more sensitive areas of the network, permitting
important data to be partitioned in a high security portion of the
network architecture.
[0027] ACLs can be used, for example, to allow one host to access a
part of a network and prevent another host from accessing the same
area, instead of allowing all packets passing through the router to
be allowed onto all parts of the network. FIG. 2 shows a simple
prior art network, in which a first network 210 and a second
network 220 are coupled by a router 215. Because of the
configuration of an AOL maintained on the router 215, a second host
212 is allowed to access the second network 220 while the first
host 211 is prevented from accessing this same network.
[0028] FIG. 3 shows a variation of this concept wherein different
types of traffic are allowed or denied to different users of a
network. An access control list matrix 300 is shown for a series of
users 325, wherein user profiles are defined in a series of matrix
rows 310. For each user 325, access to one or more applications 315
is determined by that user's corresponding designations in one of a
series of matrix columns 320.
[0029] Multi-dimensional user oriented ACL matrices of the type
exemplified by the matrix 300 of FIG. 3 are commonly used between
distinct portions of an internal network, such as with the network
architecture shown in FIG. 2. However, it is also desirable to
control the distribution of data between, as well as within,
individual networks, such as for example between the internal
network 110 and the wireless network 160 of FIG. 1 so that a user
of a mobile device 162 is able to access data stored on the servers
115. This is perhaps an even more critical application given the
ever-widening scope of distribution of potentially sensitive data
once it leaves the internal network 110. However, it will be
understood that the following techniques are applicable to any
wireless network or sub-network communicating with a multifunction
mobile device, such as for instance the WLAN network 120 of FIG.
1.
[0030] With the advancing sophistication of mobile devices such as
cellphones, PDAs and the like in general, there is an
ever-increasing array of services which may be provided on the
mobile device 162 of FIG. 1. Multiple services may be provided on
the mobile device 162, such as mail, music, photo and other
services in addition to traditional voice service. As such, there
are potentially many different types of data which may be sent
between the servers 115 of the internal network 110 and the mobile
devices 162 of the wireless network 160.
[0031] While access control lists may be incorporated into the
firewall 112 to determine what types of data are allowed to pass to
the mobile device 162, once the data has left the confines of the
internal network 110 and been sent to the mobile device 162, it is
incumbent on the device itself, and the user of that device, to
maintain the security of the data.
[0032] To aid in this endeavor, known security measures provide
that a user of a mobile device must first authenticate herself to
that device before she is able to access the features of the device
and data stored thereon. In an embodiment of the present invention,
this method may be extended such that a user must authenticate
herself to an authentication server of the internal network 110
before she is able to retrieve data from the servers using her
mobile device 162. However, the current paradigm is such that once
a relationship has been established with an intended user of the
mobile device 162 and the internal network 110 to access data
stored on the servers 115 of the internal network 110, that user is
able to access the full range of features of the mobile device
162.
[0033] For example, to avoid unauthorized users from obtaining
access to data sent from the internal network 110 to the mobile
device 162, authentication procedures have been used to activate
the mobile device 162 only when, for instance, the correct
authentication code has been entered by the user into a keypad of
the mobile device 162. Entry of this code allows a user of known
mobile devices to access the full range of features of the device,
such as voice services, receiving e-mail and attachments, etc.
[0034] Furthermore, data provided to the mobile device 162 by the
internal network 110 may vary in importance. Highly important data
may require more secure and sophisticated authentication schemes to
reduce the risk of unintended disclosure to third parties. There
is, however, an inherent tradeoff between the ease with which an
authentication method may be practiced and the security of such a
method. Entry of a PIN code may be easy to carry out, but offers
less security than the authentication of biometric data such as a
thumbprint.
[0035] As such, it is desirable that a range of methods be
available to protect different types of data and different features
offered on a mobile device. FIG. 4 shows an exemplary
authentication matrix 400 according to one embodiment of the
present invention having a range of authentication procedures in
one dimension, and a range of protectable features in another. One
or more applications 415 are presented associated with one or more
authentication schemes 420 arranged in matrix columns, and one or
more authentication procedures (or parameters) 425 are presented
associated with one or more matrix rows 410. As such, individual
cells 405 are created determining the applicability of a particular
authentication procedure 425 to a particular application 415. These
authentication procedures 425 can be freely and independently
assigned to the applications 415 to create a unique authentication
scheme for a mobile device.
[0036] The range of authentication procedures 425 may include the
entry of one or more key codes, biometric data such as a
thumbprint, voice analysis, the physical location of the mobile
device, the time of day, proximity to or use of an enabling device
such as a magnetically encoded card, radio frequency identification
tag, and the like. This list is not inclusive and it will be
apparent to one skilled in the art that any method of
authentication, including no authentication method, is appropriate
to include in this dimension of the authentication matrix. The
range of protectable features is intended to encompass any features
that may be offered on the mobile device such as telephony
services, e-mail, GPS data, stock quotes and the like.
[0037] In alternate embodiments of the present invention, one or
more than one authentication procedures 425 may be selected for
each application 415. In further alternative embodiments, a
separate authentication procedure 425 may be used for each
application 415, or an authentication procedure 425 may be repeated
for more than one application 415.
[0038] FIG. 5 shows an authentication matrix 500 according to a
further embodiment of the present invention wherein specific
applications 515 are provided by a mobile device. These
applications 515 are associated with authentication schemes 520
arranged in matrix columns, and specific authentication procedures
525 for allowing access to the applications 515 on the mobile
device are associated with matrix rows 510. In the embodiment shown
in FIG. 5, the applications 515 include voice telephony services,
music services, and e-mail services including the separate
applications 515 of access to incoming e-mail, and the ability to
alter or forward that e-mail to a third party.
[0039] Entries in the individual cells 505 indicate the
applicability of a particular authentication procedure 525 to a
particular application 515. For example, in the embodiment shown,
voice services are provided as an application 515 on a mobile
device enabled by a user of the mobile device authenticating
herself by entering a first PIN code. The ability to download and
read e-mail from a server is provided as a second application 515
which may be enabled by the a second PIN, together with a biometric
authentication procedure. This procedure may include in alternative
embodiments a voice, thumbprint, retina scan or the like. While
more cumbersome than the entry of a simple PIN code, this level of
security may be necessary if sensitive data is routinely being
accessed by the user of the mobile device employing the
authentication matrix shown in FIG. 5.
[0040] In alternative embodiments not shown, rather than being
monolithically authenticated, e-mail downloading may be broken into
separate higher and lower security applications 515 with distinct
authentication schemes based on the source of that e-mail. A
directory may be provided having one or more groups of e-mail
addresses whereby an authentication scheme is provided for each
group of e-mail addresses which may be either higher or lower than
the default authentication scheme which allows a user to access
e-mail sent from a sender not on the list. In a further alternative
embodiment, the ability to download and open attachments to e-mail
messages may itself be a separate application 515 requiring its own
authentication scheme 520.
[0041] The authentication matrix 500 includes the ability to edit
and/or forward e-mail received by the mobile device as yet another
separate application 515, the authentication scheme 520 associated
therewith requiring the entry of the second PIN as well as the
biometric data. In addition to these two procedures 525, a third
procedure is used, namely the physical location of the mobile
device. This procedure may be provided by known global positioning
system ("GPS") technology incorporated within the mobile device
such that the authentication procedure 525 is satisfied only when
the mobile device is in one of a set of predefined geographic
locations. For example, a particular application 515 may be
restricted so as to only be available when a user is on her
corporate campus, at her home, or at another predefined location,
providing further increased security to highly sensitive
applications 515.
[0042] Music downloading and replay applications may be provided as
shown in the authentication matrix 500 of FIG. 5 having yet another
authentication scheme 520 associated therewith. In addition to the
entry of a first PIN, the location of the mobile device is again
used as an authentication procedure 525. However, a separate list
of predefined geographic locations may be provided for this
application, as opposed to the application discussed previously.
For example, the mobile device could be restricted to only allow
music services when the user of the device was at a location other
than her corporate campus, so that nonessential activities are
prevented in a business setting.
[0043] In addition, the time of day may be utilized as an
authentication procedure 525 so that, for example, the application
of providing music or other entertainment services on a mobile
device can be restricted to after normal business hours only.
[0044] The application of the aforementioned authentication
procedures 525 has been discussed in the conjunctive such that for
a particular application 515, each designated procedure 525 must be
satisfied to authenticate a user so that she may access that
particular application 515. However, it is understood that in an
alternative embodiment, these authentication procedures 525 may be
applied in the disjunctive, so that the entry of any one procedure
designated for a particular application enables the usage of that
application.
[0045] In an alternative embodiment, the authentication procedures
525 may be made to behave in a more subtle fashion using more
complex Boolean logic schemes. For example, in the matrix 500 of
FIG. 5, an authentication scheme 520 is provided for music or other
entertainment services on a mobile device. The authentication
scheme 520 dictates that a first PIN, as well as a location and a
time procedure 525 are all required to authenticate this
application 515 for the mobile device. For this discussion, these
procedures will be referred to as procedures A, D and E. The purely
conjunctive authentication scheme produces the Boolean expression
(A and D and E)=authentication. However, it is within the purview
of the present system and method that, for example, this
application always be provided for the user of the mobile device
when she is at a defined location such as her home. Otherwise, this
service may still be available provided the local time is between
5:00 p.m. and 12:00 a.m. and provided the user has entered the
correct PIN. This scheme yields the Boolean expression (D or (A and
E))=authentication.
[0046] Alternately, this application may be provided only between
5:00 p.m. and 12:00 a.m., provided in addition that either the user
has entered the correct PIN, or the user of the mobile device is at
a defined location such as her home. This scheme yields the Boolean
expression (E and (A or D))=authentication. This scheme would be
useful for both completely preventing the provision of this service
during normal business hours, as well as avoiding the hassle of
entering a cumbersome PIN assuming the user is at a location that
is itself relatively secure.
[0047] In a further alternative embodiment, the conditions for
satisfying individual procedures can themselves be made to change
depending on the satisfaction of other, separate procedures. For
instance, the application may be provided only at a defined
location such as a user's home if the local time is between 9:00
a.m. and 5:00 p.m., or it may be provided at a different location
if the time is otherwise, such as an expanded zone encompassing the
user's hometown, provided that the user has also entered the
correct PIN. This scheme yields the Boolean expression ((E and D)
or (D' and A))=authentication.
[0048] Furthermore, it is also understood that in an alternative
embodiment of the present invention, the failure to select any
authentication procedures 525 for a particular application 515 is a
valid choice. Accordingly, for certain low security applications
515, the authentication scheme 520 may include a null set of
authentication procedures. With the advent of increasingly lower
cost wireless phone service, a user may for example desire that the
simple ability to place telephone calls from her mobile device be
essentially unprotected, whereas more critical applications such as
the ability to access potentially sensitive e-mail information be
protected by a password or other authentication procedures 525.
[0049] The aforementioned authentication matrices and schemes
define what procedures must be satisfied to allow particular types
of data to be sent from a server to a mobile device. Described
herein is a method for implementing the matrix authentication
procedures of FIGS. 4 and 5 with an exemplary network architecture,
in which the authentication procedures of FIGS. 4 and 5 may be used
to provide authentication. keys to authenticate a user of a mobile
device to a particular application being offered over a
network.
[0050] FIG. 6 shows a simplified architecture according to an
alternative embodiment of the present invention. An architecture
600 includes a mobile device 610 communicating with one or more
servers 630 using a network 620. In one embodiment, the network 620
includes one or more base stations 626 in radio contact with the
mobile device 610 as well as a switching center 625 for managing
the base stations 626. The mobile device 610 includes a key storage
device 615, and the servers 630 include registers 635.
[0051] The key storage device 615 of the mobile device 610 may be a
Subscriber Identity Module ("SIM"). SIM cards are widely used in
mobile devices such as cell phones to store a users personal info,
such as contact lists and the like, as well as identifying
information. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention,
the SIM contains authentication keys specifying particular
applications so that the user of the mobile device 610 can be
identified and authenticated to the network 620 to receive data
from the servers 630 for the specified application. In an
alternative embodiment, the SIM card may include an authentication
key having a private key and a related but different public key, a
copy of which is made available outside the SIM.
[0052] Of the one or more servers 630, one may be provided in an
exemplary embodiment as an authentication server having a register
635, the register 635 being a protected database storing copies of
the authentication keys stored in the SIM card specifying
particular applications. The authentication server ensures the
legitimacy of a user and associates the user to specific
application based data services on a data server which may be
included as one of the servers 630. Further, the authentication
server (and/or another server) may be used to revoke one or more of
the secret keys on the SIM card using copies of the secret keys
and/or another key of the authentication server.
[0053] The PINs shown as authentication procedures 525 in FIG. 5
may be used as private authentication keys, and the data gathered
for the other authentication procedures 525 such as the time,
location and biometric data could be used to generate separate
private authentication keys.
[0054] A challenge can then be supplied to the SIM card by the
authentication server of the servers 630, and a response is
generated using the private key. The response can be checked by the
use of the related public key. Thus, if the private key is held
only within the SIM card, then only the SIM card can generate an
authentication response that would work with the public key
value.
[0055] For example, in one embodiment, the network 620 is a GSM
compliant network authenticating a user to a particular application
using a challenge-response mechanism. A random number is sent to
the mobile device 610 from the authentication server 630 with an
authentication algorithm using the aforementioned public
authentication key. The mobile device 610 then computes a signed
response based on the random number sent to the mobile device 610
using a hashing algorithm, and returns the computed value.
[0056] Upon receiving the signed response from the mobile device
610, the authentication server 630 repeats the calculation to
verify authenticity. The authentication key is not transmitted over
the radio channel; it should only be present in the SIM, as well as
in the register 635 of the server 630. In one alternative
embodiment, this authentication procedure can be carried out by an
application running on a general purpose computer at the server
630.
[0057] It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that while a
system using SIM devices and a GSM mobile network has been
described herein, the inventive concepts described above would be
equally applicable to systems that use other types of smartchips
and/or other types of mobile networks.
[0058] In a further alternative embodiment of the present
invention, the key storage device 615 of the mobile device 610
further includes a Hardware Security Module ("HSM") chip providing
encryption capabilities to add a further level of security to data
accessed using the mobile device 610. The HSM chip contains an
encryption key for encrypting voice and data transmissions to and
from the network 620. An encrypted communication is initiated by an
encryption request command from the network 620. Upon receipt of
this command, the mobile device 610 begins encryption and
decryption of data using the HSM chip. In yet another alternative
embodiment, data stored on a SIM, such as retained e-mail traffic,
contact information, personal information and the like, could be
stored in an encrypted state, and decrypted only when needed, using
the HSM chip.
[0059] Regarding the above described key storage device 615, a
stateless module may be used which provides a high level of
security at a relatively low cost, while consuming a relatively
small amount of space on the mobile device. Mechanisms are provided
for securely loading one or more keys into the stateless module,
securely storing the keys and securely using the keys. Embodiments
of exemplary stateless modules that provide such mechanisms are
provided in copending provisional patent application Ser. No.
60/615,290, entitled Stateless Hardware Security Module, filed on
Oct. 1, 2004, now filed as patent application Ser. Nos. 11/159,640,
filed Jun. 21, 2005, and 11/159,669, filed Jun. 21, 2005, and
assigned to the assignee of the present application, the entire
contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
[0060] In another alternative embodiment, the HSM chip, rather than
the SIM, contains the authentication keys and performs the
authentication procedures described above to authenticate a user to
a particular application provided over the network 620 to the
mobile device 610.
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