Cryptographic key exchange over an electrostatic channel

• US 10,028,137 B2
• Filed: 09/11/2017
• Issued: 07/17/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/14/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Westhues, Jonathan
• Primary Examiner(s): Edwards, Linglan
• Assistant Examiner(s): CAREY, FORREST L
• Application Number:
  US15/701,229
• Publication Number:
  US 20180014186A1
• Time in Patent Office: 309 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/606 by securing the transmission between two devices or processes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/83 input devices, e.g. keyboards, mice or controllers thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/84 output devices, e.g. displays or monitors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0445 using two or more layers of sensing electrodes, e.g. using two layers of electrodes separated by a dielectric layer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/08 Key distribution or management, e.g. generation, sharing or updating, of cryptographic keys or passwords network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting key management in a packet data network H04L63/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/02 Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/04 Key management, e.g. using generic bootstrapping architecture [GBA]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/122 Counter-measures against attacks; Protection against rogue devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/50 Secure pairing of devices

Abstract

Various embodiments relating to exchanging a cryptographic key between a display device and an input device via electrostatic communication are disclosed. In one embodiment, an interactive communication device includes one or more electrodes and a radio transceiver. The one or more electrodes may be excited to capacitively couple with one or more electrodes of a proximate communication device so as to capacitively send a cryptographic key from the interactive communication device to the proximate communication device. The radio transceiver may be configured to communicate with a radio transceiver of the proximate communication device via a radio channel. The interactive communication device may be configured to subsequently exchange encrypted communications with the proximate communication device over the radio channel. The encrypted communications may be encrypted using the cryptographic key.

Claims

1. An interactive display device comprising:

a touch sensor including a plurality of electrodes, where the interactive display device is configured to excite one or more electrodes of the touch sensor according to a touch-sensing frame performed repeatedly to sense touch input to the touch sensor, the touch-sensing frame being divided into a plurality of different time slots including at least a touch-sensing time slot and an information-sending time slot, where the one or more electrodes of the touch sensor form a capacitive coupling with an electrode of an input device, where the interactive display device is configured to use the capacitive coupling to determine a position of the input device during the touch-sensing time slot, and where the interactive display device is configured to use the capacitive coupling to capacitively send a cryptographic key via an electrostatic channel to the input device during the information-sending time slot; and

a radio transceiver configured to communicate via a radio channel, where the interactive display device is configured to subsequently exchange encrypted communications over the radio channel, the encrypted communications being encrypted using the cryptographic key.

2. The interactive display device of claim 1, where the cryptographic key is a symmetric key.

3. The interactive display device of claim 2, where a new version of the symmetric key is randomly generated each time a trigger event occurs.

4. The interactive display device of claim 3, where the trigger event includes at least one of a designated duration elapsing since a previous symmetric key was generated and the interactive display device receiving an updated version of firmware for the input device.

5. The interactive display device of claim 1, where the encrypted communications include an updated version of firmware for the input device.

6. The interactive display device of claim 1, where the interactive display device is configured to send the cryptographic key by exciting a subset of the plurality of electrodes of the touch sensor, the subset being selected based on the position of the electrode of the input device.

7. The interactive display device of claim 1, where the interactive display device is configured to send the cryptographic key via the electrostatic channel during the information-sending time slot of multiple touch-sensing frames.

8. The interactive display device of claim 1, where the cryptographic key is an asymmetric key.

9. The interactive display device of claim 1, where the interactive display device is configured to determine a position of an additional touch input source different than the input device during the touch-sensing frame.

10. An input device configured to interact with an interactive display device, the input device comprising:

an electrode configured to be excited to form a capacitive coupling with one or more electrodes of a touch sensor of the interactive display device, where the interactive display device is configured to excite electrodes of the touch sensor according to a touch-sensing frame performed repeatedly to sense touch input to the touch sensor, the touch-sensing frame being divided into a plurality of different time slots including at least a touch-sensing time slot and an information-sending time slot, where the interactive display device is configured to use the capacitive coupling between the electrode of the input device and the one or more electrodes of the touch sensor to determine a position of the electrode of the input device during the touch-sensing time slot, and where the input device is configured to use the capacitive coupling between the electrode of the input device and the one or more electrodes of the touch sensor to capacitively send a cryptographic key via an electrostatic channel to the interactive display device during the information-sending time slot; and

a radio transceiver configured to communicate via a radio channel, where the input device is configured to subsequently exchange encrypted communications over the radio channel, the encrypted communications being encrypted using the cryptographic key.

11. The input device of claim 10, where the cryptographic key is a symmetric key.

12. The input device of claim 11, where a new version of the symmetric key is randomly generated each time a trigger event occurs.

13. The input device of claim 12, where the trigger event includes at least one of a designated duration elapsing since a previous symmetric key was generated and the interactive display device receiving an updated version of firmware for the input device.

14. The input device of claim 10, where the encrypted communications include an updated version of firmware for the input device.

15. The input device of claim 10, where the interactive display is configured to randomly excite one or more electrodes of the touch sensor while the input device is sending the cryptographic key to the interactive display device.

16. The input device of claim 15, where the interactive display device is configured to sense a capacitive signal via the touch sensor and extract the cryptographic key from the capacitive signal by subtracting noise generated by random excitation of the one or more electrodes of the touch sensor from the capacitive signal.

17. A method for transmitting information between an interactive display device and an input device, the method comprising:

repeatedly performing a touch-sensing frame to detect touch input to a touch sensor of the interactive display device, the touch-sensing frame divided into a plurality of different time slots including at least a touch-sensing time slot, and an information-sending time slot;

during the touch-sensing time slot, sensing excitation of an electrode of the input device to receive position information from the input device via a capacitive coupling between the electrode of the input device and one or more electrodes of the touch sensor;

during the information-sending time slot, sending a cryptographic key from the interactive display device to the input device via the capacitive coupling between the electrode of the input device and the one or more electrodes of the touch sensor; and

subsequently exchanging encrypted communications with the input device over a radio channel formed between a first radio transceiver of the interactive display device and a second radio transceiver of the input device, the encrypted communications being encrypted using the cryptographic key.

18. The method of claim 17, where the cryptographic key is a symmetric key.

19. The method of claim 17, where a new version of the symmetric key is randomly generated each time a trigger event occurs.

20. The method of claim 17, where sending the cryptographic key includes exciting a subset of the plurality of electrodes of the touch sensor, the subset being selected based on the position of the electrode of the input device.