Systems and methods for location-based device security

• US 10,243,944 B2
• Filed: 10/16/2017
• Issued: 03/26/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/20/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Lyman, Nate L., Camp, Roy L., Farraro, Eric J., Tapley, John R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Naghdali, Khalil
• Application Number:
  US15/785,395
• Publication Number:
  US 20180103025A1
• Time in Patent Office: 526 Days
• Field of Search: 726 7
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/107 wherein the security policies are location-dependent, e.g. entities privileges depend on current location or allowing specific operations only from locally connected terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/20 for managing network security; network security policies in general filtering policies H04L63/0227
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/64 using geofenced areas
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/65 Environment-dependent, e.g. using captured environmental data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

A device may collect environmental information surrounding the device. Based on the collected environmental information, the device may automatically identify a potentially secured location that has lower security risk. When a potentially secured location is identified, the device may prompt the user to setup a security profile having reduced security requirement for the secured location. The device may store and associate the security profile with the secured location. The device may activate the security profile with reduced security requirement when the device is in the secured area. Further, the security profile may require that certain features of the device be disabled when the device is in the secured location.

Claims

1. A system for device security comprising:

a non-transitory memory; and

one or more hardware processors coupled to the non-transitory memory and configured to read instructions from the non-transitory memory to cause the system to perform operations comprising;

determining whether a first device is located within a first distance of a second device based on wireless communications between the first device and the second device;

in response to determining that the first device is located within the first distance of the second device, determining a number of times the first device had been previously accessed while the first device was within the first distance of the second device;

activating, in response to determining that the first device is located within the first distance of the second device and that the number of times meets or exceeds a predefined threshold, a first authentication requirement for accessing the first device; and

in response to determining that the wireless communications comprise a security profile for disabling one or more features of mobile devices, restricting phone calls on the first device or automatically placing the first device in a vibration mode.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

detecting, by the first device, a wireless signal emitted from the second device as a part of the wireless communications, wherein the determining whether the first device is located within the first distance of the second device is performed based on the detecting of the wireless signal.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the second device comprises a peripheral device of a user of the first device and the second device, and wherein the detecting the wireless signal comprises detecting a Bluetooth signal or an NFC signal emitted from the peripheral device.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the second device comprises a wireless beacon, and wherein the detecting the wireless signal comprises detecting a WiFi signal or a Bluetooth signal emitted from the wireless beacon.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein a required input from a user for the first authentication requirement decreases as the number of times the first device had been previously accessed while the first device was within the first distance of the second device increases.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the determining whether the first device is located within the first distance of the second device comprises determining that the first device and the second device are located in a first location, and wherein the first authentication requirement is activated only in response to determining that the first device and the second device are located in the first location.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the first location comprises a residence or a workplace of a user of the first device and the second device.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the determining whether the first device is located within the first distance of the second device and the determining the number of times are performed at a first point in time, and wherein the operations further comprise:

determining, at a second point in time, whether the first device is located within the first distance of the second device based on wireless communications between the first device and the second device;

in response to determining that the first device is located within the first distance of the second device, determining, at the second point in time, a number of times the first device had been previously accessed while the first device was within the first distance of the second device; and

activating, in response to determining that the first device is not located within the first distance of the second device or that the number of times is less than the predefined threshold, a second authentication requirement for accessing the first device, wherein the first authentication requirement requires less input from a user of the first device than the second authentication requirement.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein:

the second authentication requirement requires an entry of an authentication credential; and

the first authentication requirement requires an entry of only a portion of the authentication credential or no authentication credential.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the security profile comprises a profile associated with a public location, the security profile being broadcasted by a beacon in the public location and specifying that mobile devices receiving the security profile should turn off phone call functionalities or be placed in the vibration mode.

11. A method, comprising:

detecting, by a first device, a WiFi signal or a Bluetooth signal emitted from a wireless beacon located at a public place;

determining, based at least in part on the detecting, whether the first device is located within a first distance of the wireless beacon; and

in response to the determining, automatically restricting phone calls on the first device or automatically placing the first device in a vibration mode.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

detecting, by the first device, a wireless signal emitted from a peripheral device of a user of the first device; and

the detecting the wireless signal comprises detecting a Bluetooth signal or an NFC signal emitted from the peripheral device.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the peripheral device comprises a wearable device.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

determining, as a first instance of the determining, a number of times the first device had been previously accessed while the first device was within a first distance from the peripheral device; and

activating, in response to determining that the number of times is less a predefined limit, a first authentication requirement for accessing the first device.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

determining, as a first instance of the determining and based on the detected wireless signal, whether the first device and the peripheral device are located in a first location; and

activating, in response to determining that the first device and the peripheral device are located in a second location different from the first location, a first authentication requirement for accessing the first device.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

determining, as a second instance of the determining and based on the detected wireless signal, whether the first device and the peripheral device are located in the first location; and

activating, in response to determining that the first device and the peripheral device are located in the first location, a second authentication requirement for accessing the first device, the second authentication requirement being different than the first authentication requirement, wherein;

the first authentication requirement requires an entry of an authentication credential; and

the second authentication requirement requires an entry of only a portion of the authentication credential or no authentication credential.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

determining, as a second instance of the determining, a number of times the first device had been previously accessed while the first device was within the first distance from the peripheral device; and

activating, in response to determining that the number of times exceeds the predefined limit, a second authentication requirement for accessing the first device, wherein the second authentication requirement requires less user input than the first authentication requirement.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein:

the first authentication requirement requires an entry of an authentication credential; and

the second authentication requirement requires an entry of only a portion of the authentication credential or no authentication credential.

19. A method, comprising:

detecting, by a first device of a user, an NFC signal or a Bluetooth signal emitted from a second device of the user different from the first device;

determining, based at least in part on the detecting of the NFC signal or the Bluetooth signal, that the first device is located within a first distance of the second device;

determining that a number of times the first device had been previously accessed while the first device was within the first distance of the second device exceeds a predefined threshold;

activating, in response to determining that the first device is located within the first distance of the second device and determining that the number of times exceeds the predefined threshold, a reduced security requirement for accessing the first device;

detecting a wireless signal emitted from a wireless beacon located at a public place; and

restricting phone calls on the first device or placing the first device in a non-ringing mode in response to the detecting of the wireless signal emitted from the wireless beacon.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein:

the detecting the wireless signal comprises obtaining a security profile from the detected wireless signal, wherein the security profile specifies that devices receiving the security profile should turn off phone call functionalities or be placed in the non-ringing mode.