Method and apparatus for determining integrity of data feed for internet of things

• US 10,375,173 B2
• Filed: 08/13/2014
• Issued: 08/06/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Iotic Labs Limited
• Original Assignee: Iotic Labs Limited
• Inventors: Green, Paul Nigel, Wharton, Mark Nicholas James
• Primary Examiner(s): Rashid, Harunur
• Assistant Examiner(s): Taylor, Sakinah White
• Application Number:
  US15/028,382
• Publication Number:
  US 20160255066A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,819 Days
• Field of Search: 726 4
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0806 for initial configuration or provisioning, e.g. plug-and-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0823 characterised by the purposes of a change of settings, e.g. optimising configuration for enhancing reliability for optimising operational conditions of wireless networks H04W24/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/45 Network directories; Name-to-address mapping
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/12 Applying verification of the received information cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for data integrity or data verification H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1433 Vulnerability analysis
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1458 Denial of Service
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1073 Registration or de-registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1083 In-session procedures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/561 Adding application-functional data or data for application control, e.g. adding metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/562 Brokering proxy services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/60 Scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests, e.g. requests for application data transmissions using the analysis and optimisation of the required network resources admission control or resource allocation H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/106 Packet or message integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/108 Source integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/12 : Detection or prevention of fraud
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/60 : Subscription-based services using application servers or record carriers, e.g. SIM application toolkits
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 : Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/18 : Network protocols supporting networked applications, e.g. including control of end-device applications over a network

Abstract

Methods and registrar computers for determining the integrity of a data feed provided by a virtual device. In an example, the method includes maintaining a control directory of virtual devices registered with the registrar computer and a data feed directory comprising entries indicating data feeds available from the registered virtual devices. Each data feed in the data feed directory is assigned an integrity indicator based on the provenance of the data feed.

Claims

1. A registrar computer configured to negotiate communications between a virtual device and a virtual requestor device over a network to allow data feeds to be consumed without exposure to attacks, the registrar computer comprising:

a processing device; and

a memory device having stored thereon instructions, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processing device, cause the registrar computer to perform the steps of;

maintaining a control directory of virtual devices registered with the registrar computer;

maintaining a data feed directory comprising entries indicating data feeds available from one or more of the virtual devices registered in the control directory;

assigning an integrity indicator to one or more data feeds in the data directory based on a provenance of the corresponding data feed, wherein the integrity indicator for a data feed that has been generated by applying a mathematical function to the data feed is further based on an integrity value assigned to the mathematical function and wherein the integrity value is dependent upon the operations that form the mathematical function;

publishing, via the network, a listing of one or more data feeds from the data feed directory that are available to the virtual requester along with the integrity indicator assigned to the one or more data feeds;

receiving from the virtual requestor device, via the network, a request for at least one of the published data feeds, the request including an address associated with the virtual requestor; and

using the control directory and the data feed directory to provide, via the network, an indication of the request received from the virtual requestor device to at least one virtual device from which the requested at least one of the published data feeds is made available whereby the at least one virtual device may use the address associated with the virtual requestor to directly send to the virtual requestor, via the network, the requested at least one data feed and, thereby, to allow the at least one data feed to be consumed without exposure to attacks.

2. The registrar computer of claim 1, wherein the provenance of the corresponding data feed comprises a list of real devices that have contributed to generation of the corresponding data feed.

3. The registrar computer of claim 1, wherein the virtual device is configured to act as a proxy for a real device.

4. The registrar computer of claim 1, wherein the virtual requestor device is configured to act as a proxy for a real requestor device.

5. A method for using a registrar computer to negotiate communications

between a virtual device and a virtual requestor device over a network to allow data feeds to be consumed without exposure to attacks, comprising:

maintaining by the registrar computer a control directory of virtual devices registered with the registrar computer;

maintaining by the registrar computer a data feed directory comprising entries indicating data feeds available from one or more of the virtual devices registered in the control directory;

assigning by the registrar computer an integrity indicator to one or more data feeds in the data directory based on a provenance of the corresponding data feed, wherein the integrity indicator for a data feed that has been generated by applying a mathematical function to the data feed is further based on an integrity value assigned to the mathematical function and wherein the integrity value is dependent upon the operations that form the mathematical function;

publishing by the registrar computer, via the network, a listing of one or more data feeds from the data feed directory that are available to the virtual requester along with the integrity indicator assigned to the one or more data feeds;

receiving by the registrar computer from the virtual requestor device, via the network, a request for at least one of the published data feeds, the request including an address associated with the virtual requestor; and

using the control directory and the data feed directory by the registrar computer to provide, via the network, an indication of the request received from the virtual requestor device to at least one virtual device from which the requested at least one of the published data feeds is made available whereby the at least one virtual device may use the address associated with the virtual requestor to directly send to the virtual requestor, via the network, the requested at least one data feed and, thereby, to allow the at least one data feed to be consumed without exposure to attacks.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the provenance of the corresponding data feed comprises a list of real devices that have contributed to generation of the corresponding data feed.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the virtual device is configured to act as a proxy for a real device.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the virtual requestor device is configured to act as a proxy for a real requestor device.