Key sharing method and device

• US 10,419,927 B2
• Filed: 06/17/2015
• Issued: 09/17/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Huh, Mi-suk, Lee, Hee-kwan, Seo, Seog-chung
• Primary Examiner(s): Lanier, Benjamin E
• Application Number:
  US15/319,537
• Publication Number:
  US 20170150349A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,553 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/80 Wireless network architectures or network communication protocols for wireless network security H04W12/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/123 received data contents, e.g. message integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3242 involving keyed hash functions, e.g. message authentication codes [MACs], CBC-MAC or HMAC
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/04 Key management, e.g. using generic bootstrapping architecture [GBA]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/10 Integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/50 Secure pairing of devices

Abstract

Provided is a method, performed by a first device, of sharing a key, the method including: determining a communication method for exchanging a key between the first device and a second device, based on pre-set channel ranking information; receiving a key of the second device from the second device by using the determined communication method; and authenticating the received key of the second device.

Claims

1. A method, performed by a first device, of sharing a key, the method comprising:

determining one of a plurality of different communication methods for exchanging a key between the first device and a second device, based on pre-set ranking information;

receiving a key of the second device from the second device by using the determined communication method;

determining one of a plurality of different authentication methods for authenticating the received key of the second device; and

authenticating the received key using the determined authentication method, wherein

the determining of one of a plurality of different authentication methods comprises determining to use a first authentication method based on the key being received from the second device using a short-range communication method and determining to use a second authentication method, different from the first authentication method, based on the key being received from the second device using a long-range communication method.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, when the determined communication method is the short-range communication method, the authenticating of the key of the second device comprises:

outputting a short authentication string (SAS) for authenticating the key of the second device; and

selectively receiving an input regarding the output SAS.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein, when the determined communication method is the long-range communication method, the authenticating of the key of the second device comprises:

receiving a hash value of the key of the second device via a short message service (SMS);

calculating a hash value of the received key of the second device by using a hash function; and

comparing the calculated hash value and the hash value received via the SMS.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the pre-set ranking information comprises information about priorities of communication channels, which are determined based on at least one of preference information of the first device, information about a distance between the first and second devices, and channel information established between the first and second devices.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining of the communication method further comprises setting a communication channel with respect to the second device according to the determined communication method, and

the receiving of the key of the second device comprises:

receiving the key of the second device through the set communication channel; and

transmitting a key of the first device to the second device through the set communication channel.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting, to the second device, a request for a key of a third device;

receiving, from the second device, the key of the third device and sharing information about the key of the third device;

updating the sharing information about the key of the third device; and

storing the key of the third device and the sharing information about the key of the third device.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, from the second device, a request for a key of a third device;

updating sharing information about the key of the third device; and

transmitting the key of the third device and the sharing information about the key of the third device.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating sharing information about the key of the second device; and

storing the sharing information about the key of the second device.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the sharing information about the key of the second device comprises sharing history information comprising information about devices sharing a key of a third device and information about a sharing order of the key of the third device.

10. A first device for sharing a key with a second device, the first device comprising:

communication circuitry; and

a processor configured to;

determine one of a plurality of different communication methods for exchanging a key between the first and second devices, based on pre-set ranking information;

control to transmit a key of the first device to the second device by using the determined communication method;

control to receive a key of the second device from the second device by using the determined communication method;

determine one of a plurality of a different authentication methods for authenticating the received key of the second device; and

authenticate the received key using the determined authentication method, wherein

the determining of one of a plurality of different authentication methods comprises determining to use a first authentication method based on the key being received from the second device using a short-range communication method and determining to use a second authentication method, different from the first authentication method, based on the key being received from the second device using a long-range communication.

11. The first device of claim 10, wherein the processor is configured to, when the determined communication method is the short-range communication method, control output a short authentication string (SAS) for authenticating the key of the second device, and selectively receive an input regarding the output SAS.

12. The first device of claim 10, wherein the processor is configured to, when the determined communication method is the long-range communication method, control to receive, through the communication circuitry, a hash value of the key of the second device via a short message service (SMS), calculate a hash value of the received key of the second device by using a hash function, and compare the calculated hash value and the hash value received via the SMS.

13. The first device of claim 10, further comprising key storage, wherein the key storage is configured to store the key of the second device based on a result of the authenticating.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a computer program, which, when executed by a computer of a first device for sharing a key with a second device, controls the first device to perform operations comprising:

determining one of a plurality of different communication methods for exchanging a key between the first device and a second device, based on pre-set ranking information;

receiving a key of the second device from the second device by using the determined communication method;

determining one of a plurality of different authentication methods for authenticating the received key of the second device; and

authenticating the received key using the determined authentication method, wherein

the determining of one of a plurality of different authentication methods comprises determining to use a first authentication method based on the key being received from the second device using a short-range communication method and determining to use a second authentication method, different from the first authentication method, based on the key being received from the second device using a long-range communication method.