Privacy enhancements for wireless devices

• US 10,587,654 B2
• Filed: 07/30/2018
• Issued: 03/10/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Sigel, Aaron M., Whalley, Andrew R., Pandey, Awartika, Walsh, Robert J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cribbs, Malcolm
• Application Number:
  US16/048,934
• Publication Number:
  US 20180337956A1
• Time in Patent Office: 589 Days
• 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 63/108 when the policy decisions are valid for a limited amount of time
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/20 for managing network security; network security policies in general filtering policies H04L63/0227
• 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 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/35 Protecting application or service provisioning, e.g. securing SIM application provisioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/61 Time-dependent
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/64 using geofenced areas
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information

Abstract

A wireless device can obtain a network information record from another device operating as a credential source. The network information record can include network access information for a wireless network (e.g., SSID and password) and a usage policy specifying conditions under which the wireless device should search for the wireless network (e.g., temporal and/or spatial conditions). The wireless device can implement the usage policy by searching for the wireless network only when the conditions are satisfied. In some instances, the network access information can include instructions for dynamically generating time-varying network access information, and the wireless device can use the instructions to generate network access information during a search for wireless networks.

Claims

1. A method executed in a wireless device, the method comprising:

obtaining a first network information record for a first wireless network, the first network information record including instructions for dynamically generating a network name for the first wireless network using an algorithm and further including an input parameter to initialize the algorithm, wherein the network name for the first wireless network changes as a function of time;

storing the first network information record in a set of network information records for known networks; and

searching for a wireless network to join, using the set of network information records,

wherein searching for a wireless network to join includes executing the algorithm to dynamically generate the network name for the first wireless network and using the dynamically-generated network name to detect the first wireless network.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the algorithm to dynamically generate the network name is an iterative algorithm and wherein the first network information record further includes a rule usable to determine a number of iterations of the iterative algorithm to perform.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the iterative algorithm is based on a pseudorandom number generator.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein obtaining the first network information record includes:

establishing a secure communication channel with a credential source device; and

receiving the first network information record via the secure communication channel.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the secure communication channel is a wired communication channel.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the first network information record further includes instructions usable by the wireless device to dynamically generate an access credential for the first wireless network.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the instructions usable by the wireless device to dynamically generate the access credential for the first wireless network include instructions for dynamically generating the access credential using an access-credential algorithm and further including an input parameter to initialize the access-credential algorithm.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the first network information record further includes an access credential, the method further comprising:

using the access credential to join the first wireless network in the event that the first wireless network is found in the search.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein using the dynamically-generated network name to detect the first wireless network includes broadcasting the dynamically-generated network name for the first wireless network.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein using the dynamically-generated network name to detect the first wireless network includes listening for a broadcast beacon signal that includes the dynamically-generated network name for the first wireless network.

11. An electronic device comprising:

a data communication interface to communicate with a wireless network;

a storage medium to store a set of network information records for known networks; and

a processor coupled to the data communication interface and the storage medium, the processor configured to;

obtain a first network information record for a first wireless network the first network information record including instructions for dynamically generating a network name for the first wireless network using an algorithm and further including an input parameter to initialize the algorithm, wherein the network name for the first wireless network changes as a function of time;

store the first network information record in the set of network information records for known networks; and

search for a wireless network to join, using the set of network information records, wherein searching for a wireless network to join includes executing the algorithm to dynamically generate the network name for the first wireless network and using the dynamically-generated network name to detect the first wireless network.

12. The electronic device of claim 11 wherein the data communication interface includes a wired communication interface and wherein the processor is further configured to:

establish a secure communication channel with a credential source device via the wired communication interface; and

receive the first network information record via the secure communication channel.

13. The electronic device of claim 11 wherein the first network information record further includes instructions usable by the processor to dynamically generate an access credential for the first wireless network.

14. The electronic device of claim 13 wherein the processor is further configured to generate the access credential according to the instructions in the event that the first wireless network is found in the search.

15. The electronic device of claim 11 wherein the processor is further configured such that using the dynamically-generated network name to detect the first wireless network includes broadcasting the dynamically-generated network name for the first wireless network.

16. The electronic device of claim 11 wherein the processor is further configured such that using the dynamically-generated network name to detect the first wireless network includes listening for a broadcast beacon signal that includes the dynamically-generated network name for the first wireless network.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon program code instructions that, when executed by a processor in a wireless device, cause the wireless device to perform a method comprising:

obtaining a first network information record for a first wireless network, the first network information record including instructions for dynamically generating a network name for the first wireless network using an algorithm and further including an input parameter to initialize the algorithm, wherein the network name for the first wireless network changes as a function of time;

storing the first network information record in a set of network information records for known networks; and

searching for a wireless network to join, using the set of network information records,

wherein searching for a wireless network to join includes executing the algorithm to dynamically generate the network name for the first wireless network and using the dynamically-generated network name to detect the first wireless network.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17 wherein the algorithm to dynamically generate the network name is an iterative algorithm and wherein the first network information record further includes a rule usable to determine a number of iterations of the iterative algorithm to perform.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17 wherein the first network information record further includes instructions usable by the wireless device to dynamically generate an access credential for the first wireless network.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 19 wherein the instructions usable by the wireless device to dynamically generate the access credential for the first wireless network include instructions for dynamically generating the access credential using an iterative algorithm, an input parameter to initialize the iterative algorithm, and a rule usable to determine a number of iterations of the iterative algorithm to perform.