Method and apparatus for securing communications

• US 20020072349A1
• Filed: 10/17/2001
• Published: 06/13/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/1997
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Interlok Key Management LLC
• Original Assignee: Interlott Technologies Incorporated (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Geiselman, John Milton, Lerner, Daniel M., Bobola, Robert E.
• Granted Patent: US 6,766,161 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/411
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/382 insuring higher security of transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/126 Anti-theft arrangements, e.g. protection against subscriber identity module [SIM] cloning

Abstract

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for identifying and minimizing the use of cloned communicating devices which communicate with a host device. The method requires that the communicating devices send a transaction specific code and an identification code, along with each communication wherein the transaction specific code changes between each communication. One communicating device, either the authentic device or a fraudulent device might communicate with the host successfully any number of times. However, when a second devices attempts communication whether that device is the authorized device or fraudulent device, the host device will receive a transaction specific code which is inconsistent or out of sequence with that expected by the host. The host device will preferably disallow all further communications involving the particular identification code until the authorized user can be contacted and the transaction specific code reset or even a new set of transaction specific codes are provided. Alternatively, upon detection of the inconsistent transaction specific code, the host computer may prompt the user for information specific to the authorized user that is not stored in the communicating device and would not be readily available to the clone device or the user of the clone device.

Claims

1. A method of authenticating a communication, comprising:

(a) providing a first communicating device with a first sequence of transaction specific codes;

(b) providing a second communicating device with a second sequence of transaction specific codes, wherein the first and second sequences are identical;

(c) setting pointers in the first and second sequences at the same transaction specific code;

(d) transmitting a communication from the first communicating device to the second communicating device along with a transaction specific code from the first sequence;

(e) refusing communications having a transaction specific code that is different from the transaction specific code expected by the second communicating device; and

(f) incrementing the pointers in both the first and second communicating devices.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first sequence of transaction codes is stored in a database.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first sequence of transaction codes is calculated.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the second sequence of transaction specific codes is calculated.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the first communicating device is a credit card and the second communicating device is a central clearinghouse.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the first communicating device is a cellular telephone and the second communicating device is a cellular network.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the first communicating device is a garage door remote and the second communicating device is a garage door opener.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the first communicating device is an automobile remote unlocking device and the second communicating device is an automobile remote unlocking device receiver.

23. The method of claim 1, wherein the first communicating device is a computer and the second communicating device is a computer.

24. The method of claim 1, wherein the first communicating device is a direct broadcast television system and the second communicating device is a television receiver.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication is authenticated through a means selected from electrical, radio, chemical and optical.

5. A method of authenticating a communication, comprising:

(a) providing a first communicating device with a first identification code and a first sequence of transaction specific codes;

(b) providing a host communicating device with the first identification code and the first sequence of transaction specific codes;

(c) setting pointers in the first sequence of transaction specific codes of both the first communicating device and the host device at the same transaction specific code;

(d) transmitting a communication from the first communicating device to the host communicating device along with the first identification code and the transaction specific code associated with the pointer in the first sequence of transaction specific codes;

(e) disallowing communications transmitted with the first identification code that have a transaction specific code that is different from the transaction specific code associated with the pointer in the first sequence of transaction specific codes; and

(f) incrementing the pointers in the first communicating device and the host communicating device.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the first sequence of transaction codes is stored in a database.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the first sequence of transaction codes is calculated.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the second sequence of transaction specific codes is calculated.

9. A method of authenticating a communication, comprising:

(a) providing each of a plurality of communicating devices with a device identification code and an associated sequence of transaction specific codes;

(b) providing a host communicating device with an identical copy of each of the device identification codes and the associated sequences of transaction specific codes;

(c) setting pointers in the communicating device and the host device at the same transaction specific code in the sequence of transaction specific codes associated with each identification code;

1 (d) transmitting a communication from the a communicating device to the host communicating device along with the device identification code and the transaction specific code associated with the pointer in the sequence of transaction specific codes;

(e) disallowing communications transmitted with the device identification code that have a transaction specific code that is different from the transaction specific code associated with the pointer in the sequence of transaction specific codes; and

(f) incrementing the pointers in the communicating device and the host communicating device.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first sequence of transaction codes is stored in a database.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the first sequence of transaction codes is calculated.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the second sequence of transaction specific codes is calculated.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

(b) changing the transaction specific code for subsequent attempted communications.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

(c) disallowing communication having an improper transaction specific code.

13. A method of detecting the existence of two or more communicating devices having the same identification code comprising the steps of:

a) transmitting an identification code and a transaction specific code from a first communicating device to a host device;

b) comparing the transaction specific code received by the host device with a next expected transaction specific code for a communicating device having the particular identification code.

14. A method of communicating between a communicating device and a host device comp sing the step of:

(a) transmitting an identification code and a transaction specific code to the host device wherein the identification code is unique to the communicating device and the transaction specific codes are predetermined and known by the communicating device and the host device for the purpose of allowing the host device to detect the usage of a fraudulent communicating device having the same identification code.

17. A method of disallowing communications initiated by fraudulent communicating devices comprising the steps of:

a) receiving an identification code and a transaction specific code from a communicating device;

b) searching a list of transaction specific codes in the host device;

c) having a predetermined sequence of transaction specific codes for the next expected transaction specific code from a device having the received identification code.

18. A method of re-synchronizing the next expected transaction specific code between communicating devices by matching a pattern of transaction specific codes in the communicating device with a pattern of transaction specific codes in the host device.