Mobile IP communication scheme incorporating individual user authentication

• US 20020186688A1
• Filed: 07/12/2002
• Published: 12/12/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/1997
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Ishiyama, Masahiro, Inoue, Atsushi, Fukumoto, Atsushi, Okamoto, Toshio, Tsuda, Yoshiyuki
• Granted Patent: US 6,973,068 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/352
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/33 using certificates
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3224 Transactions dependent on location of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/083 using passwords cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using a predetermined code H04L9/3226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0838 using one-time-passwords
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/00 Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications user-to-user messaging H04L51/00; network arrangements, protocols or services for supporting real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/40 for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity, e.g. service redundancy protocols, protocol state redundancy or protocol service redirection management of faults, events, alarms or notifications in data switching networks H04L41/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/068 using credential vaults, e.g. password manager applications or one time password [OTP] applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/04 Registration at HLR or HSS [Home Subscriber Server]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/04 Network layer protocols, e.g. mobile IP [Internet Protocol]

Abstract

A mobile IP communication scheme capable of authenticating an individual user who is operating the mobile computer when the mobile computer is connected to a visited site network and transmits a current location registration message to the home agent is disclosed. A user authentication to judge a properness of a user of the mobile computer is carried out according to a user input based information, and the current location of the mobile computer is registered at the mobile computer management device (home agent) when the user is judged as a proper user. The user authentication can be carried out either at the mobile computer management device according to a user input based information received from the mobile computer, or at the mobile computer according to an information entered by the user at the mobile computer.

Claims

1. A mobile computer management device located in a home network of a mobile computer for enabling the mobile computer to carry out communications while moving over inter-connected networks, the mobile computer management device comprising:

a registration unit for registering an information on a current location of the mobile computer, based on a registration message transmitted from the mobile computer, which is currently located outside the home network;

a transfer unit for transferring packets destined to the mobile computer to the current location of the mobile computer according to the information registered by the registration unit; and

a user authentication unit for carrying out a user authentication, prior to a registration of the information on the current location of the mobile computer, to judge a properness of a user of the mobile computer according to a user-input-based information received from the mobile computer, and controlling the registration of the information by the registration unit according to a result of the user authentication.

2. The mobile computer management device of claim 1, further comprising:

a host authentication unit for carrying out a host authentication, prior to the registration of the information on the current location of the mobile computer, to judge a properness of the mobile computer according to the registration message received from the mobile computer, and permitting the registration of the information by the registration unit when both the host authentication and the user authentication succeed.

3. The mobile computer management device of claim 1, further comprising:

a transmission unit for transmitting, prior to the registration of the information, a challenge message that requests returning of a user authentication information to the mobile computer when a new registration message containing the information on the current location of the mobile computer is received from the mobile computer;

wherein the user authentication unit judges the properness of the user according to the user input based information which is contained in a response message returned from the mobile computer in response to the challenge message as the user authentication information.

4. The mobile computer management device of claim 3, wherein the transmission unit also transmits the challenge message that requests returning of the user authentication information to the mobile computer when another registration message for re-registration of an already registered current location is received from the mobile computer and a prescribed condition indicates that the user authentication is required to be executed again, prior to the re-registration by the registration unit.

5. The mobile computer management device of claim 4, wherein said another message for re-registration is received at a prescribed interval, and the challenge message is transmitted at an interval longer than the prescribed interval.

6. The mobile computer management device of claim 3, wherein the transmission unit transmits the challenge message that contains a challenge code, and the user authentication unit judges the properness of the user by checking a one-time password based on the challenge code which is returned from the mobile computer as the user-input-based information.

7. The mobile computer management device of claim 1, wherein the user authentication unit refuses subsequent registration requests from the mobile computer when the user authentication according to the user-input-based information received from the mobile computer fails for a prescribed number of times consecutively.

8. The mobile computer management device of claim 1, wherein the user authentication unit judges the properness of the user according to whether a password returned from the mobile computer as the user-input-based information coincides with a pre-registered one.

9. A mobile computer device capable of carrying out communications while moving over inter-connected networks, the mobile computer device comprising:

a registration message transmission unit for transmitting a registration message containing an information on a current location of the mobile computer device, from outside a home network of the mobile computer device to a mobile computer management device located at the home network, the mobile computer management device having a function for managing the information on the current location of the mobile computer device and transferring packets destined to the mobile computer device to the current location of the mobile computer device;

a user input unit for accepting a user input for user authentication; and

a user-input-based information transmission unit for transmitting to the mobile computer management device a response message containing information based on the user input as a user authentication information, when a challenge message that requests returning of the user authentication information is received from the mobile computer management device in response to the registration message.

10. The mobile computer device of claim 9, further comprising:

an authentication unit for judging a properness of the mobile computer management device according to the challenge message received from the mobile computer management device;

wherein the user-input-based information transmission unit transmits the response message containing the information based on the user input when the mobile computer management device is judged as proper.

11. The mobile computer device of claim 9, wherein the user input based information transmission unit transmits the response message containing a one-time password based on a challenge code contained in the challenge message received from the mobile computer management device as the user input based information.

12. The mobile computer device of claim 9, further comprising:

a message transmission stopping unit for stopping subsequent transmissions of the registration message from the mobile computer device when a message indicating a failure of the user authentication is received from the mobile computer management device for a prescribed number of times consecutively.

13. The mobile computer device of claim 9, wherein the user input based information transmission unit transmits a password entered by a user at the mobile computer device as the user input based information.

15. The mobile computer device of claim 14, wherein the user authentication unit permits reading from the external memory device through the external interface unit when the first user authentication succeeds.

16. The mobile computer device of claim 14, wherein the user authentication unit permits transmission of the registration message by the registration message transmission unit when the first user authentication succeeds.

17. The mobile computer device of claim 14, wherein the user information stored in the external memory device contains a personal information of a user who uses the mobile computer device, and the user authentication unit judges that the first user authentication succeeds when a user authentication information stored in the mobile computer device in correspondence to the personal information stored in the external memory device coincides with the user input as entered by the user at a time of connecting the external memory device to the mobile computer device.

18. The mobile computer device of claim 14, further comprising:

a reading prohibiting unit for prohibiting subsequent reading from the external memory device through the external interface unit when the first user authentication fails for a prescribed number of times consecutively.

19. The mobile computer device of claim 14, further comprising:

a message transmission stopping unit for stopping subsequent transmissions of the registration message from the mobile computer device when the first user authentication fails for a prescribed number of times consecutively.

20. The mobile computer device of claim 14, further comprising:

a reading prohibiting unit for prohibiting subsequent reading from the external memory device through the external interface unit when the second user authentication at the mobile computer management device fails for a prescribed number of times consecutively.

21. The mobile computer device of claim 14, further comprising:

a message transmission stopping unit for stopping subsequent transmissions of the registration message from the mobile computer device when the second user authentication at the mobile computer management device fails for a prescribed number of times consecutively.

22. The mobile computer device of claim 14, wherein the network information to be read out from the external memory device contains at least one of a home address information of the mobile computer device, an address information of the mobile computer management device, and an information for host authentication to be carried out between the mobile computer device and the mobile computer management device.

23. The mobile computer device of claim 14, wherein the external memory device also stores a security information with respect to a packet relay device which is capable of processing encrypted packets transmitted from the mobile computer device, and the mobile computer device carries out cipher communications using an encryption processing from the visited site, by using the security information read out from the external memory device through the external interface unit.

24. The mobile computer device of claim 14, further comprising:

an internal memory for temporarily storing the desired information read out from the external memory device, wherein the desired information temporarily stored in the internal memory is deleted when communications using the desired information is finished.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the user authentication is carried out at the mobile computer management device according to a user-input-based information transmitted from the mobile computer to the mobile computer management device.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein the user authentication is carried out locally at the mobile computer according to an information entered by the user at the mobile computer.

14. A mobile computer device capable of carrying out communications while moving over inter-connected networks, the mobile computer device comprising:

an external interface unit for reading out desired information from an external memory device connected to the mobile computer device, wherein the external memory device stores at least a user information and a network information to be used for communications at a visited site;

a user authentication unit for carrying out first user authentication locally at the mobile computer device according to the user information stored in the external memory device and a user input;

a registration message transmission unit for transmitting a registration message containing an information on a current location of the mobile computer device, from outside a home network of the mobile computer device to a mobile computer management device located at the home network, by using the network information read out from the external memory device under a control by the user authentication unit, the mobile computer management device having a function for managing the information on the current location of the mobile computer device and transferring packets destined to the mobile computer device to the current location of the mobile computer device; and

a user-input-based information transmission unit for transmitting to the mobile computer management device a user-input-based information to be used for second user authentication at the mobile computer management device.

25. A method for registering a mobile computer in a mobile computer management device for enabling the mobile computer to carry out communications while moving over inter-connected networks, the mobile computer management device having having a function for managing information on a current location of the mobile computer device and transferring packets destined to the mobile computer device to the current location of the mobile computer device, the method comprising the steps of:

transmitting a registration message containing the information on the current location of the mobile computer from the mobile computer at a visited site to a mobile computer management device at a home network of the mobile computer;

carrying out a user authentication to judge a properness of a user of the mobile computer according to a user-input-based information; and

registering the current location of the mobile computer at the mobile computer management device when the user is judged as a proper user.

28. An article of manufacture, comprising:

a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied therein for causing a computer to function as a mobile computer management device located in a home network of a mobile computer for enabling the mobile computer to carry out communications while moving over inter-connected networks, the computer readable program code means includes;

first computer readable program code means for causing said computer to register an information on a current location of the mobile computer, based on a registration message transmitted from the mobile computer, which is currently located outside the home network;

second computer readable program code means for causing said computer to transfer packets destined to the mobile computer to the current location of the mobile computer according to the information registered by the first computer readable program code means; and

third computer readable program code means for causing said computer to carry out a user authentication, prior to a registration of the information on the current location of the mobile computer, to judge a properness of a user of the mobile computer according to a user-input-based information received from the mobile computer, and controlling the registration of the information by the first computer readable program code means according to a result of the user authentication.

29. An article of manufacture, comprising:

a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied therein for causing a computer to function as a mobile computer capable of carrying out communications while moving over inter-connected networks, the computer readable program code means includes;

first computer readable program code means for causing said computer to transmit a registration message containing an information on a current location of the mobile computer, from outside a home network of the mobile computer to a mobile computer management device located at the home network, the mobile computer management device having a function for managing the information on the current location of the mobile computer and transferring packets destined to the mobile computer to the current location of the mobile computer; and

second computer readable program code means for causing said computer to accept a user input for user authentication; and

third computer readable program code means for causing said computer to transmit to the mobile computer management device a response message containing information based on the user input as a user authentication information, when a challenge message that requests returning of the user authentication information is received from the mobile computer management device in response to the registration message.

30. An article of manufacture, comprising:

a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied therein for causing a computer to function as a mobile computer device capable of carrying out communications while moving over inter-connected networks, the computer readable program code means includes;

first computer readable program code means for causing said computer to read out desired information from an external memory device connected to the mobile computer device, wherein the external memory device stores at least a user information and a network information to be used for communications at a visited site;

second computer readable program code means for causing said computer to carry out first user authentication locally at the mobile computer device according to the user information stored in the external memory device and a user input;

third computer readable program code means for causing said computer to transmit a registration message containing an information on a current location of the mobile computer device, from outside a home network of the mobile computer device to a mobile computer management device located at the home network, by using the network information read out from the external memory device under a control by the second computer readable program code means, the mobile computer management device having a function for managing the information on the current location of the mobile computer device and transferring packets destined to the mobile computer device to the current location of the mobile computer device; and

fourth computer readable program code means for causing said computer to transmit to the mobile computer management device a user-input-based information to be used for second user authentication at the mobile computer management device.