System and method for authenticating live feed from surveillance system

• US 20040075555A1
• Filed: 10/17/2002
• Published: 04/22/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Gantman, Alexander
• Application Number:
  US10/274,162
• Publication Number:
  US 20040075555A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/541
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1965 the vehicle being an aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19673 Addition of time stamp, i.e. time metadata, to video stream
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/046 prevention of tampering with detection circuits

Abstract

A secure signal transmitter, such as an LED, is disposed in an intended observation scope of a secure stream capture device, such as a video camera. The secure signal transmitter continuously transmits a secure signal that an observer/processor in a remote location can verify, to thereby confirm that the video being sent from the camera actually encompasses the intended scope.

Claims

1. A method for surveillance, comprising:

generating at least one verification signal detectable within an observation scope of at least one surveilled location;

sensing the verification signal;

sending the verification signal to a monitoring location; and

based on the verification signal, determining whether a surveillance stream generated by sensing the observation scope is a valid stream.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the verification signal is a secure audible or visual signal sensed by an audio/video camera.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the verification signal is a visual signal.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the verification signal is an audible signal.

5. The method of claim 1, comprising generating a challenge at the monitoring location and generating the verification signal in response thereto.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the challenge is generated by a manual action of a person.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the challenge is automatically generated.

8. The method of claim 1, comprising generating the verification signal without receiving an external challenge, using a secret.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the act of determining includes using a key to process the verification signal.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the verification signal is generated using a random seed.

11. The method of claim 10, comprising refreshing the random seed by sending the seed from the monitoring location to the surveilled location.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the acts of generating, sensing, sending, and determining are executed substantially in real time.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein at least the acts of generating and sensing are executed substantially in real time, and the act of determining is not undertaken in real time.

14. The method of claim 13, comprising recording the verification signal in real time using a trusted observer and associating a digital signature therewith.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the surveilled location is in a moving platform.

16. The method of claim 1, comprising generating the verification signal substantially continuously.

17. A surveillance system, comprising:

at least one secure signal transmitter disposable within an intended observation scope in a surveilled location and configured to transmit at least one authentication signal;

at least one authentication signal capture device disposable in the surveilled location to receive the authentication signal; and

at least one receiver disposable in a monitoring location remote from the surveilled location and configured to receive signals from the capture device, at least including the authentication signal, for use thereof in verifying that a scope of surveillance is an intended scope in real time.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the secure signal transmitter is an audible or visual signal generating device and the capture device is an audio/video camera.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the authentication signal is a visual signal.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the authentication signal is an audible signal.

21. The system of claim 17, wherein the secure signal transmitter generates the authentication signal in response to a challenge transmitted at the monitoring location.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the challenge is generated by a manual action of a person.

23. The system of claim 21, comprising at least one processor at the monitoring location generating the challenge.

24. The system of claim 17, wherein the secure signal transmitter generates the authentication signal without receiving an external challenge, using a secret.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the secure signal transmitter generates the authentication signal using a random seed.

26. The system of claim 25, comprising a processor at the monitoring location generating a refreshed random seed, the refreshed random seed being sent from the monitoring location to the surveilled location.

27. The system of claim 17, further comprising a recording device recording the authentication signal in real time as a trusted observer and associating a digital signature therewith.

28. The system of claim 17, wherein the surveilled location is in a moving platform.

29. A system for surveillance, comprising:

means for generating a secure signal stream detectable within an observation scope of at least one surveilled location;

means for sensing the secure signal stream;

means for sending the secure signal stream to a monitoring location; and

means for determining, based on the secure signal stream, whether a surveillance stream generated by sensing the observation scope is a valid stream.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein the secure signal stream is an audible or visual stream.

31. The system of claim 29, comprising means for generating a challenge at the monitoring location, the means for generating the secure signal stream being responsive thereto.

32. The system of claim 29, wherein the means for generating the secure signal stream functions without receiving an external challenge, using a secret.

33. The system of claim 29, comprising means for recording the secure signal stream in real time using a trusted observer and associating a digital signature therewith in real time.

34. The system of claim 29, wherein the surveilled location is in an aircraft.

35. The system of claim 29, comprising generating the secure signal stream substantially continuously.

36. A surveillance system, comprising:

a platform defining a surveilled location;

at least one audio/video camera in the surveilled location and generating a real time audio/video stream of an intended observation scope, the audio/video stream being transmitted to a monitoring location remote from the platform;

at least one secure signal transmitter disposed within the scope and generating a secure audible and/or visual signal observable in the audio/video stream; and

at least one observer at the monitoring location verifying in real time that the audio/video stream is of the intended scope, based on the secure audible and/or visual signal.

37. The system of claim 36, wherein the observer includes or accesses a processor.

38. The system of claim 36, wherein the secure audible and/or visual signal is generated in response to a challenge from the monitoring location.

39. The system of claim 36, wherein the secure audible and/or visual signal is generated based on at least one random seed, without receiving a challenge from the monitoring location.

40. The system of claim 39, wherein the random seed is periodically refreshed from the monitoring location.

41. The system of claim 36, further comprising at least one trusted observer recording the audio/video stream in real time and time-stamping and digitally signing the stream, for subsequent verification of the stream.