System, Method and Apparatus for Electronically Protecting Data Associated with RFID Tags

• US 20070204329A1
• Filed: 04/11/2007
• Published: 08/30/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/16/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kloke LLC
• Original Assignee: DT Labs LLC
• Inventors: Peckover, Douglas
• Granted Patent: US 8,613,107 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6245 Protecting personal data, e.g. for financial or medical purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2153 Using hardware token as a secondary aspect
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0281 Proxies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32

Abstract

The present invention provides a system, method and apparatus for protecting sensitive data associated with RFID tags by extracting the sensitive data from RFID data associated with the RFID tag, generating a pointer indicating for the sensitive data, storing the extracted data and the pointer in a secure storage and replacing the sensitive data in the RFID data with the pointer. Furthermore, the present invention provides a method for protecting sensitive data associated with an RFID tag by receiving RFID data from the RFID tag, authenticating the RFID data, retrieving the sensitive data associated with the RFID tag from a secure storage using the RFID data whenever the RFID data is authentic and providing the sensitive data to one or more applications.

Claims

1. A system for protecting sensitive data associated with an RFID tag comprising:

a RFID tag reader that obtains RFID data from the RFID tag;

a secure storage that stores the sensitive data associated with the RFID data;

a storage manager communicably coupled to the secure storage that retrieves the sensitive data using the RFID data; and

an application communicably coupled to the RFID tag reader and the storage manager that receives the RFID data from the RFID tag reader and requests the sensitive data from the storage manager using the RFID data.

2. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the RFID data comprises a RFID key, nonsensitive data, one or more pointers to the sensitive data stored in the secure storage or a combination thereof.

3. The system as recited in claim 2, wherein the pointer comprises random data that is of a same data type as the sensitive data.

4. The system as recited in claim 2, wherein the pointer is subsequently used to access the sensitive data after proper authentication.

5. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein access to and storage of the sensitive data is governed by one or more rules.

6. The system as recited in claim 1, further comprising an index communicably coupled to the storage manager.

7. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the storage manager authenticates the RFID data and validates one or more permissions of the application prior to providing the sensitive data to the application.

8. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the RFID tag reader and the application are resident on a client and the secure storage and the storage manager are resident on a remotely located server.

9. The system as recited in claim 8, further comprising:

a content manager resident on the client and communicably coupled between the application and the storage manager; and

a client storage resident on the client and communicably coupled to the content manager.

10. The system as recited in claim 8, wherein:

the client comprises a computer, a laptop computer, a handheld computer, a desktop computer, a workstation, a data terminal, a phone, a mobile phone, a personal data assistant, a media player, a gaming console, a security device, a surveillance device or a combination thereof, and

the server is communicably coupled to the one or more clients via a computer network, a telecommunications network, a wireless communications link, a physical connection, a landline, a satellite communications link, an optical communications link, a cellular network or a combination thereof.

11. The system as recited in claim 8, wherein the communications between the server and the client are encrypted.

12. The system as recited in claim 8, wherein the server further comprises:

an application program interface layer;

an authentication layer coupled to the application program layer;

a plug-in layer coupled to the authentication layer;

a data layer coupled to the plug-in layer; and

an events layer coupled to the data layer, the plug-in layer and the authentication layer.

13. A system for protecting sensitive data associated with an RFID tag comprising:

a RFID tag writer that embeds RFID data in the RFID tag;

a secure storage that stores the sensitive data associated with the RFID data;

a storage manager communicably coupled to the secure storage that stores the sensitive data using the RFID data; and

an application communicably coupled to the RFID tag writer and the storage manager that receives the RFID data from the storage manager and sends the RFID data to the RFID tag writer.

14. The system as recited in claim 13, wherein the RFID data comprises a RFID key, nonsensitive data, one or more pointers to the sensitive data stored in the secure storage or a combination thereof.

15. The system as recited in claim 14, further comprising a pointer generator communicably coupled to the storage manager.

16. The system as recited in claim 14, wherein the pointer is subsequently used to access the sensitive data after proper authentication.

17. The system as recited in claim 13, wherein access to and storage of the sensitive data is governed by one or more rules.

18. The system as recited in claim 13, further comprising an index communicably coupled to the storage manager.

19. The system as recited in claim 13, wherein the storage manager authenticates the RFID data and validates one or more permissions of the application prior to providing the sensitive data to the application.

20. The system as recited in claim 13, wherein the RFID tag writer and the application are resident on a client and the secure storage and the storage manager are resident on a remotely located server.

21. The system as recited in claim 20, further comprising:

a content manager resident on the client and communicably coupled between the application and the storage manager; and

a client storage resident on the client and communicably coupled to the content manager.

22. The system as recited in claim 20, wherein:

the client comprises a computer, a laptop computer, a handheld computer, a desktop computer, a workstation, a data terminal, a personal data assistant, a media recorder, a security device, a surveillance device or a combination thereof; and

the server is communicably coupled to the one or more clients via a computer network, a telecommunications network, a wireless communications link, a physical connection, a landline, a satellite communications link, an optical communications link, a cellular network or a combination thereof.

23. The system as recited in claim 20, wherein the communications between the server and the client are encrypted.

24. The system as recited in claim 20, wherein the server further comprises:

an application program interface layer;

an authentication layer coupled to the application program layer;

a plug-in layer coupled to the authentication layer;

a data layer coupled to the plug-in layer; and

an events layer coupled to the data layer, the plug-in layer and the authentication layer.

25. An apparatus for protecting sensitive data associated with a RFID tag comprising:

a RFID tag writer;

a data storage;

one or more applications communicably coupled to the RFID tag reader or writer;

a communications interface to a remote server having a secure storage; and

a content manager communicably coupled to the data storage, the one or more applications and the communications interface, wherein the content manager controls access to the data storage, extracts the sensitive data associated with the RFID tag from the data storage, sends the extracted data to the remote server for storage via the communications interface, receives a pointer indicating where the extracted data has been stored, replaces the sensitive data on the data storage with the pointer, and sends the pointer to the RFID tag writer to be written on the RFID tag.

26. The apparatus as recited in claim 25, wherein the content manager further receives a first request from the one or more applications for data stored on the data storage, determines whether the requested data includes the sensitive data, provides the requested data to the one or more applications whenever the requested data does not include the sensitive data, and performs the following steps whenever the requested data includes the sensitive data:

sends a second request containing the pointer to a server that authenticates the second request, denies the first request whenever the authentication fails, and receives and provides the sensitive data to the one or more applications whenever the authentication succeeds.

27. A method for protecting sensitive data associated with a RFID tag comprising the steps of:

extracting the sensitive data from RFID data associated with the RFID tag;

generating a pointer indicating for the sensitive data;

storing the extracted data and the pointer in a secure storage; and

replacing the sensitive data in the RFID data with the pointer.

28. The method as recited in claim 27, further comprising the steps of:

receiving or creating the RFID data;

determining whether the RFID data contains the sensitive data;

modifying or creating one or more permissions and authentications for future access to the extracted data;

or

writing the RFID data to the RFID tag.

29. The method as recited in claim 27, wherein:

the steps of extracting the sensitive data from RFID data associated with the RFID tag and replacing the sensitive data in the RFID data with the pointer are performed by a client;

the steps of generating a pointer indicating for the sensitive data and storing the extracted data and the pointer in a secure storage are performed by a server; and

the client is communicably coupled to the server.

30. The method as recited in claim 28, further comprising the steps of:

sending the extracted data to the server;

receiving the extracted data from the client;

sending the pointer to the client; and

receiving the pointer from the server.

31. The method as recited in claim 27, wherein the RFID data comprises a RFID key, nonsensitive data, one or more pointers to the sensitive data stored in the secure storage or a combination thereof.

32. The method as recited in claim 29, wherein:

the client comprises a computer, a laptop computer, a handheld computer, a desktop computer, a workstation, a data terminal, a phone, a mobile phone, a personal data assistant, a media player, a gaming console, a security device, a surveillance device or a combination thereof; and

the server is communicably coupled to the one or more clients via a computer network, a telecommunications network, a wireless communications link, a physical connection, a landline, a satellite communications link, an optical communications link, a cellular network or a combination thereof.

33. The method as recited in claim 27, wherein the received sensitive information cannot be further transferred or stored.

34. The method as recited in claim 27, wherein the sensitive data comprises personal data, financial data, corporate data, legal data, government data, police data, immigration data, military data, intelligence data, security data, surveillance data, technical data, copyrighted content or a combination thereof.

35. A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium for protecting sensitive data associated with an RFID tag comprising:

a code segment for extracting the sensitive data from RFID data associated with the RFID tag;

a code segment for generating a pointer indicating for the sensitive data;

a code segment for storing the extracted data and the pointer in a secure storage; and

a code segment for replacing the sensitive data in the RFID data with the pointer.

36. A method for protecting sensitive data associated with an RFID tag comprising the steps of:

receiving RFID data from the RFID tag;

authenticating the RFID data;

retrieving the sensitive data associated with the RFID tag from a secure storage using the RFID data whenever the RFID data is authentic; and

providing the sensitive data to one or more applications.

37. The method as recited in claim 36, wherein the RFID data comprises a RFID key, nonsensitive data, one or more pointers to the sensitive data stored in the secure storage or a combination thereof.

38. The method as recited in claim 36, further comprising the steps of:

passing the RFID tag within a range of an RFID reader;

determining whether the RFID data contains the pointer;

or

writing the RFID data to the RFID tag.

39. The method as recited in claim 38, wherein:

the steps of receiving RFID data from the RFID tag and providing the sensitive data to one or more applications are performed by a client;

the steps of authenticating the RFID data and retrieving the sensitive data associated with the RFID tag from a secure storage using the RFID data whenever the RFID data is authentic are performed by a server; and

the client is communicably coupled to the server.

40. The method as recited in claim 39, further comprising the steps of:

sending the RFID data to the server;

receiving the RFID data from the client;

sending the sensitive data to the client; and

receiving the sensitive data from the server.

41. A computer program for protecting sensitive data associated with an RFID tag comprising:

a code segment for receiving RFID data from the RFID tag;

a code segment for authenticating the RFID data;

a code segment for retrieving the sensitive data associated with the RFID tag from a secure storage using the RFID data whenever the RFID data is authentic; and

a code segment for providing the sensitive data to one or more applications.