Method and apparatus for authenticating users of an emergency communication network
First Claim
1. A method of authenticating a user of an emergency communication network, the method comprising the steps of:
- collecting multiple authentication factors associated with the user, no single factor being sufficient to authenticate the user on the emergency communication network;
applying the multiple authentication factors to a weighted authentication process; and
determining, from the weighted authentication process, a level of access to the emergency communication network be provided to the user.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An authentication system is configured to weight multiple available network supplied and user supplied authentication factors to determine whether a user should be provided with access to an Emergency Communication Network (ECN). The multiple factors may include the location of the user, MIN, short PIN, token, biometric information, and other information. The level of access to be provided to the user may be tiered based on the authentication level achieved during the weighting process. Authentication information may be shared between groups of individuals, so that the authentication requirements for group members may be reduced as other members of the group supply authentication information to the ECN. Group authentication may be used to enable group services such as conferencing and push-to-talk to be set up automatically for the group.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of authenticating a user of an emergency communication network, the method comprising the steps of:
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collecting multiple authentication factors associated with the user, no single factor being sufficient to authenticate the user on the emergency communication network; applying the multiple authentication factors to a weighted authentication process; and determining, from the weighted authentication process, a level of access to the emergency communication network be provided to the user. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of enabling in-bound calls to be connected to a first user using resources associated with an emergency communication network, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving, by the emergency communication network, authentication information associated with a first user; associating, by the emergency communication network, telephone information with the first user; receiving, by a non-emergency communication network, a setup request indicating that a user of the non-emergency communication network would like to establish a session with the first user; and enabling the session using at least some of the resources associated with the emergency communication network.
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14. A method of authenticating a group of users of an emergency communication network, the method comprising the steps of:
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establishing a group association between a plurality of potential users of the emergency communication network; receiving authentication information from at least one of the potential users of the group association; authenticating the at least one of the potential users using the authentication information; and using the authentication information from the at least one of the potential users in connection with authenticating other potential users of the emergency communication network. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification