MASS SUBSCRIBER MANAGEMENT

• US 20080152140A1
• Filed: 12/13/2007
• Published: 06/26/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: KoolSpan, Inc.
• Original Assignee: KoolSpan, Inc.
• Inventors: FASCENDA, Anthony C.
• Application Number:
  US11/955,855
• Publication Number:
  US 20080152140A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 380/258
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/80 Wireless
• 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 63/123 received data contents, e.g. message integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0838 Key agreement, i.e. key establishment technique in which a shared key is derived by parties as a function of information contributed by, or associated with, each of these network architectures or network communication protocols for key exchange in a packet data network H04L63/061
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3234 involving additional secure or trusted devices, e.g. TPM, smartcard, USB or software token network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using an additional device in a packet data network H04L63/0853

Abstract

An authentication and mass subscriber management technique is provided by employing a key table derived as a subset of a larger key pool, a network edge device, and authentication tokens attached on both the network edge device and on a subscriber'"'"'s computing device. The network edge device and subscriber'"'"'s computing device are provided with secure, tamper-resistant network keys for encrypting all transactions across the wired/wireless segment between supplicant (subscriber) and authenticator (network edge device). In an embodiment of the invention, a secure, secret user key is shared between a number of subscribers based upon commonalities between serial numbers of those subscribers'"'"' tokens. In another embodiment of the invention, a unique session key is generated for each subscriber even though multiple subscribers connected to the same network connection point might have identical pre-stored secret keys.

Claims

1. A method for authenticating a communications device attempting to access a network comprising the steps of:

receiving an identifier associated with a communications device;

calculating a number based on a computation of said identifier;

selecting a cryptographic key specified by said number from a key table; and

performing an authentication technique that embodies said cryptographic key to determine whether said communications device is permitted to access a network.

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