WIRELESS DEVICE MONITORING METHODS, WIRELESS DEVICE MONITORING SYSTEMS, AND ARTICLES OF MANUFACTURE

• US 20080280592A1
• Filed: 05/07/2007
• Published: 11/13/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/07/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Battelle Energy Alliance LLC (Battelle Memorial Institute)
• Original Assignee: Battelle Energy Alliance LLC (Battelle Memorial Institute)
• Inventors: Rohde, Kenneth W., Derr, Kurt W., McCown, Steven H.
• Granted Patent: US 8,175,578 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/411
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/80 Wireless network architectures or network communication protocols for wireless network security H04W12/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/107 wherein the security policies are location-dependent, e.g. entities privileges depend on current location or allowing specific operations only from locally connected terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3247 involving digital signatures
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

Wireless device monitoring methods, wireless device monitoring systems, and articles of manufacture are described. According to one embodiment, a wireless device monitoring method includes accessing device configuration information of a wireless device present at a secure area, wherein the device configuration information comprises information regarding a configuration of the wireless device, accessing stored information corresponding to the wireless device, wherein the stored information comprises information regarding the configuration of the wireless device, comparing the device configuration information with the stored information, and indicating the wireless device as one of authorized and unauthorized for presence at the secure area using the comparing.

Claims

1. A wireless device monitoring method comprising:

accessing device configuration information of a wireless device present at a secure area, wherein the device configuration information comprises information regarding a configuration of the wireless device;

accessing stored information corresponding to the wireless device, wherein the stored information comprises information regarding the configuration of the wireless device;

comparing the device configuration information with the stored information; and

indicating the wireless device as one of authorized and unauthorized for presence at the secure area using the comparing.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising accessing a device identifier of the wireless device at the secure area, and wherein the accessing the stored information comprises accessing using the device identifier.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

monitoring for the presence of wireless communications of the wireless device at the secure area; and

issuing a request for the device configuration information after the detection of the presence of the wireless communications, and wherein the accessing the device configuration information is responsive to the issuing the request.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the accessings, the comparing and the indicating comprise accessings, comparing and indicating using a node device located at the secure area.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the accessings comprise accessings using a node device located at the secure area, and further comprising communicating the accessed device configuration information from the node device to a remote device, and wherein the comparing comprises comparing using the remote device.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the node device and secure area is associated with a first organization, and the communicating comprises communicating the accessed device configuration information from the node device to the remote device associated with a second organization.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the communicating comprises first communicating the accessed device configuration information from the node device to a management device and second communicating the accessed device configuration information from the management device to the remote device comprising an external device associated with the wireless device, and wherein the comparing comprises comparing using the external device.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising communicating an identifier of the management device from the wireless device to the another device and verifying the management device using the identifier of the management device.

9. The method of claim 7 further comprising verifying the external device before the second communicating.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the stored information comprises information regarding a configuration of the wireless device at a moment in time before the accessing the device configuration information, and wherein the indicating comprises indicating the wireless device as being unauthorized responsive to the device configuration information being different than the stored information.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the accessing the device configuration information comprises accessing from the wireless device present at the secure area comprising one of a plurality of secure areas, further comprising accessing a list of authorized secure areas for the wireless device, and wherein the indicating comprises indicating the wireless device as being authorized at the one secure area using the list.

12. A wireless device monitoring method comprising:

associating a node device with a secure area;

detecting presence of a plurality of wireless devices at the secure area using the node device;

communicating with respect to individual ones of the wireless devices after the detecting of the respective ones of the wireless devices using the node device; and

using information of the communications, indicating at least one of the wireless devices as being unauthorized at the secure area.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the detecting comprises monitoring for the presence of radio frequency energy from the wireless devices.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein the communicating comprises outputting a request for information to one of the wireless devices, and the indicating comprises indicating the one of the wireless devices as being unauthorized responsive to a failure to receive a reply from the one of the wireless devices after the outputting of the request for information.

15. The method of claim 12 wherein the communicating comprises communicating device configuration information from the one of the wireless devices to the node device, further comprising analyzing the device configuration information, and wherein the indicating comprises indicating responsive to the analyzing.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the analyzing comprises analyzing using the node device.

17. The method of claim 15 further comprising communicating the device configuration information from the node device to a management device, and wherein the analyzing comprises analyzing using the management device.

18. A wireless device monitoring system comprising:

an antenna configured to receive wireless communications at a secure area;

communications circuitry coupled with the antenna and configured to receive the wireless communications and to output wireless communications using the antenna; and

processing circuitry coupled with the communications circuitry and configured to process the wireless communications received by the communications circuitry to detect a presence of a wireless device, to control the outputting of the wireless communications to request information from the wireless device, and to generate an indication of the wireless device as being one of authorized and unauthorized with respect to the secure area after the outputting of the wireless communications.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein the communications circuitry and processing circuitry comprise circuits of a plurality of remotely separated devices.

20. The system of claim 18 wherein the communications circuitry is configured to monitor for the presence of wireless communications of the wireless device received by the antenna.

21. The system of claim 18 wherein the processing circuitry is configured to generate the indication of the wireless device as being unauthorized after failing to receive a reply after the outputting of the wireless communications to request the information.

22. The system of claim 18 wherein the communications circuitry is configured to receive an identifier of the wireless device after the outputting of the wireless communications to request the information, and the processing circuitry is configured to generate the indication of the wireless device as being unauthorized responsive to a failure to recognize the identifier.

23. The system of claim 18 wherein the processing circuitry is configured to receive device configuration information comprising information regarding a configuration of the wireless device from the wireless device, and further comprising storage circuitry configured to store information regarding the configuration of the wireless device, and wherein the processing circuitry is configured to compare the received device configuration information with the stored information and to generate the indication responsive to the comparison.

24. The system of claim 23 wherein the stored information comprises information regarding the configuration of the wireless device at a first moment in time, and the processing circuitry is configured to generate the indication of the wireless device as being unauthorized responsive to the device configuration information received at a second moment in time not matching the configuration of the wireless device at the first moment in time.

25. A wireless device monitoring system comprising:

a plurality of node devices associated with respective ones of a plurality of secure areas, wherein the node devices are individually configured to detect the presence of wireless devices at a respective one of the secure areas associated with the individual node device and to obtain information regarding the wireless devices from the wireless devices; and

a management device coupled with the node devices and configured to receive the information regarding the wireless devices from the node devices, to analyze the information, and to indicate, for an individual one of the node devices, whether respective ones of the wireless devices are authorized or unauthorized with respect to the respective one of the secure areas.

26. The system of claim 25 wherein the node devices are configured to receive device identifiers from the wireless devices, and wherein the management device is configured to indicate individual ones of the wireless devices as being authorized or unauthorized with respect to respective ones of the secure areas using the device identifiers.

27. The system of claim 25 wherein the node devices are configured to receive device configuration information from the wireless devices, and wherein the management device is configured to indicate individual ones of the wireless devices as being authorized or unauthorized with respect to respective ones of the secure areas using the device configuration information.

28. The system of claim 27 wherein the management device is configured to store information regarding configurations of the wireless devices, and wherein the management device is configured to indicate individual ones of the wireless devices as being authorized or unauthorized responsive to comparisons of the device configuration information with the stored information.

29. The system of claim 25 wherein the management device is configured to indicate one of the wireless devices as being unauthorized with respect to one of the secure areas and authorized with respect to another of the secure areas using a list of authorized secure areas for the one wireless device.

30. The system of claim 25 wherein the management device is associated with a first organization, and wherein the management device is configured to output the information regarding the wireless devices to an external device associated with a second organization, and wherein the management device is configured to indicate the wireless devices as being authorized or unauthorized with respect to the respective one of the secure areas responsive to responses from the external device associated with the second organization.

31. A wireless device monitoring system comprising:

a first organization comprising a secure area;

a second organization configured to store information regarding a plurality of wireless devices associated with the second organization; and

wherein a monitoring device of the first organization is configured to indicate one of the wireless devices of the second organization as being one of authorized and unauthorized with respect to the secure area of the first organization using the stored information regarding the one of the wireless devices.

32. The system of claim 31 wherein the monitoring device is configured to access information from the wireless device and to indicate the one of the wireless devices as being unauthorized responsive to the accessed information being different from the stored information regarding the one of the wireless devices.

33. The system of claim 32 wherein the accessed and stored information comprise information regarding a configuration of the one of the wireless devices at different moments in time, and the monitoring device is configured to indicate the one of the wireless as being unauthorized responsive to the accessed information indicating a change in the configuration of the one of the wireless devices.

34. An article of manufacture comprising:

media comprising programming configured to cause processing circuitry to perform processing comprising;

first accessing information from a wireless device with respect to a secure area;

second accessing stored information regarding the wireless device;

comparing the accessed information and the stored information to determine whether the wireless device is authorized or unauthorized with respect to the secure area; and

indicating the wireless device as being one of authorized and unauthorized with respect to the secure area responsive to the comparison.

35. The article of claim 34 wherein the second accessing comprises accessing stored configuration information regarding a configuration of the wireless device at a first moment in time and the second accessing comprises accessing device configuration information of the wireless device at a second moment in time after the first moment in time.

36. The article of claim 35 wherein the indicating comprises indicating the wireless device as being unauthorized responsive to the device configuration information not matching the stored configuration information.