Smart card accessible over a personal area network

• US 20090036164A1
• Filed: 08/02/2007
• Published: 02/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/02/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Inventors: Rowley, Peter A.
• Granted Patent: US 8,213,902 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/558
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/80 Wireless
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0823 using certificates cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0853 using an additional device, e.g. smartcard, SIM or a different communication terminal cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving additional secure or trusted devices H04L9/3234
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3263 involving certificates, e.g. public key certificate [PKC] or attribute certificate [AC]; Public key infrastructure [PKI] arrangements network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using certificates in a packet data network H04L63/0823
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/065 Continuous authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/068 using credential vaults, e.g. password manager applications or one time password [OTP] applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/069 using certificates or pre-shared keys
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

Some embodiments of a smart card accessible over a personal area network have been presented. In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a wireless transceiver to communicatively couple to a personal area network (PAN) to receive an authentication request via the PAN from a device. The device may include a computer. The apparatus further includes a storage device to store a digital certificate that uniquely identifies a user. An authentication module in the apparatus may authenticate the user in response to an authentication request from the device using the digital certificate, wherein the user is allowed to access the computer upon authentication.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a wireless transceiver to communicatively couple to a personal area network (PAN) to receive an authentication request via the PAN from a device;

a storage device coupled to the wireless transceiver to store a digital certificate that uniquely identifies a user; and

an authentication module coupled to the wireless transceiver to authenticate the user in response to the authentication request using the digital certificate, wherein the user is allowed to access the device upon authentication.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a security management module to generate a private key for the user; and

an encryption module to encrypt a message from the computer using the private key in response to an encryption request from the device if the user has been authenticated, wherein the wireless transceiver sends the encrypted message to the computer via the PAN.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the device is a computer and the user is automatically logged off from the computer if the wireless transceiver has been communicatively decoupled from the PAN for a predetermined period.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wireless transceiver, the storage device, and the authentication module reside within a cellular telephone.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wireless transceiver, the storage device, and the authentication module reside within a smartcard.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wireless transceiver includes a radio frequency (RF) transceiver.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the digital certificate is protected from being extracted by devices external to the apparatus.

8. A system comprising the apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a personal computer communicatively coupled to the apparatus via the PAN, wherein the personal computer allows access by the user if the user is authenticated using the apparatus.

9. A method comprising:

wirelessly communicatively coupling a portable device to a personal area network (PAN) to receive an authentication request from a computer;

storing a digital certificate, which uniquely identifies a user, in the portable device; and

authenticating the user in response to the authentication request using the digital certificate, wherein the user is allowed to access the computer upon authentication.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

generating a private key for the user in the portable device;

encrypting a message from the computer using the private key in response to an encryption request from the computer if the user has been authenticated; and

wirelessly sending the message encrypted to the computer via the PAN.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

causing the user to be automatically logged off from the computer if the portable device has been communicatively decoupled from the PAN after a predetermined period of time.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the portable device comprises a cellular telephone.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the portable device comprises a smart card.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein wirelessly communicatively coupling the portable device to the PAN comprises:

transmitting radio frequency (RF) signals between the portable device and the PAN.

15. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

preventing the digital certificate from being extracted from the portable device.

16. A machine-readable medium that provides instructions that, when executed by a processor, will cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

wirelessly communicatively coupling a portable device to a personal area network (PAN) to receive an authentication request from a computer;

storing a digital certificate, which uniquely identifies a user, in the portable device; and

authenticating the user in response to the authentication request using the digital certificate, wherein the user is allowed to access the computer upon authentication.

17. The machine-readable medium of claim 16, further comprising:

generating a private key for the user in the portable device;

encrypting a message from the computer using the private key in response to an encryption request from the computer if the user has been authenticated; and

wirelessly sending the message encrypted to the computer via the PAN.

18. The machine-readable medium of claim 16, further comprising:

causing the user to be automatically logged off from the computer if the portable device has been communicatively decoupled from the PAN after a predetermined period of time.

19. The machine-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the portable device comprises a cellular telephone.

20. The machine-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the portable device comprises a smart card.

21. The machine-readable medium of claim 16, wherein wirelessly communicatively coupling the portable device to the PAN comprises:

transmitting radio frequency (RF) signals between the portable device and the PAN.

22. The machine-readable medium of claim 16, further comprising:

preventing the digital certificate from being extracted from the portable device.