NETWORK SERVICE PROVIDER-ASSISTED AUTHENTICATION

• US 20090089409A1
• Filed: 09/28/2007
• Published: 04/02/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Services Organization Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Pasko, Douglas M., Swinton, Jeffrey H.
• Granted Patent: US 8,880,693 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4511 using domain name system [DNS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5014 using dynamic host configuration protocol [DHCP] or bootstrap protocol [BOOTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/9994 Distributed or remote access

Abstract

A data store includes previously collected client data records, each previously collected client data record associated with a respective first network address. A verification module is communicatively coupled to the data store, the module configured to determine that it is a competent verification module and to receive a verification request including user data and a second network address and further configured to respond with an indication of whether the user data corresponds to the previously collected client data record identified by the first network address corresponding to the second network address.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving user data from a client;

determining a network address of the client;

sending a request including at least the user information and the network address to a verification module;

identifying the verification module as a competent verification module based on the network address; and

receiving a response including an indication of whether the user data corresponds to previously collected client data associated with the network address.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the previously collected client data is collected by a network service provider responsible for the network address.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising selectively allowing the client to access a resource based on the response.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the user data comprises a set of user data elements and the previously collected client data comprises a set of client data elements, and wherein the response indicates a subset of the user data elements corresponds to a respective subset of the client data elements.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a verification status of the user, wherein the verification status is based on the response.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising providing the verification status to one or more users.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication of whether the user data corresponds to the previously collected client data includes a degree to which the user data corresponds to the previously collected client data.

8. A method, comprising:

receiving a request including a network address and user data;

identifying, based on the request, a competent authentication clearinghouse that stores data received from a plurality of network service providers;

submitting the request to the competent authentication clearinghouse; and

receiving a response to the request from the competent authentication clearinghouse, the response configured to provide an indicator relating to whether the request should be granted.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

comparing, in the competent authentication clearinghouse, the user data to previously collected client data associated with the network address; and

generating, in the authentication clearinghouse, the response based at least in part on the comparing.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the previously collected client data is collected by a network service provider responsible for the network address.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the previously collected client data is a client data record of a set of client data records stored in a client data store, and wherein the set of client data records is collected by a plurality of network service providers.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the request further includes at least one comparison parameter, the method further comprising adapting the comparing based on the comparison parameter.

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising ignoring the request from a requestor based on the requester exceeding a predetermined number of allowable requests.

14. A system comprising:

a data store including previously collected client data records, each previously collected client data record associated with a respective first network address; and

a verification module communicatively coupled to the data store, the module configured to determine that it is a competent verification module and to receive a verification request including user data and a second network address and further configured to respond with an indication of whether the user data corresponds to the previously collected client data record identified by the first network address corresponding to the second network address.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein each previously collected client data record is collected by a network service provider responsible for the respective first network address.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the previously collected client data records are, collected by a plurality of network service providers.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the data store is maintained by a network service provider associated with the first network address.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the verification module is further configured to accept at least one comparison parameter, and to base the indication on the comparison parameter.

19. The system of claim 14, wherein the verification module is further configured to ignore the verification request from a requester based on the requester exceeding a predetermined number of allowable requests.