METHOD FOR IDENTITY THEFT PROTECTION WITH SELF-DESTRUCTING INFORMATION

• US 20090151005A1
• Filed: 12/05/2007
• Published: 06/11/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/05/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Santiago, Javier H., Do, Phuc K., Bell, Kevin H.
• Application Number:
  US11/950,745
• Publication Number:
  US 20090151005A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/28
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1416 Event detection, e.g. attack signature detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1441 Countermeasures against malicious traffic countermeasures against attacks on cryptographic mechanisms H04L9/002
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/082 using revocation of authorisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/126 Anti-theft arrangements, e.g. protection against subscriber identity module [SIM] cloning
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

A method for identity theft protection includes receiving an identity theft indicator indicating a possible loss or theft of a personal device, wherein the identity theft indicator includes at least one of a user-initiated signal, a geographic range indicator, an expired timer, a failure of a heart-beat verification, and a battery level indicator. The method further includes attempting contact of an owner of the personal device, wherein attempting contact includes at least one of transmitting a message to the owner over a telephone connection, transmitting an email to a registered email address of the owner, and transmitting a text-based message to a registered telephone number on the personal device. The method further includes protecting information stored on the personal device if attempting contact of the owner is not successful.

Claims

1. A method of identity theft protection, comprising:

receiving an identity theft indicator indicating a possible loss or theft of a personal device, wherein the identity theft indicator includes at least one of,

a user-initiated signal a geographic range indicator, an expired timer, a failure of a heart-beat verification, and a battery level indicator;

attempting contact of an owner of the personal device, wherein attempting contact includes at least one of,

transmitting a message to the owner over a telephone connection, transmitting an email to a registered email address of the owner, and transmitting a text-based message to a registered telephone number on the personal device; and

protecting information stored on the personal device if attempting contact of the owner is not successful, wherein protecting information includes,

encoding the information,

transmitting the encoded information to one of a secure server or the registered email address of the owner, and

destroying the information on the personal device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising recovering the destroyed information, wherein recovering the destroyed information includes:

downloading the encoded information from one of the secure server or the registered email address of the owner;

verifying ownership through receipt of a password, shared key, or biometric identification; and

decoding the encoded information on the personal device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein destroying the information includes one of writing logical zeros over the information on the personal device and writing logical ones over the information on the personal device.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising enabling an automatic locking system on the personal device if contacting the owner is successful.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising disabling the automatic locking mechanism on the personal device if the owner successfully verifies identification on the device, wherein the identification includes one of:

a biometric reading on the personal device;

a password; and

a shared key.