METHOD FOR PAIRING ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT IN A WIRELESS NETWORK SYSTEM

• US 20090318114A1
• Filed: 06/24/2008
• Published: 12/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: STMicroelectronics SRL (STMicroelectronics NV)
• Original Assignee: STMicroelectronics SRL (STMicroelectronics NV)
• Inventors: Bertoni, Guido Marco
• Granted Patent: US 8,406,735 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/410
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/80 Wireless network architectures or network communication protocols for wireless network security H04W12/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0841 involving Diffie-Hellman or related key agreement protocols

Abstract

A method pairs electronic equipment, particularly, in a wireless network system. The method includes: providing first and second wireless electronic equipment to be paired which store a first and a second public key, respectively, and providing a user with a wireless portable electronic device which stores a third public key. Then, the portable electronic device transmits the third public key in turn to the first and second electronic equipment, and receiving from the first and second equipment the first and second public keys, respectively. Moreover, the portable electronic device calculates first and second numbers starting from the first and second public keys, respectively. The same first and second numbers is independently calculated by the first and second electronic equipment, respectively, starting from the third public key and representing secret numbers shared between the portable device and the first and second electronic equipment. Finally, the portable device provides a secure communication key to be transmitted in turn to the first and second equipment through encryption with the first and second secret numbers, respectively.

Claims

1. A method for pairing electronic equipment in a wireless network system, the method comprising:

providing first and second wireless electronic equipment to be paired and which store a first and a second public key, respectively;

providing a user with a wireless portable electronic device storing a third public key;

transmitting by the portable electronic device said third public key in turn to the first and second electronic equipment, and receiving from the first and second equipment said first and second public keys, respectively;

calculating by said portable electronic device first and second numbers starting from the first and second public keys, respectively, same said first and second numbers being independently calculated by the first and second electronic equipment, respectively, starting from said third public key and representing secret numbers shared between the portable device and said first and second electronic equipment; and

providing by the portable device a secure communication key to be transmitted in turn to the first and second equipment through encryption with said first and second secret numbers, respectively.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

generating by the portable electronic device a random number representing said secure communication key for both the first and second electronic equipment.

3. The method according to claim 1 wherein said providing said secure communication key includes:

transmitting by the portable electronic device the first public key to the second electronic equipment through encryption with said second secret number; and

transmitting by the portable electronic device the second public key to the first electronic equipment through encryption with said first secret number.

4. The method according to claim 2, further comprising:

generating by the portable electronic device a plurality of random numbers each one representing said communication secret key for a couple of paired electronic equipment included within the wireless network system.

5. The method according to claim 1 wherein said calculating the first and second secret numbers is performed according to public key cryptographic algorithms, including Diffie-Hellman algorithm or elliptic curves.

6. The method according to claim 5 wherein the first and the second shared secret numbers are calculated as:

K′

=(K_p3)̂

K_s1=(K_p1)̂

K_s3

K″

=(K_p3)̂

K_s2=(K_p2)̂

K_s3

where;

K_p1 and K_s1 are respectively the first public key and a private key of the first electronic equipment,

K_p2 and K_s2 are respectively the second public key and a private key of the second electronic equipment, and

K_p3 and K_s3 are respectively the third public key and a private key of the portable electronic device.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

creating in a memory of the portable electronic device a first record to list data related to the first and second equipment in the wireless network system.

8. The method according to claim 7 wherein said record includes the first and second secret numbers and the secure communication key.

9. The method according to claim 7, further comprising:

creating in the memory of the portable electronic device a second record to list public keys associated to the first and second electronic equipment.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising:

updating data listed in said first and second records of the portable electronic device with further data related to a further paired electronic equipment introduced in the wireless network system.

11. The method according to claim 1 wherein transmitting said secure communication key comprises:

encrypting said communication key with the first and second shared secret numbers for respectively generating first and second messages according to an Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) or to a Triple Data Encryption Standard (3DES);

sending by the portable electronic device the first message to the first electronic equipment and the second message to the second electronic equipment; and

decrypting in the first electronic equipment said first message by the first shared secret number and in said second electronic equipment said second message by the second shared secret number.

12. The method according to claim 9, further comprising:

copying data listed in the first and second records from the memory of the portable electronic device to a removable memory included in same said portable electronic device.

13. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

selecting by the first or second electronic equipment the portable electronic device to establish a secure wireless communication, wherein said selecting includes;

bringing in turn by the user said portable electronic device in closeness to the first and second electronic equipment; and

detecting by the first and second equipment through a wireless connection, presence of said portable electronic device being inside an area of a range equal to a maximum capacity of such wireless connection.

14. The method according to claim 1 wherein said providing said secure communication key includes:

transmitting to the second electronic equipment by the portable electronic device both the first public key in clear and a first value generated by a HMAC or CMAC algorithm starting from the first public key and the second secret number, the method further comprising;

generating by the second electronic equipment a second value through a HMAC or CMAC algorithm starting from the received first public key and the second secret number;

comparing by the second electronic equipment said first and second values.

15. The method according to claim 1 wherein said providing said secure communication key includes:

generating by the portable electronic device a signature of the first public key using a generating signature algorithm, including RSA;

sending by the portable electronic device both the first public key in clear and the generated signature to the second electronic equipment;

generating by the second electronic equipment a verify value starting from the received first public key and the third public key through a verifying signature algorithm;

comparing by the second electronic equipment the verify value with the signature received from the portable electronic device.

16. A wireless network system, comprising:

first and second wireless electronic equipment adapted to be paired and which store first and second public keys, respectively, each of said first and second equipment being provided with a respective wireless communication module;

a wireless portable electronic device adapted to store a third public key, said portable electronic device including;

a first wireless communication module adapted to transmit said third public key in turn to the first and second electronic equipment, and adapted to receive from the first and second equipment said first and second public keys, respectively;

a processing module adapted to calculate first and second numbers starting from the first and second public keys, respectively, same said first and second numbers being independently calculated by the first and second electronic equipment, respectively, starting from said third public key and representing secret numbers shared between the portable device and said first and second electronic equipment;

wherein the portable electronic device is arranged to provide a secure communication key to be transmitted in turn to the first and second equipment through encryption with said first and second secret numbers, respectively.

17. The wireless network system of claim 16 wherein said secure communication key includes at least a random number generated by the portable electronic device.

18. The wireless network system of claim 16 wherein said secure communication key includes:

the first public key to be transmitted by the portable electronic device to the second electronic equipment through encryption with said second secret number; and

the second public key to be transmitted by the portable electronic device to the first electronic equipment through encryption with said first secret number.

29. The wireless network system of claim 16 wherein said first and second electronic equipment include consumer devices such as:

a digital TV, a set-top box, a mobile phone, a PDA, a DVD player, a laptop or desktop computer, a refrigerator, a washing machine, or a webcam.

19. A wireless portable electronic device adapted to pair first and second electronic equipment in a wireless network system, the wireless portable electronic device comprising:

a wireless communication module adapted to communicate with said first and second electronic equipment;

a processing module adapted to calculate first and second numbers representing secret numbers shared between the portable device and said first and second electronic equipment;

a module adapted to provide a secure communication key in turn to the first and second equipment through encryption with said first and second secret numbers, respectively.

20. The wireless portable electronic device according to claim 19 wherein said processing module includes a microprocessor, a microcontroller, or a dedicated processor including a DSP.

21. The wireless portable electronic device according to claim 19 wherein said processing module is coupled to memory elements adapted to store both the first and second shared secret numbers and the secure communication key.

22. The wireless portable electronic device according to claim 19 wherein said wireless communication module includes a transceiver RF controlled by the processing module and coupled to an antenna to transmit and receive wireless signals communicated with the first and second electronic equipment.

23. The wireless portable electronic device according to claim 22 wherein said transceiver operates in accordance with different wireless communication standard protocols, including Bluetooth, WLAN, NFC, ZigBee or Wibree.

24. The wireless portable electronic device according to claim 22, further comprising an encoder/decoder block embedded within the transceiver and controlled by the processing module, said encoder/decoder block being adapted to encrypt/decrypt data streams exchanged with the electronic equipment in the wireless network system.

25. The wireless portable electronic device according to claim 19, further comprising a display unit, including a LCD or a LED, and a tactile interface, including an alphanumeric keyboard or a button.

26. The wireless portable electronic device according to claim 19 further comprising a slot adapted to receive a removable memory unit, including a integrated circuit card or a memory card.

27. The wireless portable electronic device according to claim 19 wherein said electronic device includes a remote control device adapted to operate in a stand alone configuration.

28. The wireless portable electronic device according to claim 19 wherein said electronic device is embedded in a TV or VCR or DVD remote control or in a mobile phone.

30. A first electronic device adapted to be paired with a second electronic device in a wireless network system, the first electronic device comprising:

a storage unit adapted to store a first public key;

a wireless communication module coupled to said storage unit and adapted to provide said stored first public key to a portable electronic device and adapted to receive a public key from said portable electronic device; and

a processing module coupled to said wireless communication module and adapted to calculate a first number using said received public key from said portable electronic device, said first number representing a first secret number shared between the portable electronic device and said first electronic device,

wherein said communication module is further adapted to receive a secure communication key from said portable electronic device, said received secure communication key being generated by said portable electronic device through encryption of a random number with said first secret number.

31. The first electronic device of claim 30 wherein said processing module is adapted to calculate the first number according to a public key cryptographic algorithm.

32. The first electronic device of claim 31 wherein said first number is calculated according to K′

=(K_p3)̂

K_s1=(K_p1)̂

K_s3, wherein;

K_p1 and K_s1 are respectively the first public key and a private key of the first electronic device; and

K_p3 and K_s3 are respectively the public key and a private key of the portable electronic device.

33. The first electronic device of claim 30 wherein if said portable electronic device is brought in proximity to said first electronic device, said first electronic device is adapted to detect said portable electronic device through a wireless connection if said portable electronic device is inside an area of a range equal to a maximum capacity of said wireless connection.

34. A method for pairing first and second electronic devices, which respectively store first and second public keys, in a wireless network system, the method comprising:

transmitting by a portable electronic device a third public key to the first and second electronic devices, and respectively receiving by said portable electronic device from the first and second devices said first and second public keys;

calculating by said portable electronic device first and second secret numbers using said received first and second public keys, respectively, same said first and second secret numbers being independently calculated by the first and second electronic devices, respectively, using said third public key, said first and second secret numbers being respectively shared between the portable electronic device and said first and second electronic devices; and

transmitting, by the portable device to the first and second devices, a secure communication key obtained by the portable electronic device through encryption using said first and second secret numbers, respectively.

35. The method of claim 34, further comprising:

generating by the portable electronic device a random number representing said secure communication key for both the first and second electronic devices.

36. The method of claim 34 wherein the first and the second secret numbers are calculated as:

K′

=(K_p3)̂

K_s1=(K_p1)̂

K_s3

K″

=(K_p3)̂

K_s2=(K_p2)̂

K_s3

where;

K_p1 and K_s1 are respectively the first public key and a private key of the first electronic device,

K_p2 and K_s2 are respectively the second public key and a private key of the second electronic device, and

K_p3 and K_s3 are respectively the third public key and a private key of the portable electronic device.

37. The method of claim 34 wherein said transmitting said secure communication key includes:

encrypting by said portable electronic device said communication key with the first and second secret numbers to respectively generate first and second messages; and

sending by the portable electronic device the first message to the first electronic device and the second message to the second electronic device, to enable decrypting in the first electronic device said first message by the first secret number and to enable decrypting in said second electronic device said second message by the second secret number.