RESTRICTION OF COMMUNICATION IN VOIP ADDRESS DISCOVERY SYSTEM

• US 20100002686A1
• Filed: 06/30/2009
• Published: 01/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Jennings, Cullen F., Rosenberg, Jonathan David
• Granted Patent: US 8,274,968 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/352
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4557 Directories for hybrid networks, e.g. including telephone numbers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0807 using tickets, e.g. Kerberos cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using tickets or tokens H04L9/3213
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/126 the source of the received data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1036 at the edge
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1076 Screening of IP real time communications, e.g. spam over Internet telephony [SPIT]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/551 Call history recording a computer conference H04L12/1831
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5125 with remote located operators
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5232 Call distribution algorithms
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0057 Services where the data services network provides a telephone service in addition or as an alternative, e.g. for backup purposes, to the telephone service provided by the telephone services network
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/006 Networks other than PSTN/ISDN providing telephone service, e.g. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) , including next generation networks with a packet-switched transport layer H04L65/00 takes precedence; aspects not specific to the type of network H04M3/00; special services in those networks H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0063 where the network is a peer-to-peer network

Abstract

In one embodiment, a system is provided to restrict VoIP communication. The system may validate a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) call initiation message based on demonstrated knowledge of a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) call.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a memory; and

a processor in communication with the memory, the memory including computer code executable with the processor, wherein the computer code is executable to validate a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) call initiation message based on demonstrated knowledge of a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) call.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer code is further executable to generate an authorization ticket based on the demonstrated knowledge of the PSTN call, wherein the computer code executable to validate the VoIP call initiation message is executable to validate the VoIP call initiation message based on receipt of the authorization ticket.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the authorization ticket indicates a domain for which the authorization ticket is valid, and wherein the computer code executable to validate the VoIP call initiation message is further executable to verify the VoIP call initiation message originated from the domain.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the computer code executable to verify the VoIP call initiation message originated from the domain is executable to determine an originating domain of the VoIP call initiation message from a public key certificate.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein the computer code executable to generate the authorization ticket is further executable to generate the authorization ticket in response to verification the domain is included in a set of trusted domains.

6. The system of claim 3, wherein the computer code executable to generate the authorization ticket is further executable to generate the authorization ticket in response to verification the domain is not found in a set of untrusted domains.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer code executable to validate the VoIP call initiation message based on demonstrated knowledge of the PSTN call is executable to verify the demonstrated knowledge based on a shared-secret based protocol, wherein call attributes of the PSTN call are a shared secret.

8. Logic encoded in one or more tangible media for execution by a processor and when executed is operable to:

store knowledge of a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) call initiated over a circuit switched network to a telephone phone number;

determine a destination address for the telephone phone number; and

transmit at least one message to the destination address, the at least one message operable to demonstrate the knowledge of the PSTN call for authorization, the authorization for creation of a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) connection to a destination call agent.

9. The one or more tangible media of claim 8, wherein the logic when executed is also operable to receive an authorization ticket in response to a demonstration of the knowledge of the PSTN call.

10. The one or more tangible media of claim 9, wherein the authorization ticket includes an identifier of a domain for which the authorization ticket is valid, and the logic when executed is further operable to:

transmit the authorization ticket in a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) connection request; and

transmit a public key certificate to demonstrate the VoIP connection request is transmitted from the domain.

11. The one or more tangible media of claim 8, wherein the knowledge of the PSTN call includes at least one of a start time of the PSTN call and an end time of the PSTN call.

12. The one or more tangible media of claim 8, wherein the logic when executed is also operable to verify an identifier of the destination call agent is in a list of identifiers of trusted entities.

13. The one or more tangible media of claim 8, wherein the logic when executed is also operable to verify an identifier of the destination call agent is not in a list of identifiers of untrusted entities.

14. A method comprising:

receiving proof of knowledge of a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) call; and

validating a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) call initiation message by a processor based on whether the proof of knowledge of the PSTN call is received.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising generating an authorization ticket based on whether the proof of knowledge of the PSTN call is received, wherein validating the VoIP call initiation message comprises receiving the authorization ticket and verifying the authorization ticket is valid.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein generating the authorization ticket comprises cryptographically signing the authorization ticket, wherein the authorization ticket includes an identifier of the domain, and wherein verifying the authorization ticket comprises verifying a digital signature included in the authorization ticket.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein validating the VoIP call initiation message further comprises verifying that the VoIP call initiation message originated from a domain for which the authorization ticket is valid.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

determining authorization for a domain is revoked, wherein the authorization ticket indicates the domain is an authorized domain;

including, at a call agent, a predetermined response code in a response to the VoIP call initiation message, the predetermined response code indicating the authorization for the domain is revoked; and

storing, at an application-level gateway, an identifier of the domain in a blacklist in response to detecting the predetermined response code in the response.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein generating the authorization ticket further comprises generating the authorization ticket for a determined domain in response to both receiving proof of knowledge of the PSTN call and finding the determined domain in a list of authorized domains.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein generating the authorization ticket further comprises generating the authorization ticket for a determined domain in response to both receiving proof of knowledge of the PSTN call and verifying the determined domain is not included in a list of unauthorized domains.