Method and System for Secure Communication

• US 20100033305A1
• Filed: 10/26/2006
• Published: 02/11/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/11/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: British Telecommunications PLC (BT Group PLC)
• Original Assignee: British Telecommunications PLC (BT Group PLC)
• Inventors: Korgaonkar, Vivekanand, Strulo, Ben
• Granted Patent: US 8,907,766 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/10.100
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 2203/20 for contactless carriers, e.g. RFID carriers record carriers with integrated circuit chips including means for preventing undesired reading or writing from or to record carriers by hindering electromagnetic reading or writing G06K19/07318; arrangements for sensing record carriers including arrangements for protecting the interrogation against piracy attacks G06K7/10257
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 3/28 with jamming and anti-jamming mechanisms both included in a same device or system, e.g. wherein anti-jamming includes prevention of undesired self-jamming resulting from jamming
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 3/45 characterized by including monitoring of the target or target signal, e.g. in reactive jammers or follower jammers for example by means of an alternation of jamming phases and monitoring phases, called "look-through mode"
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 3/825 by jamming
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 3/86 related to preventing deceptive jamming or unauthorized interrogation or access, e.g. WLAN access or RFID reading record carriers with integrated circuit chips including means for preventing undesired reading or writing from or to record carriers by hindering electromagnetic reading or writing G06K19/07318; arrangements for sensing record carriers including arrangements for protecting the interrogation against piracy attacks G06K7/10257

Abstract

A communications system including a receiver and a first transmitter, wherein the first transmitter transmits noise signals across a range of communication channels used by the receiver, the receiver being adapted to receive a transmission transmitted by a second transmitter over one or more of said range of communication channels, and to distinguish the transmission made by the second transmitter from the noise signals using information from the first transmitter about the noise signals.

Claims

1. A communications system including a receiver and a first transmitter, wherein:

the first transmitter transmits noise signals across a range of communication channels used by the receiver;

the receiver is adapted to receive a transmission transmitted by a second transmitter over one or more of said range of communication channels, and to distinguish the transmission made by the second transmitter from the noise signals using information from the first transmitter about the noise signals.

2. A communications system according to claim 1 wherein the receiver and first transmitter are part of the same device.

3. A communications system according to claim 1 wherein the content of the noise signals is substantially identical to the transmissions made by the second transmitter.

4. A communications system according to claim 1 wherein the range of communication channels includes one or more of:

different time slots;

different frequency bands;

different orthogonal codes.

5. A communications system claim 1, further including said second transmitter, the second transmitter transmitting over one or more of said communication channels.

6. A communications system according to claim 5 including a plurality of said second transmitters.

7. A communications system according to claim 5 wherein the or each second transmitter is a simple device.

8. A communications system according to claim 5 wherein the or each second transmitter is a device capable only of transmitting its own identity over a communication channel.

9. A communications system according to claim 5 wherein the or each second transmitter is incapable of encrypting transmissions.

10. A Communications system according to claim 7 wherein the or each second transmitter is an RFID tag, and the receiver is an RFID reader or overseer tag.

11. A communications system according to claim 1 wherein the receiver, the second transmitter or both are adapted to detect when a collision occurs on a particular channel, and retransmit the data lost in that collision.

12. A method of securing communications between a first transmitter and a receiver, the method including the steps of:

transmitting a message from the first transmitter over one or more of a range of communication channels;

transmitting noise from a second transmitter over said range of communications channels;

passing to the receiver information about the noise from the second transmitter;

retrieving, from the transmissions over said range of communications channels, the transmitted message using the information from the second transmitter.

13. A method according to claim 12 wherein the step of retrieving includes receiving a combination of the transmitted message and the transmitted noise in the receiver, and separating the transmitted message from that combination using said information.

14. A method according to claim 12 wherein the step of retrieving includes selectively receiving on only a portion of said range of communications channels, so as to only receive the message, said portion being determined using said information.

15. A method according to claim 12 wherein the second transmitter and the receiver are part of the same device.

16. A method according to claim 12 wherein the content of the noise signals is substantially identical to the transmissions made by the first transmitter.

17. A method according to claim 12 wherein the range of communication channels includes one or more of:

different time slots;

different frequency bands;

different orthogonal codes.

18. A method according to claim 12 further including the step of detecting when a collision occurs between a part of the message transmitted by the first receiver and the noise transmitted by the second receiver, and retransmitting the part of the message affected.

19. A communications system substantially as any one herein described with reference to, or as illustrated in, the accompanying figures.

20. A communication method substantially as any one herein described with reference to the accompanying figures.