USING PSTN REACHABILITY IN ANONYMOUS VERIFICATION OF VOIP CALL ROUTING INFORMATION

• US 20100046507A1
• Filed: 10/29/2009
• Published: 02/25/2010
• 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 8,228,904 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/352
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0421 Anonymous communication, i.e. the party's identifiers are hidden from the other party or parties, e.g. using an anonymizer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/103 in the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1036 at the edge
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/104 in the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1046 Call controllers; Call servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1053 IP private branch exchange [PBX] functionality entities or arrangements circuit switched PBXs H04M3/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/551 Call history recording a computer conference H04L12/1831
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/2281 Call monitoring, e.g. for law enforcement purposes; Call tracing; Detection or prevention of malicious calls
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/229 Wire identification arrangements; Number assignment determination
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42059 Making use of the calling party identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/436 Arrangements for screening incoming calls , i.e. evaluating the characteristics of a call before deciding whether to answer it based on the calling party profile H04M3/42059; based on location H04M3/42348; based on presence H04M3/42365; diversion H04M3/54
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0078 Security; Fraud detection; Fraud prevention
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/1275 : Methods and means to improve the telephone service quality, e.g. reservation, prioritisation or admission control

Abstract

In one embodiment, an apparatus may verify an identity of a destination Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) call agent for a destination telephone number based on demonstrated knowledge of at least one public switched telephone network (PSTN) call initiated to the destination telephone number. The apparatus may also receive the identity of the destination VoIP call agent based on the demonstrated knowledge of the at least one PSTN call initiated to the destination telephone number.

Claims

1. An apparatus 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 configured to verify an identity of a destination Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) call agent for a destination telephone number based on demonstrated knowledge of at least one public switched telephone network (PSTN) call initiated to the destination telephone number.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the computer code is configured to receive the identity of the destination VoIP call agent based on the demonstrated knowledge of the at least one PSTN call initiated to the destination telephone number.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the computer code configured to receive the identity of the destination VoIP call agent is further configured to establish an anonymous communication channel from the apparatus to a destination node based on the destination telephone number instead of on the identity of the destination node, wherein the destination node corresponds to the destination VoIP call agent.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the anonymous communication channel is through a peer-to-peer network and the destination node is included in the peer-to-peer network.

5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the computer code configured to receive the identity of the destination VoIP call agent is further configured to:

transmit proof of knowledge of the at least one PSTN call over the anonymous communication channel; and

receive the identity of the destination VoIP call agent in response to transmission of the proof of knowledge of the at least one PSTN call.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the demonstrated knowledge of the at least one PSTN call includes call attributes of the at least one PSTN call.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the call attributes of the at least one PSTN call includes a start time of each respective one of the at least one PSTN call.

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

determine an identity of a first node associated with a Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) call agent for a telephone number from a mapping between the telephone number and the first node;

receive an identity of the VoIP call agent from the first node; and

transmit the identity of the VoIP call agent to a second node in response to receipt, from the second node, of proof of knowledge of a public switched telephone network (PSTN) call initiated to the telephone number.

9. The tangible media of claim 8, wherein:

the first node and the second node are included in a peer-to-peer network;

the logic is further operable to create an anonymous communication channel between the first node and the second node;

the logic operable to receive the proof of knowledge of the PSTN call from the second node is further operable to receive the proof of knowledge of the PSTN call over the anonymous communication channel; and

the logic operable to transmit the identity of the VoIP call agent to the second node is operable to transmit the identity of the VoIP call agent over the anonymous communication channel.

10. The tangible media of claim 8, the logic is further operable to:

transmit the proof of knowledge of the PSTN call to the first node; and

receive the identity of the VoIP call agent from the first node in response to transmission of the proof of knowledge of the PSTN call to the first node.

11. The tangible media of claim 8, wherein the logic operable to transmit the identity of the VoIP call agent to the second node is further operable to transmit the identity of the VoIP call agent in response to receipt of the identity of the VoIP call agent from the first node.

12. The tangible media of claim 8, wherein the logic operable to receive the identity of the VoIP call agent from the first node is further operable to receive the identity of the VoIP call agent from the first node in response to transmission of the proof of knowledge of the PSTN call to the first node.

13. The tangible media of claim 8, the logic further operable to receive an indication from the first node that the proof of knowledge of the PSTN call is valid.

14. A method comprising transmitting an identity of a destination Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) call agent for a destination telephone number in response to receiving proof of knowledge of a public switched telephone network (PSTN) call initiated to the destination telephone number over the PSTN.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein transmitting the identity of the destination VoIP call agent includes transmitting the identity of the destination VoIP call agent over an anonymous communication channel and receiving the proof of knowledge of the PSTN call includes receiving the proof of knowledge of the PSTN call over the anonymous communication channel.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein receiving the proof of knowledge of the PSTN call comprises performing an encrypted key exchange over the anonymous communication channel by using call attributes of the PSTN call as a shared secret in the encrypted key exchange, knowledge of the PSTN call comprising the call attributes of the PSTN call.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein receiving the proof of knowledge of the PSTN call includes receiving the proof of knowledge of the PSTN call from a node in a network without knowledge of the identity of the node.

18. The method of claim 14 further comprising accepting a request to create the anonymous communication channel without knowledge of the identity of a sender of the request.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein over the anonymous communication channel comprising an anonymous tunnel through a peer-to-peer network.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein knowledge of the PSTN call includes at least one call attribute of the PSTN call.