SECURE PROVISIONING OF A PORTABLE DEVICE USING A REPRESENTATION OF A KEY

• US 20100080383A1
• Filed: 09/30/2008
• Published: 04/01/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Vaughan, Greg, Zelenka, Eric, Yanagihara, Kazu
• Granted Patent: US 8,254,572 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 380/44
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/76 Proxy, i.e. using intermediary entity to perform cryptographic operations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0827 involving distinctive intermediate devices or communication paths network architectures or network communication protocols using different networks H04L63/18

Abstract

A portable device initially accesses a secure server and requests a certificate. The secure server generates a random key and encodes the generated key to generate a representation of the key, such as a two-dimensional bar code or an audio signal, and communicated to a local device, such as a laptop or desktop computer, using a web interface. The local device is used to present the representation of the key to a mobile device. The mobile device then captures the representation of the key from the local device, for example using an image capture device or audio capture device, and extracts the key by decoding the representation of the key. The key is then stored by the mobile device and used to securely communicate with the secure server without manually entering the key.

Claims

1. A system for provisioning devices for secure communication comprising:

a secure server for generating a key;

the key associated with a user, and generating a representation of the key;

a local device previously provisioned to communicate with the secure server, the local device receiving the representation of the key from the secure server and presenting the representation of the key to a portable device; and

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the key comprises a fixed-length string.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the fixed-length string includes alphanumeric characters, numeric characters or symbols.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein generating the representation of the key based on the generated key comprises:

encoding the key into an image.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the image comprises a two-dimensional barcode.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the two-dimensional barcode comprises a Quick Response barcode.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein generating the representation of the key comprises:

encoding the key into an audio file.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein generating the representation of the key comprises;

determining a network identifier associated with a proxy server;

determining account information associated with the user;

encoding the network identifier, the account information and the key into an image.

9. A method for provisioning a portable device for communication using a secure network, the method comprising:

receiving, at a secure server, a request from a user to provision the portable device;

generating a key associated with the user;

generating a representation of the key based on the generated key; and

providing the representation of the key to the portable device using a local device, the local device provisioned for communication using the secure network.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the key comprises a fixed-length string.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the fixed-length string includes alphanumeric characters, numeric characters or symbols.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein generating the representation of the key based on the generated key comprises:

encoding the key into an image.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the image comprises a two-dimensional barcode.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the two-dimensional barcode comprises a Quick Response barcode.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein generating the representation of the key based on the generated key comprises:

encoding the key into an audio file.

16. The method of claim 9, wherein generating the representation of the key based on the generated key comprises;

determining a network identifier associated with a proxy server;

determining account information associated with the user; and

encoding the network identifier, the account information and the key into an image.

17. A method for provisioning a portable device for communication using a secure network comprising:

capturing a representation of a key from a local device, the local device previously provisioned for communication using the secure network;

decoding the representation of the key to extract the key;

storing the extracted key; and

establishing a connection to the secure network using the extracted key.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein capturing the representation of the key from the local device comprises:

capturing image data from the local device, the image data associated with the representation of the key.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein decoding the representation of the key comprises:

enhancing the captured image data to generate enhanced imaged data; and

extracting the key from the enhanced image data.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the captured image data comprises a two-dimensional barcode.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the two-dimensional barcode comprises a quick-response barcode.

22. The method of claim 17, wherein capturing the representation of the key from the local device comprises:

recording audio data from the local device, the audio data associated with the representation of the key.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein decoding the representation of the key comprises:

enhancing the captured audio data to generate enhanced audio data; and

extracting the key from the enhanced audio data.

24. A method for provisioning a portable device for communication using a secure network comprising:

receiving, at a secure server, a request from a user to provision the portable device;

generating a key associated with the user, the key comprising a fixed-length alphanumeric string;

generating a representation of the key based on the generated key, the representation of the key comprising a two-dimensional barcode including the key, a network identifier associated with a proxy server and account information associated with the user; and

providing the representation of the key to a local device in communication with the portable device, the local device previously provisioned for communication using the secure network.