CONNECTIVITY DEPENDENT APPLICATION SECURITY FOR REMOTE DEVICES

• US 20110010761A1
• Filed: 07/09/2009
• Published: 01/13/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/09/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Doyle, Thomas F.
• Application Number:
  US12/500,563
• Publication Number:
  US 20110010761A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/5
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2101 Auditing as a secondary aspect
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/126 Anti-theft arrangements, e.g. protection against subscriber identity module [SIM] cloning
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

Conditional access to security-sensitive applications and/or content in a remote device may be granted based on a history of access to connectivity (e.g., access to a communication network) for the remote device. A remote device may monitor access to connectivity. If it is determined that the remote device has a first history to access to connectivity (e.g., a recent access to connectivity), a first security level is applied in providing access to the security-sensitive application. Otherwise, if a second history of access to connectivity is ascertained (e.g., no recent access to connectivity), a second security level is applied in providing access to the security-sensitive application, where the second security level is more stringent then the first security level. If the remote device is lost, a remote server may send a request to the remote device to restrict or disable access to the security-sensitive applications and/or content

Claims

1. A method for providing conditional access to a security-sensitive application in a remote device where access to connectivity is used to affect the security of the security-sensitive application, comprising:

receiving a request to access a security-sensitive application in the remote device;

ascertaining a history of access to connectivity for the remote device;

applying a first security level in providing access to the security-sensitive application if a first history of access to connectivity is ascertained; and

applying a second security level in providing access to the security-sensitive application if a second history of access lo connectivity is ascertained, where the second security level is more stringent then the first security level.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first history of access to connectivity is indicative of a more recent access to connectivity than the second history of access to connectivity.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first history of access to connectivity is indicative of a higher quality of connectivity than the second history of access to connectivity.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein access to connectivity is determinative of end-to-end connectivity between the remote device and a remote server that can modify the security of the security-sensitive application.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first history of access to connectivity is indicative of a minimum threshold access to connectivity absent in the second history of access to connectivity.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein a security policy for the security-sensitive application defines a threshold amount of time, where the first history of access to connectivity indicates that the remote device has had access to connectivity within the threshold amount of time and the second history of access to connectivity indicates that access to connectivity has been absent for at least the threshold amount of time.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein access to connectivity permits a remote server to contact the remote device to restrict access to the security-sensitive application.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

monitoring access to connectivity of the remote device to obtain the history of access to connectivity for the remote device.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein a plurality of different access levels is defined for the security-sensitive application, each access level having a different security level.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein each security level has a different level of authentication to grant access to the security-sensitive application.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the security-sensitive application.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the second level of security requires a user of the remote device.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the first security level and the second security level are defined by a service provider for the remote device.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein applying the first level of security requires no action by a user of the remote device to access the requested security-sensitive application.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein applying the second level of security requires a user of the remote device to provide a correct authentication code to access the requested security-sensitive application.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the security-sensitive application is utilized anonymously without association to a user or the remote device.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the security-sensitive application includes at least one of mobile financial services, health care records, electronic mail, credit history, credit card numbers, passwords, secret locker code numbers, automated teller machine (ATM) person identification numbers (PIN), insurance policy numbers, social security numbers, driver license numbers, or electronic cash.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a disable request from a remote server to restrict access to the security-sensitive application; and

restricting access to the security-sensitive application according to the disable request.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein access to connectivity includes access to a communication network.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the remote device is a wireless communication device.

21. A remote device adapted to provide conditional access to a security-sensitive application in the remote device where access to connectivity is used to affect the security of the security-sensitive application, the remote device comprising:

a memory device;

a transceiver coupled to the memory device, the transceiver for providing connectivity to the remote device; and

a processing circuit coupled to the memory device and the transceiver, the processing circuit configured to

receive a request to access the security-sensitive application in the remote device,

ascertain a history of access to connectivity for the remote device,

apply applying a first security level in providing access to the security-sensitive application if a first history of access to connectivity is ascertained, and

apply a second security level in providing access to the security-sensitive application if a second history of access to connectivity is ascertained, where the second security level is more stringent then the first security level.

22. The remote device of claim 21, wherein the first history of access to connectivity is indicative of a more recent access to connectivity than the second history of access to connectivity.

23. The remote device of claim 21, wherein access to connectivity permits a remote server to contact the remote device to restrict access to the security-sensitive application.

24. The remote device of claim 21, further comprising:

a verification module for monitoring access to connectivity of the remote device to obtain the history of access to connectivity for the remote device.

25. The remote device of claim 21, wherein the processing circuit is further adapted to:

receive a disable request from a remote server to restrict access to the security-sensitive application; and

restricting access to the security-sensitive application according to the disable request.

26. A remote device, comprising:

means for receiving a request to access a security-sensitive application in the remote device;

means for ascertaining a history of access to connectivity for the remote device;

means for applying a first security level in providing access to the security-sensitive application if a first history of access to connectivity is ascertained; and

means for applying a second security level in providing access to the security-sensitive application if a second history of access to connectivity is ascertained, where the second security level is more stringent then the first security level.

27. The remote device of claim 26, wherein the first history of access to connectivity is indicative of a more recent access to connectivity than the second history of access to connectivity.

28. The remote device of claim 26, further comprising:

means for monitoring access to connectivity of the remote device to obtain the history of access to connectivity for the remote device.

29. The remote device of claim 26, wherein the security-sensitive application is protected from unauthorized access and is available only upon granting of access rights.

30. The remote device of claim 26, wherein the recent network coverage is defined by an amount of time since a last access of the wireless communication device to a communication network in comparison to a threshold amount of time.

31. The remote device of claim 26, further comprising:

means for receiving a disable request from a remote server to restrict access to the security-sensitive application; and

means for restricting access to the security-sensitive application according to the disable request.

32. A circuit for providing conditional access to a security-sensitive application in a remote device, wherein the circuit is adapted to:

receive a request to access a security-sensitive application in the remote device;

ascertain a history of access to connectivity for the remote device;

apply a first security level in providing access to the security-sensitive application if a first history of access to connectivity is ascertained; and

apply a second security level in providing access to the security-sensitive application if a second history of access to connectivity is ascertained, where the second security level is more stringent then the first security level.

33. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions for providing conditional access to a security-sensitive application in a remote device, which when executed by a processor causes the processor to:

receive a request to access a security-sensitive application in the remote device;

ascertain a history of access to connectivity for the remote device;

apply a first security level in providing access to the security-sensitive application if a first history of access to connectivity is ascertained; and

apply a second security level in providing access to the security-sensitive application if a second history of access to connectivity is ascertained, where the second security level is more stringent then the first security level.

34. The computer-readable medium of claim 33, wherein the first history of access to connectivity is indicative of a more recent access to connectivity than the second history of access to connectivity.

35. The computer-readable medium of claim 33, wherein access to connectivity permits a remote server to contact the remote device to restrict access to the security-sensitive application.

36. The computer-readable medium of claim 33, comprising additional instructions which when executed by a processor causes the processor to:

monitor access to connectivity of the remote device to obtain the history of access to connectivity for the remote device.

37. A method for restricting access to a security-sensitive application on a remote device, comprising:

receiving a request at a remote server to restrict access to a security-sensitive application in a remote device;

sending a request from the remote server to the security-sensitive application to restrict access to the security-sensitive; and

upon receiving the restriction request from the remote server, the remote device restricts access to the security-sensitive application.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein prior to receiving the restriction request, the method further comprising:

monitoring access to connectivity at the remote device to obtain a history of access to connectivity;

receiving a user request to access a security-sensitive application in the remote device;

applying a first security level in providing access to the security-sensitive application if a first history of access to connectivity is ascertained; and

applying a second security level in providing access to the security-sensitive application if a second history of access to connectivity is ascertained, where the second security level is more stringent then the first security level.