Location authentication

• US 20110055577A1
• Filed: 09/01/2009
• Published: 03/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/01/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Candelore, Brant L., Pedlow, Leo M. JR.
• Granted Patent: US 8,270,605 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/176
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/56 Financial cryptography, e.g. electronic payment or e-cash
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/60 Digital content management, e.g. content distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/80 Wireless network architectures or network communication protocols for wireless network security H04W12/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/32 including means for verifying the identity or authority of a user of the system or for message authentication, e.g. authorization, entity authentication, data integrity or data verification, non-repudiation, key authentication or verification of credentials
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 17/004 for digital television systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25841 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; arrangements for identifying locations of receiving stations in broadcast systems H04H60/51; location of the user terminal in data switching networks H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26613 for generating or managing keys in general key distribution for secret or secure communication involving central third party, e.g. key distribution center [KDC] or trusted third party [TTP] H04L9/083; network support of key management H04L63/06; key management for network security in communication control or processing H04W12/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44209 Monitoring of downstream path of the transmission network originating from a server, e.g. bandwidth variations of a wireless network arrangements for maintenance or administration in data switching networks involving bandwidth and capacity management H04L41/0896
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4524 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; systems specially adapted for using geographical information in broadcast systems H04H60/70; protocols in which the network application is adapted for the location of the user terminal in communication control or processing H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4623 Processing of entitlement messages, e.g. ECM [Entitlement Control Message] or EMM [Entitlement Management Message] arrangements for conditional access to broadcast information or to broadcast-related services H04H60/14
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/1675 Providing digital key or authorisation information for generation or regeneration of the scrambling sequence pseudo-random number generators in general G06F7/58

Abstract

In one implementation a method of authenticating the installation of a television receiver involves generating a fingerprint value as function of the television network characteristics at an authorized installation location, where the fingerprint is a function of at least one of a gain value of a variable gain amplifier and an equalizer coefficient of an adaptive equalizer of the television appliance; receiving a code that is a function of both a decryption key and the fingerprint value from a broadcast source; ascertaining a value of the decryption key by applying an inverse function to the code that produces the decryption key as an output; and carrying out a decryption process at the television receiver appliance using the decryption key. This abstract is not to be considered limiting, since other embodiments may deviate from the features described in this abstract.

Claims

1. A method of authenticating the installation of a television receiver, comprising:

generating a fingerprint value, wherein the fingerprint value is function of the television network characteristics at an authorized installation location, and wherein the fingerprint is a function of at least one of a gain value of a variable gain amplifier and an equalizer coefficient of an adaptive equalizer of the television appliance;

receiving a code that is a function of both a decryption key and the fingerprint value from a broadcast source;

ascertaining a value of the decryption key by applying an inverse function to the code that produces the decryption key as an output; and

carrying out a decryption process at the television receiver appliance using the decryption key.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the decryption key inverse function, and resulting decryption key are kept within a security perimeter immune from eavesdropping.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the fingerprint is a function of equalizer coefficients and gain values of an adaptive equalizer and variable gain amplifiers of the television appliance, and wherein the most significant bits of an equalizer coefficient is represented by a±

jb, then H₁, the matrix of the most significant bits of all equalizer coefficients representing the state of the system at one point in time can be represented by;

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the fingerprint comprises a plurality of the most significant bits of equalizer coefficients of an adaptive equalizer of the television receiver appliance.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the fingerprint comprises a plurality of the most significant bits of gain coefficient values of a variable gain amplifier of the television receiver appliance.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the fingerprint comprises a function of at least one gain coefficient value of an AGC loop of the television appliance.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the fingerprint comprises a weighting function of at least one of the following:

at least one equalizer coefficient of an adaptive equalizer of the television appliance and at least one gain coefficient value of an AGC loop of the television appliance.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the weighting function is kept inside a security perimeter immune from eavesdropping.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the fingerprint value is combined with the decryption key using an exclusive OR operation to produce the code.

10. A computer readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed on one or more programmed processors, carry out an audit process according to claim 1.

11. A method of transmitting a decryption key from a television service provider broadcast station to a television receiver, comprising:

ascertaining a fingerprint of the television receiver appliance, such fingerprint comprising a function of at least one of an equalizer coefficient and an amplifier gain at an installation site of the television receiver appliance;

cryptographically combining a decryption key with the fingerprint to produce a code; and

transmitting the code to the television receiver appliance.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the fingerprint is a function of equalizer coefficients and gain values of an adaptive equalizer and variable gain amplifiers of the television appliance, and wherein an equalizer coefficient is represented by a±

jb, then H₁, the matrix of the most significant bits of all equalizer coefficients representing the state of the system at one point in time can be represented by;

13. A computer readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed on one or more programmed processors, carry out an audit process according to claim 11.

14. An implicitly authenticating television receiver appliance, comprising:

a fingerprint generator that generates a fingerprint value, wherein the fingerprint value is function of the television network characteristics at an authorized installation location, and wherein the fingerprint is a function of at least one of a gain value of a variable gain amplifier and an equalizer coefficient of an adaptive equalizer of the television appliance;

a processor that performs a decryption function using the fingerprint value on a code received from a television transmission service headend to produce a decryption key; and

a decrypter that decrypts information using the decryption key.

15. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the fingerprint is a function of at least the most significant bits of equalizer coefficients and gain values of an adaptive equalizer and variable gain amplifiers of the television appliance, and wherein an equalizer coefficient is represented by a±

jb, then H₁, the matrix of all equalizer coefficients representing the state of the system at one point in time can be represented by;

16. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the fingerprint comprises equalizer coefficients of an adaptive equalizer of the television appliance.

17. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the fingerprint comprises gain coefficient values of a variable gain amplifier of the television appliance.

18. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the fingerprint comprises a function of at least one gain coefficient value of an AGC loop of the television appliance.

19. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the fingerprint comprises a weighted function of at least one of the following:

at least one equalizer coefficient or a portion thereof of an adaptive equalizer of the television appliance and at least one gain coefficient value or a portion thereof of an AGC loop of the television appliance.