ZERO SIGN-ON AUTHENTICATION

• US 20130007868A1
• Filed: 06/30/2011
• Published: 01/03/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cable Television Laboratories Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Cable Television Laboratories Incorporated
• Inventors: Hoggan, Stuart A., Durbha, Seetharama R.
• Granted Patent: US 8,955,078 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/8
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0815 providing single-sign-on or federations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0823 using certificates cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/083 using passwords cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using a predetermined code H04L9/3226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0876 based on the identity of the terminal or configuration, e.g. MAC address, hardware or software configuration or device fingerprint
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3263 involving certificates, e.g. public key certificate [PKC] or attribute certificate [AC]; Public key infrastructure [PKI] arrangements network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using certificates in a packet data network H04L63/0823

Abstract

A method of facilitating zero sign-on access to media services depending on trust credentials. The trust credentials may be cookies, certificates, and other data sets operable to be stored on a device used to access the media services such that information included therein may be used to control the zero sign-on capabilities of the user device.

Claims

1. A method of facilitating zero sign-on access to media services comprising:

providing a trust credential to a client application operating on a user device, the trust credential specifying media service permissions for the user device; and

allowing the user device zero sign-on access to media services in accordance with the trust credential specified media service permissions.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

configuring the trust credential to facilitate access to a first tier of media service permissions in the event an access point of the user device is trusted; and

configuring the trust credential to facilitate access to a second tier of media service permissions in the event the access point of the user device is untrusted.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising the first tier of media service permissions corresponding with subscriber specific services and the second tier of media service permissions corresponding with non-subscriber specific services.

4. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

determining the access point to be trusted in the event an IP address of the user device provided through the access point is within a trusted domain of IP addresses; and

determining the access point to be untrusted in the event the IP address of the user device provided through the access point is within an untrusted domain of IP addresses.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising relating the media service permissions to a subscriber associated with the access point.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising the media service permissions of the subscriber associated with the access point being different than a subscriber associated with the user device.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising relating the media service permissions to a subscriber associated with the user device.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising configuring the trust credential as a cookie to be stored in a computer-readable medium of the user device.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising requiring a refresh of the cookie no more than once every period in order to continue zero sign-on access to media services, the period being less than six months.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising configuring the trust credential as a certificate to be stored in a computer-readable medium of the user device.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising requiring a refresh of the certificate no more than once every period in order to continue zero sign-on access to media services, the period being greater than six months.

12. A method of facilitating zero sign-on access to media services comprising:

determining whether an access point through which a user device desires to access the media services is one of trusted and untrusted;

in the event the access point is trusted, allowing zero sign-on access to the media services; and

in the event the access point is untrusted, determining whether a trust credential stored on the user device is one of valid and invalid;

i. in the event the trust credential is valid, allowing zero sign-on access the media services; and

ii. in the event the trust credential is invalid, requiring sign-on access to the media services.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising limiting the zero sign-on access to media permissions specified in the trust credential.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising relating the media permissions to a subscriber associated with the access point.

15. The method of claim 13 further comprising relating the media permissions to a subscriber associated with the user device.

16. The method of claim 12 further comprising:

determining the access point to be trusted in the event an IP address of the user device provided through the access point is within a trusted domain of IP addresses; and

determining the access point to be untrusted in the event the IP address of the user device provided through the access point is within an untrusted domain of IP addresses.

17. A method of facilitating zero sign-on access of a user device to media services comprising:

determining whether a trust credential stored on a user device is one of a first type and a second type;

in the event the trust credential is the first type, allowing zero sign-on access to a first tier of the media services; and

in the event the trust credential is the second type, allowing zero sign-on access to a second tier of the media services.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising:

determining the trust credential is the first type in the event a username and password associated with the user device is unverified;

determining the trust credential is the second type in the event the username and password associated with the user device is verified.

19. The method of claim 17 further comprising:

relating the first tier of media services to an access point of the user device; and

relating the second tier of media services to the user device.

20. The method of claim 17 further comprising further limiting media services available under each of the first and second tiers in the event an access point of the user device is untrusted.