GUARD SPOT BEAMS TO DETER SATELLITE-BASED AUTHENTICATION SYSTEM SPOOFING

• US 20130014216A1
• Filed: 03/28/2011
• Published: 01/10/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Lawrence, David G., Gutt, Gregory M., Whelan, David A.
• Granted Patent: US 8,584,205 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/3
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18593 Arrangements for preventing unauthorised access or for providing user protection arrangements for secret or secure communication H04L9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 3/68 using passive jamming, e.g. by shielding or reflection shielding of apparatus or components against electric or magnetic field H05K9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 3/822 by detecting the presence of a surveillance, interception or detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 3/86 related to preventing deceptive jamming or unauthorized interrogation or access, e.g. WLAN access or RFID reading record carriers with integrated circuit chips including means for preventing undesired reading or writing from or to record carriers by hindering electromagnetic reading or writing G06K19/07318; arrangements for sensing record carriers including arrangements for protecting the interrogation against piracy attacks G06K7/10257
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/20 Information technology specific aspects, e.g. CAD, simulation, modelling, system security

Abstract

A transmission-based authentication system and method to prevent an unauthorized claimant from tracking a signal are disclosed herein. In one or more embodiments, the method involves transmitting, from at least one transmission source, a plurality of authentication signals. The method further involves receiving, from at least one receiving source, a resultant signal that includes at least two of the authentication signals. Further, the method involves authenticating, with at least one authenticator device, at least one claimant by comparing properties of the resultant signal the claimant receives from the receiving source location(s) to expected properties of the resultant signal that the claimant should receive from the receiving source location(s). The properties that are compared are signal power, doppler shift, time of reception, and/or signal modulation. The transmission source(s) is employed in at least one satellite and/or at least one pseudo-satellite.

Claims

1. A method for a transmission-based authentication system, the method comprising:

transmitting, from at least one transmission source, an authentication signal and at least one guard signal;

receiving, from at least one receiving source, at least one resultant signal, wherein the at least one resultant signal includes at least one of the authentication signal and the at least one guard signal; and

authenticating, with at least one authenticator device, at least one claimant by evaluating the resultant signal the claimant receives from the receiving source.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the claimant is at least one of an entity and a user.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the authentication signal and the guard signal are transmitted from a same transmission source.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the authentication signal and the guard signal are transmitted from different transmission sources.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the authentication signal and the guard signal are transmitted on a same frequency.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the authentication signal and the guard signal are transmitted on different frequencies.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein data transmitted by the guard signal is used for a legitimate purpose.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one guard signal at least partially includes an authentication signal.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein data transmitted by the guard signal includes at least one of localized information and regional information.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein data transmitted by the guard signal is false data that is used to detect at least one of an unauthorized claimant and a compromised system.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein data transmitted by the guard signal is false data that is used to locate at least one of an unauthorized claimant and a compromised system.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein data transmitted by the guard signal can be tracked by a legitimate claimant that is located within an overlap area of the signals.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the data is transmitted via at least two out-of-phase binary phase shift keying (BPSK) signals, whereby the out-of-phase BPSK signals appear to be at least one quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) signal.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein changing a modulation of a bit stream of the guard signal modifies a broadcast power of the bits in the bit stream on a bit by bit basis.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein when at least two guard signals are transmitted, a relative power of the two guard signals is varied such that the guard signals located closer to the authentication signal have a higher power than the guard signals located further from the authentication signal.

16. A transmission-based authentication system, the system comprising:

at least one transmitter, wherein the at least one transmitter transmits an authentication signal and at least one guard signal;

at least one receiver, wherein the receiver receives at least one resultant signal, wherein the resultant signal includes at least one of the authentication signal and the guard signal; and

at least one authenticator device, wherein the authenticator device authenticates at least one claimant by evaluating the resultant signal the claimant receives from the receiver.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the claimant is at least one of an entity and a user.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the receiver and the transmitter are incorporated together in at least one transceiver.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein the authentication signal and the guard signal are transmitted from a same transmitter.

20. The system of claim 16, wherein the authentication signal and the guard signal are transmitted from different transmitters.

21. The system of claim 16, wherein the at authenticator device includes at least one of a server and a processor.

22. The system of claim 16, wherein the authentication signal and the guard signal are transmitted on a same frequency.

23. The system of claim 16, wherein the authenticator device operates at least part of a host network.

24. The system of claim 16, wherein the system further comprises a host network that operates as an intermediary between the at least one claimant and the at least one authenticator device.

25. The system of claim 16, wherein the receiver is employed in at least one of a cell phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a personal computer, a computer node, an internet protocol (IP) node, a server, and a wi-fi node.

26. The system of claim 16, wherein the transmitter is employed in at least one of at least one satellite and at least one pseudo-satellite.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the satellite is at least one of a Lower Earth Orbiting (LEO) satellite, a Medium Earth Orbiting (MEO) satellite, and a Geosynchronous Earth Orbiting (GEO) satellite.

28. The system of claim 16, wherein the claimant is at least one of stationary and mobile.

29. The system of claim 16, wherein the authenticator device is a peer device.

30. The system of claim 16, wherein the system further comprises a cyber locate portal, wherein the resultant signal is sent to the authenticator device for authentication via the cyber locate portal.

31. A method for a transmission-based authentication system, the method comprising:

transmitting, from at least one transmission source, a plurality of authentication signals;

receiving, from at least one receiving source, a resultant signal that includes at least two of the authentication signals; and

authenticating at least one claimant by comparing properties of the resultant signal the claimant receives from the at least one receiving source location to expected properties of the resultant signal that the claimant should receive from the at least one receiving source location.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the authentication signals are transmitted from a same transmission source.

33. The method of claim 31, wherein the authentication signals are transmitted from different transmission sources.

34. The method of claim 31, wherein at least one of the transmission sources is employed in at least one of at least one satellite and at least one pseudo-satellite.

35. The method of claim 31, wherein the authentication signals are transmitted on a same frequency and at a same time, and

wherein each authentication signal has a different modulation than the other authentication signals.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the different modulations are different pseudorandom digital modulation sequences.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the different pseudorandom digital modulation sequences are different BPSK code sequences.

38. The method of claim 31, wherein the properties are at least one of signal power, doppler shift, time of reception, and signal modulation.