TECHNIQUES FOR AUTHENTICATION VIA A MOBILE DEVICE

• US 20150156198A1
• Filed: 12/18/2014
• Published: 06/04/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Micro Focus Software, Inc. (Open Text Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Novell Incorporated (Open Text Corporation)
• Inventors: Sabin, Jason Allen, Brown, Jeremy Ray, Burch, Lloyd Leon
• Granted Patent: US 9,674,188 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/35 communicating wirelessly
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/36 by graphic or iconic representation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/42 using separate channels for security data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/44 Program or device authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2107 File encryption
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2115 Third party
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2119 Authenticating web pages, e.g. with suspicious links
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2153 Using hardware token as a secondary aspect
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/76 Proxy, i.e. using intermediary entity to perform cryptographic operations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/80 Wireless
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0884 by delegation of authentication, e.g. a proxy authenticates an entity to be authenticated on behalf of this entity vis-à-vis an authentication entity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3226 using a predetermined code, e.g. password, passphrase or PIN network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using passwords in a packet data network H04L63/083
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3247 involving digital signatures
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/068 using credential vaults, e.g. password manager applications or one time password [OTP] applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/069 using certificates or pre-shared keys
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor

Abstract

Techniques for authentication via a mobile device are provided. A mobile device is pre-registered for website authentication services. A user encounters a website displaying an embedded code as an image alongside a normal login process for that website. The image is identified by the mobile device, encrypted and signed by the mobile device and sent to a proxy. The proxy authenticates the code and associates it with the website. Credentials for the user are provided to the website to automatically authenticate the user for access to the website bypassing the normal login process associated with the website.

Claims

1. (canceled)

2. A method, comprising:

acquiring, by a mobile device, an encrypted code for a website;

decrypting, by the mobile device, the encrypted code to produce a number;

encrypting and signing, by the mobile device, the number; and

sending, by the mobile device, the encrypted and signed number to a proxy of a resource accessible through the website and performing, by the proxy, authentication of the mobile device to the resource for access through the website.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein acquiring further includes activating a camera of the mobile device to scan a code presented on a display of a different device from the mobile device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein activating further includes capturing the code as a barcode.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein activating further includes capturing the code as a Quick Response (QR) code.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein acquiring further includes obtaining the code as being embedded in a website page of the website that a browser executing on the mobile device is accessing and displaying on a display of the mobile device.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein encrypting and signing further includes using a private key of the mobile device acquired during registration of the mobile device for encrypting and signing the number.

8. The method of claim 2 further comprising, redirecting, by the mobile device, a user to a browser application executing on the mobile device for an authentication interface session with the resource after authentication when the user is accessing a website page through an interface of the mobile device.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein redirecting further includes automatically supplying the user credentials for completing to authenticate to the resource during the authentication interface session.

10. A method, comprising:

obtaining, by an authenticator mobile application executing on a mobile device, a code;

producing, by the authenticator mobile application, a second code from the code; and

providing, by the authenticator mobile application, the second code to authenticate a user operating the mobile device to a remote network resource.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein obtaining further includes obtaining the code in an encrypted format through actions of the user operating the mobile device and interacting through an interface with the website authenticator.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein obtaining further includes acquiring the code from a camera that scans the code from a display of another device that is different from the mobile device.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein obtaining further includes detecting the code through actions of the user when accessing a website associated with the resource through a browser executing on the mobile device, wherein the code is embedded in a website page of the accessed website.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein producing further includes encrypting the second code with a key.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein encrypting further includes digitally signing the encrypted second code.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein encrypting further includes obtain the key as a registration key assigned to the mobile device.

17. The method of claim 10, wherein providing further includes automatically supplying the second code to the remote network resource on behalf of the user for the user to access the remote network resource in an authenticated session using the mobile device.

18. The method of claim 10, wherein providing further includes supplying the second code as credentials to the user in an interface associated with the authenticator mobile application.

19. The method of claim 18 further comprising, redirecting, by the authenticator mobile application, the interface to a resource interface of the remote network resource for the user to supply the credentials to engage in an authenticated session with the remote network resource using the resource interface.

20. A system, comprising:

a processor configured with a proxy service that resides and is implemented within a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and that executes on the processor; and

the proxy service is configured to act as a frontend interface to a resource that requires authenticated access, the proxy service also configured to authenticate a user, via a mobile device, through an encrypted and signed code processed by a mobile application of the mobile device from one of;

a barcode and Quick Response (QR) code, the barcode or QR code injected into a website for logging into the resource by the proxy service, the proxy service further configured to process the processed encrypted and signed code to acquire credentials for the user and to provide the credentials to the resource to establish an authenticated session between the user and the resource.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein proxy service is a transparent proxy to the resource, and the user accesses the website via different device from the mobile device.