METHOD, APPARATUS, AND SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING AND USING A TRUSTED TAG

• US 20150208245A1
• Filed: 09/05/2013
• Published: 07/23/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Assa Abloy AB
• Original Assignee: Assa Abloy AB
• Inventors: Hulusi, Tam, Robinton, Mark
• Granted Patent: US 9,681,302 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/72 for local intradevice communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/805 Lightweight hardware, e.g. radio-frequency identification [RFID] or sensor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/126 the source of the received data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3247 involving digital signatures
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/10 Integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/43 using shared identity modules, e.g. SIM sharing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

A trusted authority, validation system and method are provided. The system and method may employ Near Field Communication (NFC) technologies to prepare and write signed validation signatures to tags as well as read and analyze validation signatures from tags. An NFC-enabled phone is also provided as a mechanism for facilitating the trusted authority and validation services described herein.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving data from a phone, the received data including at least one of tag data, user-entered data, and metadata;

based on the received data, generating a validation signature for the tag; and

causing the validation signature to be written into memory of the tag.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the received data includes at least two of tag data, user-entered data, and metadata.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the received data includes all of tag data, user-entered data, and metadata.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the received data includes the tag data and wherein the tag data comprises at least one of a tag Unique Identifier (UID), a site code, and a manufacturer code.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the tag data is obtained from the tag via an NFC-enabled phone.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the received data includes the user-entered data and wherein the user-entered data comprises at least one of a user-entered alphanumeric string, a password, a PIN, a still image, a motion video, and an audio segment.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the user-entered data is received via an NFC-enabled phone and wherein the NFC-enabled phone writes the validation signature into the memory of the tag.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the received data includes metadata and wherein the metadata corresponds to a timestamp related to when the validation signature is generated.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the received data includes a tag Unique Identifier (UID) that is obtained from the tag by an NFC-enabled phone, wherein the received data also includes the user-entered data that is received from a user at the NFC-enabled phone, wherein the received data also includes the metadata that is generated in response to the NFC-enabled phone obtaining the tag UID, and wherein the NFC-enabled phone causes the validation signature to the written into the memory of the NFC tag.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein a trusted authority generates the validation signature and transmits the validation signature to the NFC-enabled phone for writing to the tag.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the tag comprises an internal power source.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the tag is an NFC tag.

13. A method, comprising:

receiving a validation signature and tag data from memory of a tag;

performing a validation analysis of the tag by comparing the received validation signature and tag data with known valid tag data and a corresponding validation signature; and

providing results of the validation analysis to at least one interested party.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the at least one interested party corresponds to a user of an NFC-enabled phone, wherein the NFC-enabled phone was used to retrieve the validation signature and the tag data from the memory of the NFC tag, and wherein the results of the validation analysis are provided to the user of the NFC-enabled phone by at least one of audibly and visibly presenting an output via the NFC-enabled phone.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

based on the results of the validation analysis, causing the NFC-enabled phone to perform at least one predetermined action.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the at least one predetermined action comprises causing the NFC-enabled phone to initiate a call to a predetermined number, causing the NFC-enabled phone to generate a message to a predetermined number, causing the NFC-enabled phone to generate a message to a predetermined email address, causing the NFC-enabled phone to automatically connect with a web server associated with a predetermined Universal Resource Locator (URL), and causing the NFC-enabled phone to display at least one image via its user interface.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the NFC-enabled phone performs the validation analysis.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein trusted authority that is separated from the NFC-enabled phone by a communication network performs the validation analysis.

19. A communication system, comprising:

a Near Field Communication (NFC) tag having memory and an NFC interface;

a trusted authority configured to receive data from a phone that has read the tag, the received including at least one of tag data, user-entered data, and metadata, wherein the trusted authority is further configured to generate a validation signature for the tag based on the received data and then cause the validation signature to be written into the memory of the tag.

20. The system of claim 19, further comprising a signature validation module configured to receive the validation signature from the tag and perform a validation analysis of the tag by comparing the received validation signature with one or more entries in a database of valid validation signatures.

21. The system of claim 19, further comprising an NFC-enabled phone, wherein the NFC-enabled phone is configured to read the tag via inductive coupling.