VERIFYING A SECURE CONNECTION BETWEEN A NETWORK BEACON AND A USER COMPUTING DEVICE

• US 20150332248A1
• Filed: 01/23/2015
• Published: 11/19/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Weksler, Michel, Abousselham, Yassir
• Granted Patent: US 10,019,703 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3224 Transactions dependent on location of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3226 Use of secure elements separate from M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/325 using wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3278 RFID or NFC payments by means of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3829 involving key management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/02 Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/10 Integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/12 Detection or prevention of fraud
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/122 Counter-measures against attacks; Protection against rogue devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/50 Secure pairing of devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/79 Radio fingerprint
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/08 Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/244 using a network of reference devices, e.g. beaconing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

A beacon device establishes a network connection with a user computing device. The beacon device determines the received signal strength indicator of the user computing device (the “reverse RSSI”) and transmits it to the user computing device, which determines the received signal strength indicator (the “RSSI”) of the beacon device, and saves the RSSI with the reverse RSSI as a data pair. At a later time, the beacon device determines a subsequent reverse RSSI and transmits it to the user computing device, which determines a subsequent RSSI, and saves the subsequent RSSI with the subsequent reverse RSSI as a data pair. If the user computing device determines a correspondence in the changes of the RSSI values and reverse RSSI values in the two data pairs, a transaction between the two devices is allowed. If correspondence does not exist, then the user computing device terminates the network connection.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for securing a network connection, comprising:

receiving, by the user computing device, a first set of data comprising a first reverse received signal strength indicator, the first reverse received signal strength indicator comprising the received signal strength indicator of the user computing device as determined by the beacon device;

determining, by the user computing device, a first received signal strength indicator, the first received signal strength indicator comprising the received signal strength indicator of the beacon device as determined by the user computing device;

receiving, by the user computing device, at a time after determining the first received signal strength indicator, a second set of data comprising a second reverse received signal strength indicator from the beacon device, the second reverse received signal strength indicator comprising the received signal strength indicator of the user computing device as determined by the merchant beacon device at a time after the user computing device determines the first received signal strength indicator;

determining, by the user computing device, a second received signal strength indicator, the second received signal strength indicator comprising the received signal strength indicator of the beacon device;

comparing, by the user computing device, the change in the first received signal strength indicator with respect to the second received signal strength indicator to the change in the first reverse received signal strength indicator with respect to the second reverse received signal strength indicator;

determining, by the user computing device, a correspondence between the change in the received signal strength indicator values and the change in the reverse signal strength indicator values, the correspondence comprising a proportional change in magnitude; and

allowing, by the user computing device, a transaction with a merchant system associated with the beacon device based on determining the correspondence in the changes in the received signal strength indicator values and reverse received signal strength indicator values.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the user computing device, that there is not a correspondence in the changes in the received signal strength indicator values and reverse received signal strength indicator values; and

terminating, by the user computing device, a network connection between the user computing device and the beacon device in response to determining that there is not a correspondence in the changes in the received signal strength indicator values and reverse received signal strength indicator values.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting, by the merchant beacon device, movement of the merchant beacon device; and

terminating, by the merchant beacon device, the network connection between the merchant beacon device and the user computing device in response to detecting movement of the merchant beacon device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the movement of the merchant beacon device is detected via an accelerometer residing on the merchant beacon device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first data and the second data further comprise advertising data.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the beacon device is a Bluetooth low energy beacon.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first data and the second data further comprise a digital signature created by the beacon device via a private cryptographic key residing within a secure memory of the beacon device, and wherein the method further comprises:

receiving, by the user computing device, a public cryptographic key from the beacon device;

decrypting, by the user computing device via the public cryptographic key, the digital signature; and

verifying, by the user computing device, that the digital signature corresponds to a merchant system with which the user computing device intends to transact.

8. A computer program product, comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-readable program instructions embodied thereon that when executed by a computer cause the computer to secure a network connection, the computer-readable program instructions comprising;

computer-readable program instructions to receive, from a beacon device, first data comprising a first reverse received signal strength indicator, the first reverse received signal strength indicator comprising the received signal strength indicator of a user computing device as determined by the beacon device;

computer-readable program instructions to determine, in response to receiving the first data comprising the first reverse received signal strength indicator, a first received signal strength indicator, the first received signal strength indicator comprising the received signal strength indicator of the beacon device as determined by the user computing device;

computer-readable program instructions to receive, at a time after determining the first received signal strength indicator, second data comprising a second reverse received signal strength indicator from the beacon device, the second reverse received signal strength indicator comprising the received signal strength indicator of the user computing device as determined by the merchant beacon device at a time after determining the first received signal strength indicator;

computer-readable program instructions to determine, in response to receiving the second data comprising the second reverse received signal strength indicator, a second received signal strength indicator, the second received signal strength indicator comprising the received signal strength indicator of the beacon device;

computer-readable program instructions to compare the change in the first received signal strength indicator with respect to the second received signal strength indicator to the change in the first reverse received signal strength indicator with respect to the second reverse received signal strength indicator;

computer-readable program instructions to determine, by the user computing device, that there is not a correspondence in the changes in the received signal strength indicator values and reverse received signal strength indicator values, a correspondence comprising a proportional change in magnitude; and

computer-readable program instructions to terminate a wireless network connection between the user computing device and the beacon device in response to determining that there is not a correspondence in the changes in the received signal strength indicator values and reverse received signal strength indicator values, a correspondence comprising a proportional change in magnitude.

9. The computer program product of claim 8, further comprising:

computer-readable program instructions to determine a correspondence between the change in the received signal strength indicator values and the change in the reverse signal strength indicator values; and

computer-readable program instructions to allow a transaction with a merchant system associated with the beacon device, wherein allowing the transaction is based on determining the correspondence in the changes in the received signal strength indicator values and reverse received signal strength indicator values.

10. The computer program product of claim 8, further comprising computer-readable program instructions to establish a wireless network connection between the user computing device and a beacon device

11. The computer program product of claim 8 further comprising computer-readable program instructions to receive, at a time before terminating the wireless network connection between the user computing device and the beacon device, a notification from the beacon device of a detection of movement of the beacon device and wherein terminating the wireless network connection is based on receiving the notification from the beacon device.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the movement of the merchant beacon device is detected via an accelerometer residing on the merchant beacon device.

13. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the wireless network device is a Bluetooth low energy device.

14. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the first data and the second data further comprise a digital signature created by the beacon device via a private cryptographic key residing within a secure element of the beacon device, and wherein the computer-readable program instructions further comprising:

computer-readable program instructions to receive a public cryptographic key from the beacon device;

computer-readable program instructions to decrypt, via the public cryptographic key, the digital signature; and

computer-readable program instructions to verify that the digital signature corresponds to a merchant system with which the user intends to transact.

15. A system for securing a network connection, comprising:

a storage device; and

a processor communicatively coupled to the storage device, wherein the processor executes application code instructions that are stored in the storage device to cause the system to;

receive, from a beacon device, a first indication of distance between the system and the beacon device, the first indication of distance having been determined by the beacon device;

determine, at a time corresponding to receipt of the first indication of distance, a second indication of distance between the system and the beacon device;

receive, at a time after determining the second indication of distance, a third indication of distance between the system and the beacon device, the third indication of distance having been determined by the beacon device at a time after the user computing device determined the second indication of distance;

determine, at a time corresponding to receipt of the third indication of distance;

determine whether a change in the first and third indications of distance is proportional to a change in the second and fourth indications of distance; and

allow a transaction with a merchant system associated with the beacon device in response to determining that the change in the first and third indications of distance is proportional to the change in the second and fourth indications of distance.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the indications of distance are a received signal strength indicator, a free space path loss, a received channel power indicator, a time of arrival, or a round trip time.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the processor is further configured to execute computer-executable instructions stored in the storage medium to cause the system to establish a wireless network connection between the system and the beacon device.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the processor is further configured to execute computer-executable instructions stored in the storage medium to cause the system to:

determine that the change in the first and third indications of distance is not proportional to the change in the second and fourth indications of distance; and

terminate a wireless network connection between the system and the beacon device in response to determining that the change in the first and third indications of distance is not proportional to the change in the second and fourth indications of distance.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein the processor is further configured to execute computer-executable instructions stored in the storage medium to cause the system to:

receive a notification from the beacon device of a detection of movement of the beacon device; and

terminate a wireless network connection between the user computing device and the beacon device in response to receiving the notification from the beacon device.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the beacon device is a Bluetooth low energy beacon.