PROOF OF PRESENCE VIA TAG INTERACTIONS

• US 20160021091A1
• Filed: 03/06/2014
• Published: 01/21/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Assa Abloy AB
• Original Assignee: Assa Abloy AB
• Inventors: HOYER, Philip, ROBINTON, Mark
• Granted Patent: US 10,404,682 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9566 URL specific, e.g. using aliases, detecting broken or misspelled links
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/69 using geographic information, e.g. room number
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/805 Lightweight hardware, e.g. radio-frequency identification [RFID] or sensor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0492 by using a location-limited connection, e.g. near-field communication or limited proximity of entities
• 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 63/12 Applying verification of the received information cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for data integrity or data verification H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/321 involving a third party or a trusted authority
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3247 involving digital signatures
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/10 Integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/106 Packet or message integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/35 Protecting application or service provisioning, e.g. securing SIM application provisioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/47 using near field communication [NFC] or radio frequency identification [RFID] modules
• 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 system and method for determining presence information for mobile devices (104) are disclosed. Specifically, the presence information for a mobile device (104) can be determined based on whether or not the mobile device (104) is having a unique interaction with a smart tag (108). If a unique interaction is detected, then the mobile device (104) can be said to be within the presence of the smart tag (108) and the location or presence information for the mobile device (104) can be correlated to location information known for the smart tag (108).

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, from a smart tag, a data object including a Tag Authentication Cryptogram (TAC) as well as an identifier of the of the smart tag;

analyzing the TAC to determine that the data object was received from the smart tag via a unique interaction between the smart tag and a mobile device;

determining a location of the smart tag based on the identifier of the smart tag; and

correlating the location of the smart tag with a location of the mobile device only in response to determining that the data object was received from the smart tag via a unique interaction between the smart tag and the mobile device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the TAC includes a pseudo-randomly generated number.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the TAC comprises a counter that increments after every use.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the data object is received in one or more Near-Field Communications (NFC) Data Exchange Format (NDEF) messages.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the data object is received via a Bluetooth protocol.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the location of the smart tag corresponds to a geographical location.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the location of the smart tag is approximated based on an association with another object.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the location of the smart tag comprises:

comparing the identifier of the smart tag with a plurality of identifiers stored in an identifier database;

matching the identifier of the smart tag with a first identifier from the plurality of identifiers; and

determining that the location of the smart tag corresponds to a location associated the first identifier in the identifier database.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing, in a data structure, the location of the mobile device along with the correlated location of the smart tag; and

storing, in the data structure and in association with the stored location of the mobile device, a time at which the data object was at least one of transmitted by the smart tag and received by the mobile device.

10. A system for confirming presence information for mobile devices, the system comprising:

a repository of tag identifiers stored with associated location information; and

an authentication service configured to receive a data object from a mobile device, the data object including a Tag Authentication Cryptogram (TAC) and an tag identifier exchanged between the mobile device and a smart tag, wherein the authentication service is further configured to analyze the TAC to determine whether the tag identifier was received during a unique interaction between the mobile device and the smart tag and then correlating a location of the mobile device only in response to determining that the tag identifier was received during a unique interaction between the mobile device and the smart tag.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the authentication service is executed by a server that is in communication with the mobile device via a communication network.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the authentication service is provided on the mobile device.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the data object is included in at least one of an email message, Short Message Service (SMS) message, and Hyper-Text Transport Protocol (HTTP) message.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the TAC is compared to previously-received TACs to determine whether the tag identifier was received during a unique interaction between the mobile device and the smart tag.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein the interaction between the mobile device and the smart tag corresponds to a Near-Field Communications (NFC) interaction.

16. The system of claim 10, wherein the data object is received in response to a challenge issued by the authentication service and wherein the TAC is compared with a unique expected response to the challenge.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the TAC is compared with the unique expected response by the mobile device.

18. The system of claim 10, wherein the mobile device corresponds to a Near-Field Communications (NFC)-enabled smart phone.

19. The system of claim 10, further comprising:

a database containing an access control log, the access control log including location information for mobile devices and times during which mobile devices received TACs from smart tags at predetermined locations.