METHODS AND A SYSTEM FOR PASSIVE AUTHENTICATION

• US 20160063471A1
• Filed: 02/27/2015
• Published: 03/03/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NCR Voyix Corporation
• Original Assignee: NCR Corporation (NCR Voyix Corporation)
• Inventors: Kobres, Erick, Antonakakis, Stavros, Mishra, Ravi Prakash, Bhowmick, Suman Kumar, Mulani, Ajay Gordhandas
• Granted Patent: US 10,354,054 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/316 by observing the pattern of computer usage, e.g. typical user behaviour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2111 Location-sensitive, e.g. geographical location, GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/206 comprising security or operator identification provisions, e.g. password entry
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/208 Input by product or record sensing, e.g. weighing or scanner processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/321 using wearable devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/401 Transaction verification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40145 Biometric identity checks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/4016 involving fraud or risk level assessment in transaction processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/172 Classification, e.g. identification
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 17/00 Speaker identification or verification techniques
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0853 using an additional device, e.g. smartcard, SIM or a different communication terminal cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving additional secure or trusted devices H04L9/3234
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/065 Continuous authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/33 using wearable devices, e.g. using a smartwatch or smart-glasses
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/40 Security arrangements using identity modules
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/50 : Secure pairing of devices

Abstract

Resource attributes for resources are continuously and regularly collected from hardware and software resources of one or more devices. The resource attributes are continuously fed to one or more confidence calculators. At any given point in time, a single confidence value is provided to an authentication for making a decision as to whether to authenticate a user for access to a particular resource.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

obtaining, on a device, resource attributes associated with a resource; and

determining whether a user is to be passively authenticated for access to a second resource based on the resource attributes.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining further includes receiving the resource attributes from a sensor of the device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining further includes receiving the resource attributes from a sensor of a different device in wireless communication with the device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining further includes receiving the resource attributes by monitoring the resource while the resource executes on the device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining further includes updating a pattern of usage for the resource and assigned to the user based on the resource attributes.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining further includes acquiring the resource attributes from at least one sensor integrated into a Point-Of-Sale (POS) device during a checkout transaction being conducted by the user at the POS device, and identifying the resource attributes as biometric data transparently acquired by the sensor, and wherein the sensor is the resource and the device is the POS device.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein determining further includes obtaining a payment method registered to the user and automatically performing payment processing with that payment method for concluding the checkout transaction when the user is successfully passively authenticated.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein determining further includes comparing the resource attributes to a registered usage pattern assigned to the user, wherein the registered usage pattern is associated with a normalized pattern for historical usage patterns made by the user when accessing the resource.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein comparing further includes updating the registered usage pattern based on the resource attributes.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein determining further includes providing a secure token to the device when authentication is successful, and automatically providing the secure token from the device to a different device that executes the second resource for authenticating the user for access to the second resource.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein providing further includes time-stamping the secure token, wherein after a predefined period of elapsed time that begins at a time identified by the time stamping, the secure token becomes invalid for authenticating the user for access to the second resource, the device is a mobile device or wearable processing device of the user, the different device is a Point-Of-Sale (POS) device operated by the user, the user is a cashier, and the second resource is a transaction manager executing on the POS device.

12. A method, comprising:

continuously collecting resource attributes for a resource associated with a device; and

providing the resource attributes to a passive authentication mechanism for passively authenticating a user for access to a second resource at given point in time based on automated detection of an event.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein continuously collecting further includes activating collection of the resource attributes when the resource is accessed by the user.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein continuously collecting further includes activating collection of the resource attributes when the device is detected within a predefined geographical range of a Point-Of-Sale (POS) device that executes the second resource.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein continuously collecting further includes activating collection of the resource attributes based on automated detection of a predefined event raised on the device.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein providing further includes dynamically updating a usage pattern assigned to the user when the passive authentication mechanism provides an indication that the user was successfully authenticated for access to the second resource, wherein the usage pattern is updated based on the resource attributes.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein providing further includes receiving, on the device, an authentication token from the passive authentication mechanism when the passive authentication mechanism successfully authenticates the user for access to the second resource.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein receiving further includes automatically supplying the authentication token to a second device that executes the second resource to authenticate the user for access to the second resource without any action from the user.

19. A system, comprising:

a device; and

a resource profiler configured to;

i) execute on the device, ii) continuously collect resource attributes for a resource, and iii) provide the resource attributes to a passive authentication system to initiate passive authentication for access to a second resource.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the device is one of:

a mobile phone, a wearable processing device, a tablet, a laptop, a computer desktop, a Point-Of-Sale (POS) terminal, a Self-Service Terminal (SST), an Automated Teller Machine (ATM), an appliance, an attachable device attached to an apparatus, and a vehicle.