Integration of Intentional Noise into a Communication Channel to Simulate Activity

• US 20160241658A1
• Filed: 02/13/2015
• Published: 08/18/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/13/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Inventors: Fryc, Lukas
• Granted Patent: US 9,648,120 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/35 communicating wirelessly
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/43 wireless channels
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1859 adapted to provide push services, e.g. data channels
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1491 using deception as countermeasure, e.g. honeypots, honeynets, decoys or entrapment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/03 Protecting confidentiality, e.g. by encryption

Abstract

An example method of simulating activity to conceal actual activity associated with a wireless network includes generating, at a push server, a sham push message operable to simulate activity on a communication channel between a push service provider and a target mobile device. The sham push message includes an indication that the sham push message is not an actual push message from a third party associated with the mobile application. The method also includes retrieving an application registration identifier associated with the mobile application hosted on the mobile device. The target mobile device is subscribed to the push service provider for push message delivery. The method further includes encrypting the sham push message. The method also includes transmitting the encrypted sham push message to the target mobile device associated with the application registration identifier.

Claims

1. A method of simulating activity to conceal actual activity associated with a wireless network, comprising:

generating, at a push server, a sham push message operable to simulate activity on a communication channel between a push service provider and a target mobile device, the sham push message including an indication that the sham push message is not an actual push message from a third party associated with the mobile application;

retrieving an application registration identifier associated with the mobile application hosted on the mobile device, wherein the target mobile device is subscribed to the push service provider for push message delivery;

encrypting the sham push message; and

transmitting the encrypted sham push message to the target mobile device associated with the application registration identifier.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the push service provider is a third-party push service provider.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating includes generating the sham push message if a condition is satisfied.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the condition is satisfied if a time interval has elapsed.

5. The method of claim 4, further including

generating a pseudo-random number, wherein the condition is satisfied if the time interval corresponding to the pseudo-random number has elapsed.

6. The method of claim 1, further including:

receiving, at the mobile application, the encrypted sham push message; and

decrypting the sham push message.

7. The method of claim 6, further including:

performing, at the mobile application, one or more actions in response to receiving the sham push message.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the performing includes establishing a connection to a server-application endpoint, generating a sham response message operable to simulate activity from the target mobile device, encrypting the sham response message, and sending the encrypted sham response message to the server-application endpoint.

9. The method of claim 1, further including:

determining, at the mobile application, that the received push message is a sham push message based on the indication.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting includes transmitting, via the push service provider, the encrypted sham push message to the target mobile device associated with the application registration identifier.

11. A system for simulating activity to conceal actual activity associated with a wireless network, comprising:

a memory that stores one or more application registration identifiers associated with one or more mobile applications hosted on one or more target mobile devices;

an encryptor that encrypts one or more sham push messages operable to simulate activity on a communication channel between a push service provider and a target mobile device; and

a message generator that generates a sham push message including an indication that the sham push message is not an actual push message from a third party associated with a mobile application, retrieves an application registration identifier associated with the mobile application hosted on the mobile device, and transmits the encrypted sham push message to the target mobile device associated with the application registration identifier, wherein the target mobile device is subscribed to the push service provider for push message delivery.

12. The system of claim 11, further including

a client-side mobile application hosted on the target mobile device, wherein the mobile application receives the encrypted sham push message and decrypts the encrypted sham push message.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the mobile application determines that the received push message is a sham push message based on the indication.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the mobile application performs one or more actions in response to receiving the sham push message.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein in response to receiving the sham push message, the mobile application establishes a connection to a server-application endpoint, generates a sham response message operable to simulate activity from the target mobile device, and sends the sham response message to the server-application endpoint.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the mobile application encrypts the sham response message and sends the encrypted sham response message to the server-application endpoint.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the mobile application receives an acknowledgement from the server-application endpoint.

18. The system of claim 12, wherein the push server and the mobile application support that same protocol, and wherein the protocol specifies how to provide the indication that a push message is a sham push message.

19. The system of claim 11, further including

a listener positioned on top of an operating system executable on the target mobile device, wherein the listener listens for push messages addressed to the mobile application.

20. A machine-readable medium comprising a plurality of machine-readable instructions that when executed by one or more processors is adapted to cause the one or more processors to perform a method comprising:

generating, at a push server, a sham push message operable to simulate activity on a communication channel between a push service provider and a target mobile device, the sham push message including an indication that the sham push message is not an actual push message from a third party associated with the mobile application;

retrieving an application registration identifier associated with the mobile application hosted on the mobile device, wherein the target mobile device is subscribed to the push service provider for push message delivery;

encrypting the sham push message; and

transmitting the encrypted sham push message to the target mobile device associated with the application registration identifier.