ESTABLISHING AND USING A TRUST LEVEL IN MOBILE PHONES

• US 20160335442A1
• Filed: 06/05/2015
• Published: 11/17/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Cheng, Chia-Le, Bray, Gavin G., Hughes, Elizabeth M., Singh, Kalvinder P.
• Granted Patent: US 9,756,054 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/606 by securing the transmission between two devices or processes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2111 Location-sensitive, e.g. geographical location, GPS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/105 Multiple levels of security
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/107 wherein the security policies are location-dependent, e.g. entities privileges depend on current location or allowing specific operations only from locally connected terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security

Abstract

Automatically establishing and/or modifying a trust relationship between devices, including mobile devices, in communication, and customizing a user interface workflow based on the trust relationship. Trust relationships are based on numerous proximity-related factors including automatically gathered proximity data, length of time in proximity, and signals detected from a target communication device as well as other nearby communication devices.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a historical locational data set including information about device location for a first communication device and a second communication device;

applying a first set of machine logic based rules to the historical locational data set to determine a trust level for communications, between the first communication device and the second communication device, based, at least in part, upon relative distance over time between the first communication device and the second communication device;

applying a weighting factor to the trust level wherein the weighting factor is inversely proportional to the number of communication devices in close proximity to the first communication device and the second communication device;

sharing, between the first communication device and the second communication device, respective trust level information with respect to a third communication device not known to the first communication device; and

improving a trust level between the first communication device, and the third communication device, based, at least in part, upon trust level information with respect to the first communication device and the second communication device.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

responsive to an attempted communication from the second communication device to the first communication device, presenting the trust level, in human understandable form and format, through the first communication device.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

responsive to an attempted communication from the second communication device to the first communication device, applying a second set of machine logic based rules to determine whether the attempted communication will be allowed.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

collecting over time, by the first communication device, a first set of wireless signals originating from the second communication device;

wherein the historical locational data set is based, at least in part, on the first set of wireless signals.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the first set of wireless signals includes at least one of the following types of wireless signals:

(i) Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 type wireless signals;

(ii) IEEE 802.15.4 type wireless signals;

(iii) IEEE 802.15.1 type wireless signals; and

/or (iv) Near Field Communication type wireless signals.

6. The method of claim 4 wherein the first set of wireless signals includes at least one of the following types of wireless signals:

(i) ultra-high frequency spectrum electromagnetic signals;

(ii) super high frequency electromagnetic signals;

(iii) ISM (Industrial, Scientific and Medical) spectrum electromagnetic signals;

(iv) electromagnetic signals of a type sent by devices to cell phone towers; and

/or (v) radio frequency (RF) signals of the type that can power a passive device at a distance.

7. A method comprising:

receiving, by a first communication device, from a set of sensors including at least one sensor on a second communication device, an environmental factors data set including information based on environmental factors corresponding to the second communication device;

applying a respectively predetermined weight to at least one environmental factor corresponding to the second communication device to produce a weighted environmental factors data set; and

determining a trust relationship between the first communication device and the second communication device, based at least in part, on information included in the weighted environmental factors data set;

wherein the environmental factors data set includes information corresponding to the location of the second communication device, including at least one of;

a global positioning system (GPS) location data set,

an ambient noise level data set,

an ambient lighting level data set, and

a data set including information about other communications devices detected by the second communication device.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

establishing a communication session between the first communication device and the second communication device, based at least in part upon the trust relationship;

receiving an updated weighted environmental factors data set; and

improving the trust relationship, based at least in part, on the updated environmental factors data set.

9. A method comprising:

receiving a historical locational data set including information about device location for a first communication device and a second communication device;

applying a first set of machine logic based rules to the historical locational data set to determine a trust level for communications, between the first communication device and the second communication device, based, at least in part, upon relative distance over time between the first communication device and the second communication device;

determining, by the first communication device, that the first communication device has been within a threshold proximity to the second communication device for at least a threshold amount of time; and

responsive to the determination that the first communication device has been within a threshold proximity to the second communication device for at least a threshold amount of time, increasing a trust level of the first communication device with respect to the second communication device.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

responsive to the increase of the trust level of the first communication device with respect to the second communication device, taking, by the first communication device with respect to the second communication device, an action that requires the increased trust level.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein:

the first communication device is a mobile phone; and

the second communication device is a mobile phone.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein:

the receipt of the historical locational data set is performed automatically; and

the application of the first set of machine logic based rules is performed automatically.