METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR AUTHENTICATION AND IDENTITY MANAGEMENT OF COMMUNICATING DEVICES

• US 20160366587A1
• Filed: 06/12/2015
• Published: 12/15/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Levy, Donald E., Gross, David, Lackey, Joshua, Piqueras Jover, Roger, Ramachandran, Jayaraman, Serban, Cristina
• Granted Patent: US 9,820,146 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/52 Systems for transmission between fixed stations via waveguides
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0846 using time-dependent-passwords, e.g. periodically changing passwords
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0869 for achieving mutual authentication cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for mutual authentication H04L9/3273
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/069 using certificates or pre-shared keys
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/20 Information technology specific aspects, e.g. CAD, simulation, modelling, system security

Abstract

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, receiving, from a second waveguide system, electromagnetic waves at a physical interface of a transmission medium that propagate without utilizing an electrical return path where the electromagnetic waves are guided by the transmission medium and where the electromagnetic waves have a non-optical frequency range, and authenticating the second waveguide system according to an authentication protocol based on authentication information contained in the electromagnetic waves. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A waveguide system comprising:

a processor; and

a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising;

receiving, from a second waveguide system, electromagnetic waves at a physical interface of a transmission medium that propagate without utilizing an electrical return path, wherein the electromagnetic waves are guided by the transmission medium, and wherein the electromagnetic waves have a non-optical frequency range; and

authenticating the second waveguide system according to an authentication protocol based on authentication information contained in the electromagnetic waves.

2. The waveguide system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

responsive to a successful authentication of the second waveguide system, storing an authentication token in the memory, wherein the authentication token expires after a time period.

3. The waveguide system of claim 2, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining an expiration of the time period of the authentication token;

receiving, from the second waveguide system, second electromagnetic waves at the physical interface of the transmission medium that propagate without utilizing the electrical return path, wherein the second electromagnetic waves are guided by the transmission medium, and wherein the second electromagnetic waves have the non-optical frequency range;

responsive to the expiration of the time period, performing a second authentication of the second waveguide system according to the authentication protocol based on second authentication information contained in the second electromagnetic waves; and

responsive to the second authentication of the second waveguide system being successful, storing a second authentication token in the memory, wherein the second authentication token expires after a second time period.

4. The waveguide system of claim 1, wherein the second waveguide system is an adjacent node in a wired network comprising power lines, and wherein the authentication protocol comprises a handshake protocol.

5. The waveguide system of claim 1, wherein an intermediate waveguide system is positioned, along a wired network comprising power lines, between the waveguide system and the second waveguide system.

6. The waveguide system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

responsive to a successful authentication of the second waveguide system, providing a notification to a network server indicating the successful authentication.

7. The waveguide system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

accessing topology information associated with a network path along a wired network comprising power lines, and wherein the authenticating of the second waveguide system includes validating a location of the second waveguide system along the network path according to the topology information.

8. The waveguide system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

accessing a network modification request associated with a network path along a wired network comprising power lines, and wherein the authenticating of the second waveguide system includes validating a deployment of the second waveguide system along the network path according to the network modification request.

9. The waveguide system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

accessing inventory information associated with a network path along a wired network comprising power lines, and wherein the authenticating of the second waveguide system includes validating a deployment of the second waveguide system along the network path according to an identification included in the inventory information.

10. A method comprising:

determining, by a first waveguide system, that a second waveguide system is positioned between the first waveguide system and a third waveguide system in a network comprising a plurality of waveguide systems, wherein operations of the plurality of waveguide systems comprise receiving electromagnetic waves at a physical interface of a transmission medium that propagate without utilizing an electrical return path, wherein the electromagnetic waves are bound to the transmission medium, and wherein the electromagnetic waves have a non-optical frequency range; and

communicating, by the first waveguide system with the third waveguide system, to perform a mutual authentication, wherein the mutual authentication validates that the first and third waveguide systems are adjacent nodes to the second waveguide system.

11. The method of claim 10, comprising:

storing, by the first waveguide system, an authentication token corresponding to an authentication of the second waveguide system by the first waveguide system, wherein the authentication token expires after a time period.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first waveguide system is a root node for a group of non-edge elements and a group of terminal nodes in the network, the group of non-edge elements comprising waveguide systems of the plurality of waveguide systems, the group of terminal nodes comprising customer premises equipment, wherein the second and third waveguide systems are non-edge elements of the group of non-edge elements, and wherein the authentication performed between the first and second waveguide system comprises:

receiving, by the first waveguide system from the second waveguide system, identification information and an encryption key;

accessing topology information for the network; and

validating an identity and a location of the second waveguide system according to the identification information, the encryption key, and the topology information.

13. The method of claim 12, comprising providing a topology message to a network server responsive to the validating of the identity and the location of the second waveguide system, wherein the topology message validates the topology information stored by the network server.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the determining that a second waveguide system is positioned between the first waveguide system and a third waveguide system is based on a fingerprint analysis of received electromagnetic waves from the second waveguide system, topology information received from a network server, or a combination thereof, and further comprising:

monitoring the time period of the authentication token; and

responsive to an expiration of the time period, communicating, by the first waveguide system with the second waveguide system, to perform a second authentication of the second waveguide system.

15. A machine-readable storage device comprising instructions, which when executed by a processor cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

detecting that a first network device is operating in a network comprising a plurality of network devices;

determining a type of the first network device; and

responsive to a determination that the type of the first network device is an edge element, validating a deployment of the first network device by;

determining that the first network device is a root node for a group of non-edge elements and a group of terminal nodes in the network, the group of non-edge elements comprising second network devices of the plurality of network devices, the group of terminal nodes comprising customer premises equipment, and

determining that the first network device is associated with a network modification request stored in a modification database.

16. The machine-readable storage device of claim 15, wherein the first network device and the second network devices comprise waveguide systems that operate by receiving electromagnetic waves at a physical interface of a transmission medium that propagate without utilizing an electrical return path, wherein the electromagnetic waves are guided by the transmission medium, and wherein the electromagnetic waves have a non-optical frequency range

17. The machine-readable storage device of claim 15, wherein the validating of the deployment of the first network device further comprises determining that the first network device is associated with an identification stored in an inventory database.

18. The machine-readable storage device of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise, responsive to a determination that the first network device is not an edge element:

accessing the network modification request, wherein the network modification request includes a deployment location for the first network device;

accessing location information and identifications for a third network device and a fourth network device of the plurality of network devices, the third and fourth network devices being adjacent nodes to the first network device according to the deployment location for the first network device; and

validating the deployment of the first network device by determining that the first network device is positioned between the third and fourth network devices.

19. The machine-readable storage device of claim 18, wherein the validating of the deployment of the first network device further comprises determining that the first network device is associated with an identification stored in an inventory database.

20. The machine-readable storage device of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise, responsive to a determination that the first network device is not an edge element:

accessing the network modification request, wherein the network modification request includes a deployment location for the first network device;

accessing location information and an identification for a third network device of the plurality of network devices according to the deployment location, the third network device being another root node for other non-edge elements and other terminal nodes in the network, the other non-edge elements comprising other network devices of the plurality of network devices, the other terminal nodes comprising other customer premises equipment; and

validating the deployment of the first network device by determining that the first network device is positioned along a network path associated with the third network device.