PROCESS FOR PRESERVING THE PRIVACY OF A USER CONNECTED TO A NETWORK

• US 20170034695A1
• Filed: 03/27/2015
• Published: 02/02/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/16/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: L'Haridon, Sylvain, Papillon, Serge, Kanoun, Wael
• Granted Patent: US 9,998,916 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/02 Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/16 selectively restricting mobility data tracking

Abstract

Process for preserving the privacy of a user connected to a network through a terminal that comprises geolocation means adapted to emit geolocation information (2, 2a) about the geographical position of said user, said process providing for:—analysing a packet (1) from said terminal to detect the eventual presence of geolocation information (2) into said packet;—replacing in said packet said detected geolocation information by virtual geolocation information (9, 9a) that have been computed for said user;—forwarding through said network said packet with said virtual geolocation information.

Claims

1. Process for preserving the privacy of a user connected to a network through a terminal that comprises geolocation means adapted to emit geolocation information about the geographical position of said user, said process providing for:

analysing a packet from said terminal to detect the eventual presence of geolocation information into said packet;

replacing in said packet said detected geolocation information by virtual geolocation information that have been computed for said user;

forwarding through said network said packet with said virtual geolocation information.

2. Process according to claim 1, wherein prior provides for allowing the registration of a user and for checking the registration of a user upon reception of a packet from said user, said packet being analysed or not for detection of eventual geolocation information according to said checking.

3. Process according to claim 2, wherein provides, for each user sending packets and being not registered, for tracking geolocation information of said user and for estimating the confidentiality of said tracked geolocation information, and thus for sending to said user a notification for registration according to said estimation, said user being registered according to the response of said user to said notification.

4. Process according to claim 2, wherein it provides, for each user sending packets and being registered, for tracking geolocation information of said user and for estimating the confidentiality of said tracked geolocation information, virtual geolocation information further being computed according to said estimation.

5. Process according to claim 4, wherein provides for unregistering the user when the latest tracked geolocation information of said user is not confidential whereas the preceding tracked geolocation information of said user was confidential.

6. Process according to claim 2, wherein provides for unregistering the user upon manual intervention of said user.

7. Process according to claim 5, wherein provides for computing additional virtual geolocation information for the user upon unregistration of said user, said additional virtual geolocation information creating a realistic virtual path between the virtual geolocation information computed for said user at the time of said unregistration and ulterior tracked geolocation information of said user.

8. Architecture for preserving the privacy of a user connected to a network through a terminal that comprises geolocation means adapted to emit geolocation information about the geographical position of said user, said architecture comprising:

a detection device comprising means for analysing a packet sent by said terminal to detect the eventual presence of geolocation information into said packet;

a computing device comprising means for computing virtual geolocation information for said user;

a patching device comprising means for replacing in said packet said detected geolocation information by said virtual geolocation information and means for forwarding through said network said packet with said virtual geolocation information.

9. Architecture according to claim 8, wherein the computing device comprises means for storing into a virtual location database the computed virtual geolocation information associated with the user, the patching device comprising means for interacting with said virtual location database for replacing into a packet detected geolocation information by virtual geolocation information retrieved from said virtual location database.

10. Architecture according to claim 8, wherein it further comprises:

a registration device comprising means for prior allowing a registration of a user, such as means for storing information about said user into a client database upon said registration;

a switch device comprising means for receiving a packet sent by a user and for checking in the client database the presence of information about said user, said switch device further comprising means for forwarding or not said packet to the detection device according to the presence or not of such information about said user into said client database.

11. Architecture according to claim 10, wherein the registration device comprises means for tracking, for each user sending packets and being not registered, geolocation information of said user and means for estimating the confidentiality of said tracked geolocation information, such as means for sending to said user a notification for registration according to said estimation, information about said user being registered into the client database according to the response of said user to said notification.

12. Architecture according to claim 11, wherein the registration device comprises means for tracking, for each user sending packets and being registered, geolocation information of said user and means for estimating the confidentiality of said tracked geolocation information, the computing device being adapted to compute virtual geolocation information for said user according to said estimation.

13. Architecture according to claim 12, wherein the registration device comprises means for unregistering the user when the latest tracked geolocation information of said user is not confidential whereas the preceding tracked geolocation information of said user was confidential.

14. Architecture according to claim 13, wherein the computing device comprises means for triggering a virtual path module upon unregistration of a user, said virtual path module comprises means for computing additional virtual geolocation information for creating a realistic virtual path between the latest virtual geolocation information computed for said user at the time of said unregistration and ulterior tracked geolocation information of said user.

15. Architecture for preserving the privacy of a user connected to a network through a terminal that comprises geolocation means adapted to emit geolocation information about the geographical position of said user, said architecture comprising:

a service platform embedded into said network and comprising a computing device which comprises means for computing virtual geolocation information for said user;

a device embedded into said terminal, said application comprising;

means for analysing a packet to be sent by said terminal to detect the eventual presence of geolocation information into said packet;

means for requesting to the computing device computation of virtual geolocation information for said user upon said detection;

means for replacing in said packet said detected geolocation information by said virtual geolocation information;

means for forwarding through said network said packet with said virtual geolocation information.

16. Architecture for preserving the privacy of a user connected to a network through a terminal that comprises geolocation means adapted to emit geolocation information about the geographical position of said user, said architecture comprising:

a service platform embedded into said network and comprising a computing device which comprises means for computing virtual geolocation information for said user;

a network equipment comprising;

means for analysing a packet to be sent by said terminal to detect the eventual presence of geolocation information into said packet;

means for requesting to the computing device computation of virtual geolocation information for said user upon said detection;

means for replacing in said packet said detected geolocation information by said virtual geolocation information;

means for forwarding through said network said packet with said virtual geolocation information.