Method and means for securing the distribution of encoding keys

• US 4,288,659 A
• Filed: 05/21/1979
• Issued: 09/08/1981
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/1979
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Atalla Technovations
• Original Assignee: Atalla Technovations
• Inventors: Atalla, Martin M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Birmiel, Howard A.
• Application Number:
  US06/040,687
• Time in Patent Office: 841 Days
• Field of Search: 178/22, 375/2, 340/149 R, 340/149 A, 235/380, 235/379, 235/382
• US Class Current: 380/281
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/382 insuring higher security of transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1016 Devices or methods for securing the PIN and other transaction-data, e.g. by encryption arrangements for secret communication, see H04L9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0827 involving distinctive intermediate devices or communication paths network architectures or network communication protocols using different networks H04L63/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0838 Key agreement, i.e. key establishment technique in which a shared key is derived by parties as a function of information contributed by, or associated with, each of these network architectures or network communication protocols for key exchange in a packet data network H04L63/061
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0891 Revocation or update of secret information, e.g. encryption key update or rekeying

Abstract

An improved secured data transmission system relies on the favorable comparison of coded signals derived from information about authorized individuals and particular data terminals that is both prestored and subsequently supplied under manual command in order to generate an operating key which is then used to encode and decode data that is entered after the initialization procedure.

Claims

1. Data-handling apparatus for securing the transmission of data under control of an authorized individual from one location having an identification number to data processing means having memory means with the identification number stored therein at a remote location, the apparatus comprising:

encrypting means at the one location and remote location, each for producing first and second encoded outputs as a logical combination of a pair of signals applied thereto;

input means at the one location coupled to the encrypting means for applying a pair of signals thereto which are representative of the identification number for the one location and of a code signal associated with the authorized individual;

at the one location, storage means for storing the first encoded output produced by the encrypting means;

at the remote location, data processing means having memory and storing the identification number for the one location and storing the code signal associated with the authorized individual;

said encrypting means at the remote location being coupled to receive the identification number and the code signal from the memory of the data processing means to produce first and second encoded outputs as said logical combination of signals applied thereto;

storage means at the remote location for storing the first encoded output from the encrypting means thereat;

comparator means responsive to the second encoded outputs received from each of said encrypting means for producing an enabling output in response to favorable comparison of said second encoded outputs;

means responsive to said enabling output for producing a key code;

means for transmitting to the one location an encrypted key code as the second logical combination of said key code and the first encoded output from the storage means at said remote location;

means at said one location for decrypting the encrypted key code received thereat with respect to the first encoded output stored thereat and the second logical combination to produce the key code; and

means at said one location and said remote location for encoding and decoding data thereat with respect to the same logical manipulation of an applied signal and said encoding key.

2. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein:

said input means at the one location provides an auxiliary code signal in response to manual actuation thereof, and applies to said encrypting means at the one location a pair of signals representative of the auxiliary code signal, the identification number for the one location and the code signal associated with the authorized individual; and

said encrypting means at the remote location being coupled to receive the auxiliary code signal from the input means and the identification number and code signal from the memory of the data processing means for producing the first and second encoded outputs as said logical combination of a pair of signals applied thereto.

3. Apparatus as in claim 1 comprising code-generating means responsive to said enabling signal for producing said key code as a logical manipulation of signals from the code-generating means.

4. The method of securing the transmission of data under control of an authorized individual from one location having an identification number to a remote location at which the identification number is stored, the method comprising the steps of:

encrypting at the one location a pair of signals which are representative of at least a code signal from the authorized individual and the identification number for the one location to produce first and second encoded outputs as a logical combination of the pair of signals;

storing the first encoded output at the one location;

storing the code signal from the authorized individual at the remote location;

encrypting at the remote location a pair of signals representative of at least the stored code signal from the authorized individual and the stored identification number for the one location to produce first and second encoded outputs as said logical combination of the pair of signals;

comparing second encoded signals produced by the encryption of a pair of signals at the first location, and by the encryption of a pair of signals at the remote location to enable the formation of a key code upon favorable comparison of the second encoded outputs;

producing an encrypted key code as a logical manipulation of the key code and the first encoded output produced at the remote location;

producing the key code from the encrypted key code received at the one location by decoding the encrypted key code with respect to said logical manipulation and the first encoded output stored at the one location; and

encoding and decoding data at said one and remote locations with respect to the key code produced at said locations.

5. The method as in claim 4 wherein the steps of encrypting at both the one location and remote location are performed on the respective pairs of signals which also are representative of at least a sequence number produced at the one location and transmitted to the remote location.

6. The method as in claim 4 wherein the formation of the key code includes the steps of:

generating code numbers; and

encoding the generated code numbers to produce the key code in response to favorable comparison of said second encoded output signals.