Sensory verification of shared data

• US 7,243,231 B2
• Filed: 07/31/2002
• Issued: 07/10/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Ellison, Carl M., Dohrmann, Stephen H., Epp, Edward C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Barron; Gilberto
• Assistant Examiner(s): LEMMA, SAMSON B
• Application Number:
  US10/210,341
• Publication Number:
  US 20040025017A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,805 Days
• Field of Search: 713/161, 713/168
• US Class Current: 713/168
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0861 using biometrical features, e.g. fingerprint, retina-scan cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using biological data H04L9/3231

Abstract

In one embodiment, a method for sensory verification comprises exchanging at least one data item with a computing unit and selecting a sequence number. Such selection may be accomplished by generation of the sequence number or manual entry by the user. Thereafter, a transformation is periodically performed on the data item, the sequence number and optionally a random value to produce a sequence of values, each value being used to produce a perceivable sensory element for comparison with another sensory element produced by another computing unit.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

exchanging at least one data item with a computing unit;

selecting a sequence number;

performing a transformation on the at least one data item and the sequence number to produce a first value of a sequence of values, the first value being a hash result used to produce a perceivable sensory element, the perceivable sensory element includes a graphic image for visual comparison with another sensory element contemporaneously produced and displayed by the computing unit;

periodically altering the sequence number; and

periodically performing transformations of the at least one data item and the altered sequence number to produce, inclusive of the first value, the sequence of values being used to produce a series of perceivable sensory elements for visual comparison with a corresponding series of sensory elements produced by the computing unit.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the comparison of the series of perceivable sensory elements with the sensory elements produced by the computing unit are contemporaneous.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the periodicity of the altering of the sequence number is dynamically controlled in response to a manual event.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the periodicity of the altering of the sequence number is clock controlled.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the performing of the transformation includes generation of the hash result based on the sequence number and the at least one data item.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the sensory elements are graphics images.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising performing visual comparison and auditory comparison through playing back of audio associated with the perceivable sensory element with audio associated with the sensory element produced by the computing unit.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the audio associated with the sensory element is at least one of tones, chords or portions of musical compositions.

9. A software stored in machine-readable medium executed by internal circuitry within a first computing unit, the software comprising:

a first software module to enable an exchange of at least one data item with a second computing unit;

a second software module to perform periodic hash transformations on the at least one data item and a periodically altered sequence number to produce a sequence of hash values, each hash value being used to produce and either display or playback a perceivable sensory element differing from a display of the hash value for visual or auditory verification by a user of the first computing unit through comparison of the perceivable sensory element with a sensory element produced and either displayed or played back by the second computing unit.

10. The software of claim 9, wherein the second software module further performs the transformation on at least one random number shared between the first computing unit and the second computing unit.

11. The software of claim 9, wherein the second software periodically alters the sequence number under dynamic control based on manual events.

12. The software of claim 11, wherein the manual events include at least one of a depression of a button of the first computing unit, selection of a menu item being displayed by the first computing unit.

13. The software of claim 9, wherein the second software periodically alters the sequence number based on clock-driven events.

14. The software of claim 13, wherein the clock-driven events are based on at least one of a clock cycle and a clock value itself.

15. The software of claim 9, wherein the perceivable sensory element being a graphic image that is rendered based on a hash value of the sequence of hash values.

16. The software of claim 9, further comprising:

a third software module to display the perceivable sensory elements for visual comparison with the sensory elements produced by the second computing unit.

17. The software of claim 9, further comprising:

a third software module to play back the perceivable sensory elements for audible comparison with the sensory elements produced by the second computing unit.

18. A computing unit comprising:

a casing;

an input/output (I/O) interface;

an output component to provide sensory data for a user; and

internal circuitry contained within the casing and enabling sensory verification of shared data by controlling operations of the I/O interface and the output component, the internal circuitry to output or input at least one data item via the I/O interface, to periodically perform a cryptographic hash operation on the shared data including at least one data item and a sequence number, being periodically altered prior to performance of the cryptographic hash operation, to produce a sequence of hash values, each hash value being used to produce a perceivable sensory element differing in form from an alphanumeric hash value, for visual or auditory verification by a user of the computing unit through comparison of the perceivable sensory element with a sensory element produced by a unit other than the computing unit.

19. The computing unit of claim 18, wherein the internal circuitry includes a memory and a processor accessing information from the memory.

20. The computing unit of claim 19, wherein the internal circuitry further includes a clock circuitry to periodically alter the sequence number.

21. The computing unit of claim 18, further comprising an input device to initiate performance of the transformations in response to an action performed on the input device by the user.

22. The computing unit of claim 18, wherein the shared data further includes at least one random value.

23. The computing unit of claim 19, wherein output component is at least one speaker that playback audible sounds digitally stored in the memory.

24. A network comprising:

a second computing unit in communication with a first computing unit, the second computing unit to (i) exchange at least one verification packet including at least one data item with the first computing unit, (ii) generate a sequence of values based on the at least one data item and a periodically altered sequence number, and (iii) present, in a successive fashion, a first plurality of perceivable sensory elements each being a graphic image uniquely associated with at least one of the sequence of values; and

the first computing unit to (i) generate the sequence of values based on the at least one data item and the periodically altered sequence number, and (ii) present a second plurality of perceivable sensory elements each uniquely associated with at least one of the sequence of values for comparison with the first plurality of perceivable sensory elements.

25. The network of claim 24, wherein the at least one verification packet exchanged between the first and second computing units further comprises the sequence number, the sequence number being subsequently altered within each of the first and second computing units contemporaneously while remaining equivalent in value.

26. The network of claim 25, wherein the at least one verification packet exchanged between the first and second computing units further comprises at least one random number generated by one of the first computing unit and the second computing unit.