Contact-less tag with signature, and applications thereof

• US 7,806,325 B2
• Filed: 12/11/2008
• Issued: 10/05/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: BCE Incorporated
• Original Assignee: BCE Incorporated
• Inventors: O'Brien, William G., Yeap, Tet Hin
• Primary Examiner(s): Frech; Karl D.
• Application Number:
  US12/314,458
• Publication Number:
  US 20090159666A1
• Time in Patent Office: 663 Days
• Field of Search: 235/375, 235/380, 235/382, 235/382.5
• US Class Current: 235/380
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/43 wireless channels
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/79 in semiconductor storage media, e.g. directly-addressable memories
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/445 Program loading or initiating bootstrapping G06F9/4401; security arrangements for program loading or initiating G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/02 involving a neutral party, e.g. certification authority, notary or trusted third party [TTP]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/341 Active cards, i.e. cards including their own processing means, e.g. including an IC or chip
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3825 Use of electronic signatures
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3829 involving key management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/385 using an alias or single-use codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/401 Transaction verification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40975 using encryption therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/425 using two different networks, one for transaction and one for security confirmation
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1008 Active credit-cards provided with means to personalise their use, e.g. with PIN-introduction/comparison system
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/56 Financial cryptography, e.g. electronic payment or e-cash
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/805 Lightweight hardware, e.g. radio-frequency identification [RFID] or sensor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/84 Vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0823 using certificates cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0846 using time-dependent-passwords, e.g. periodically changing passwords
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/126 the source of the received data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3247 : involving digital signatures
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 : Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/10 : Integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/47 : using near field communication [NFC] or radio frequency identification [RFID] modules

Abstract

A method, comprising: obtaining a signature from a contactlessly readable tag; decrypting the signature with a key to obtain (i) a candidate identifier and (ii) a scrambling code associated with the signature; and validating the candidate identifier based on at least one of the scrambling code and the signature. Also, a system, comprising: at least one tag reader configured to receive a plurality of signatures released by a respective plurality of tags, including a particular signature released by a particular one of the tags, and to cause decryption of the particular signature with a key to obtain (i) a candidate identifier, and (ii) a scrambling code associated with the signature; and a processing entity configured to effect validation of the candidate identifier based on at least one of the scrambling code and the signature.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

obtaining a signature from a contactlessly readable tag;

decrypting the signature with a key to obtain;

a candidate identifier, and

a scrambling code associated with the signature; and

validating the candidate identifier based on at least one of the scrambling code and the signature;

wherein validating comprises at least one of;

determining whether said signature has been previously received;

determining whether said scrambling code was encoded in a previously received signature also encoding the candidate identifier and determining whether said scrambling code or signature corresponds to an expected scrambling code or signature for said tag.

2. The method defined in claim 1, further comprising concluding that said validating is unsuccessful if said determining indicates that said signature has been previously received.

3. The method defined in claim 2, further comprising concluding that said validating is potentially successful if said determining indicates that said signature has not been previously received.

4. The method defined in claim 2, wherein said determining comprises consulting a database of previously received signatures.

5. The method defined in claim 1, further comprising concluding that said validating is unsuccessful if said determining indicates said scrambling code was encoded in a previously received signature also encoding the candidate identifier.

6. The method defined in claim 5, further comprising concluding that said validating is potentially successful if said determining indicates said scrambling code was not encoded in any previously received signature also encoding the candidate identifier.

7. The method defined in claim 5, wherein said determining comprises consulting a database of scrambling codes encoded in previously received signatures also encoding the candidate identifier.

8. The method defined in claim 1, further comprising determining the expected scrambling code or signature for said tag.

9. The method defined in claim 8, wherein determining the expected scrambling code or signature for said tag comprises implementing a pseudo-random number generator that corresponds to a pseudo-random number generator implemented by said tag.

10. The method defined in claim 1, further comprising concluding that said validating is potentially successful if said determining indicates said scrambling code or signature corresponds to the expected scrambling code or signature for said tag.

11. The method defined in claim 10, further comprising concluding that said validating is unsuccessful if said determining indicates said scrambling code or signature does not correspond to the expected scrambling code or signature for said tag.

12. The method defined in claim 1, wherein if said validating is unsuccessful, the method further comprises denying access to property.

13. The method defined in claim 12, wherein said property comprises at least one of:

computing equipment, a computer network, a building, a portion of a building, an entrance, an exit and a vehicle.

14. The method defined in claim 1, wherein if said validating is unsuccessful, the method further comprises denying a transaction.

15. The method defined in claim 14, wherein said transaction comprises at least one of:

a financial transaction and a login to controlled online content.

16. The method defined in claim 1, further comprising issuing a read request to the tag over a contact-less medium, wherein said obtaining occurs over the contact-less medium in response to issuing the read request.

17. The method defined in claim 1, further comprising performing an action related to identification of an item associated with the tag, based on the identifier.

18. A method, comprising:

obtaining a signature from a contactlessly readable tag;

decrypting the signature with a key to obtain;

a candidate identifier, and

a scrambling code associated with the signature; and

validating the candidate identifier based on at least one of the scrambling code and the signature;

receiving an index accompanying the signature; and

consulting a storage entity that stores potential keys associated with respective indexes to identify said key as the potential key associated with the index accompanying the signature.

19. The method defined in claim 18, wherein if said validating is unsuccessful, the method further comprises denying access to property.

20. The method defined in claim 19, wherein said property comprises at least one of:

computing equipment, a computer network, a building, a portion of a building, an entrance, an exit and a vehicle.

21. The method defined in claim 18, wherein if said validating is unsuccessful, the method further comprises denying a transaction.

22. The method defined in claim 21, wherein said transaction comprises at least one of:

a financial transaction and a login to controlled online content.

23. The method defined in claim 18, further comprising issuing a read request to the tag over a contact-less medium, wherein said obtaining occurs over the contact-less medium in response to issuing the read request.

24. The method defined in claim 18, further comprising performing an action related to identification of an item associated with the tag, based on the identifier.

25. A method, comprising:

obtaining a signature from a contactlessly readable tag;

decrypting the signature with a key to obtain;

a candidate identifier, and

a scrambling code associated with the signature; and

validating the candidate identifier based on at least one of the scrambling code and the signature; and

consulting a storage entity comprising a plurality of potential keys;

wherein said decrypting is performed using a first one of said potential keys.

26. The method defined in claim 25, said validating comprising:

comparing the candidate identifier to a set of expected identifiers and, if there is no match, repeating said decrypting using another one of said potential keys until occurrence of;

(i) a match between the candidate identifier and one of the expected identifiers; and

(ii) exhaustion of all potential keys without finding a match between the candidate identifier and any of the expected identifiers.

27. The method defined in claim 26, further comprising concluding that said validation was potentially successful in the case of a match between the candidate identifier and one of the expected identifiers.

28. The method defined in claim 27, further comprising concluding that said validation was unsuccessful in the case of exhaustion of all potential keys without finding a match between the candidate identifier and any of the expected identifiers.

29. The method defined in claim 25, wherein if said validating is unsuccessful, the method further comprises denying access to property.

30. The method defined in claim 29, wherein said property comprises at least one of:

computing equipment, a computer network, a building, a portion of a building, an entrance, an exit and a vehicle.

31. The method defined in claim 25, wherein if said validating is unsuccessful, the method further comprises denying a transaction.

32. The method defined in claim 31, wherein said transaction comprises at least one of:

a financial transaction and a login to controlled online content.

33. The method defined in claim 25, further comprising issuing a read request to the tag over a contact-less medium, wherein said obtaining occurs over the contact-less medium in response to issuing the read request.

34. The method defined in claim 25, further comprising performing an action related to identification of an item associated with the tag, based on the identifier.

35. A computer-readable medium comprising computer-readable program code which, when interpreted by a computing apparatus, causes the computing apparatus to execute a method, the computer-readable program code comprising:

first computer-readable program code for causing the computing apparatus to obtain a signature from a tag;

second computer-readable program code for causing the computing apparatus to decrypt the signature with a key to obtain;

a candidate identifier, and

a scrambling code associated with the signature; and

third computer-readable program code for causing the computing apparatus to validate the candidate identifier based on at least one of the scrambling code and the signature;

wherein validating comprises at least one of;

determining whether said signature has been previously received;

determining whether said scrambling code was encoded in a previously received signature also encoding the candidate identifier and determining whether said scrambling code or signature corresponds to an expected scrambling code or signature for said tag.

36. A system, comprising:

at least one tag reader configured to receive a plurality of signatures released by a respective plurality of tags, including a particular signature released by a particular one of the tags, and to cause decryption of the particular signature with a key to obtain;

a candidate identifier, and

a scrambling code associated with the signature; and

a processing entity configured to effect validation of the candidate identifier based on at least one of the scrambling code and the signature;

wherein to effect said validation, said processing entity is configured to effect at least one of (i) a determination of whether said signature has been previously received;

(ii) a determination of whether said scrambling code was encoded in a previously received signature also encoding the candidate identifier;

(iii) a determination of a number of times that said signature has been previously received; and

(iv) a determination of how long ago said signature was first received.

37. The system defined in claim 36, the at least one tag reader being further configured to effect said decryption.

38. The system defined in claim 36, further comprising a network controller communicatively coupled to the at least one tag reader and configured to effect said decryption.

39. The system defined in claim 36, wherein the processing entity is comprised in the at least one tag reader.

40. The system defined in claim 36, further comprising a network controller communicatively coupled to the at least one tag reader and configured to implement said processing entity.

41. The system defined in claim 40, wherein the network controller is further configured to effect said decryption.

42. The system defined in claim 36, wherein said processing entity is further configured to conclude that said validation is unsuccessful if said determination is indicative of said signature having been previously received.

43. The system defined in claim 42, wherein the at least one tag reader comprises a plurality of tag readers spatially distributed over a plurality of sites, wherein said processing entity is distributed among the plurality of tag readers.

44. The system defined in claim 43, wherein the plurality of tag readers are communicatively coupled to one another to enable said determination to be made jointly by the plurality of tag readers.

45. The system defined in claim 36, wherein said processing entity is further configured to conclude that said validation is unsuccessful if said determination is indicative of said scrambling code having been encoded in a previously received signature also encoding the candidate identifier.

46. The system defined in claim 45, wherein the at least one tag reader comprises a plurality of tag readers spatially distributed over a plurality of sites, wherein said processing entity is distributed among the plurality of tag readers.

47. The system defined in claim 46, wherein the plurality of tag readers are communicatively coupled to one another to enable said determination to be made jointly by the plurality of tag readers.

48. The system defined in claim 36, wherein said processing entity is further configured to conclude that said validation is unsuccessful if said determination is indicative of said signature having been previously received more than a pre-determined number of times.

49. The system defined in claim 36, wherein said processing entity is further configured to conclude that said validation is unsuccessful if said determination is indicative of said signature having been first received more than a pre-determined time interval ago.

50. The system defined in claim 36, wherein the at least one tag reader comprises a plurality of tag readers spatially distributed over a plurality of sites.

51. The system defined in claim 36, wherein if said validation is unsuccessful, said processing entity is further configured to deny access to property.

52. The system defined in claim 51, wherein said property comprises at least one of:

computing equipment, a computer network, a building, a portion of a building, an entrance, an exit and a vehicle.

53. The system defined in claim 36, wherein if said validation is unsuccessful, said processing entity is further configured to deny a transaction.

54. The system defined in claim 53, wherein said transaction comprises at least one of:

a financial transaction and a login to controlled online content.

55. A system, comprising:

means for receiving a plurality of signatures released by a respective plurality of tags, including a particular signature released by a particular one of said tags;

means for decrypting the particular signature with a key to obtain (I) a candidate identifier, and (II) a scrambling code associated with the signature; and

means for validating the candidate identifier based on at least one of the scrambling code and the signature;

wherein to effect said validation, said processing entity is configured to effect at least one of (i) a determination of whether said signature has been previously received;

(ii) a determination of whether said scrambling code was encoded in a previously received signature also encoding the candidate identifier;

(iii) a determination of a number of times that said signature has been previously received; and

(iv) a determination of how long ago said signature was first received.

56. A computer-readable medium comprising computer-readable program code which, when interpreted by a computing apparatus, causes the computing apparatus to execute a method, the computer-readable program code comprising:

first computer-readable program code for causing the computing apparatus to obtain a signature from a tag;

second computer-readable program code for causing the computing apparatus to decrypt the signature with a key to obtain;

a candidate identifier, and

a scrambling code associated with the signature; and

third computer-readable program code for causing the computing apparatus to validate the candidate identifier based on at least one of the scrambling code and the signature;

fourth computer-readable program code for causing the computing apparatus to receive an index accompanying the signature; and

fifth computer-readable program code for causing the computing apparatus to consult a storage entity that stores potential keys associated with respective indexes to identify said key as the potential key associated with the index accompanying the signature.

57. A computer-readable medium comprising computer-readable program code which, when interpreted by a computing apparatus, causes the computing apparatus to execute a method, the computer-readable program code comprising:

first computer-readable program code for causing the computing apparatus to obtain a signature from a tag;

second computer-readable program code for causing the computing apparatus to decrypt the signature with a key to obtain;

a candidate identifier, and

a scrambling code associated with the signature; and

third computer-readable program code for causing the computing apparatus to validate the candidate identifier based on at least one of the scrambling code and the signature;

fourth computer-readable program code for causing the computing apparatus to consult a storage entity comprising a plurality of potential keys;

wherein decrypting of the signature is performed using a first one of said potential keys.