Techniques for multilingual password challenge response, password reset, and/or password recovery

• US 8,132,265 B2
• Filed: 03/19/2008
• Issued: 03/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/19/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: RPX Corporation
• Original Assignee: Novell Incorporated (Open Text Corporation)
• Inventors: Carter, Stephen R, Wootton, Jay D.
• Primary Examiner(s): PHAM, LUU T
• Application Number:
  US12/051,086
• Publication Number:
  US 20090241201A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,448 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 726/28
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2103 Challenge-response
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2131 Lost password, e.g. recovery of lost or forgotten passwords

Abstract

Techniques for multilingual password challenge response, password reset, and/or password recovery are presented. When a password reset or password recovery request is received, a series of challenge questions are serially asked such that each question has to be answered correctly before the next question in the series is even presented. Furthermore, at least two questions are asked in different languages from one another.

Claims

1. A machine-implemented method for password recovery or password reset using multilingual challenge and response security and executed on a computing device that causes the computing device to perform the method, comprising:

selecting, by the computing device, two or more challenge questions for a user, and the user providing answers during an automated procedure for recovering an existing password for the user or for resetting the existing password to a new password for the user;

identifying, by the computing device, a first spoken language for presentation of the two or more challenge questions to the user during the automated procedure;

randomly changing, by the computing device, the first spoken language to different spoken languages from question to question or permitting the user or an administrator to select the different spoken languages;

identifying, by the computing device, a second spoken language for the answers, the second spoken language chosen from the different spoken languages during the automated procedure, wherein the first spoken language is different from the second spoken language;

starting, by the computing device, the automated procedure so that during the automated procedure a requestor supplies a valid user identification of the user and a first question of the two or more challenge questions is presented in the first spoken language to the requestor and a first answer is expected from the requestor in the second spoken language;

presenting, by the computing device, a second question of the two or more challenge questions, when the first answer is correctly provided by the user in the second spoken language, the second question of the two or more challenge questions again presented in the first spoken language to the requestor and a second answer is again expected from the requestor in the second spoken language; and

supplying, by the computing device, the existing password for password recovery to the requestor or the new password for password reset when the second answer is correctly provided by the user in the second spoken language, and wherein the second question of the two or more challenge questions is never presented to or discoverable by the requestor when the first answer to the first question of the two or more challenge questions is not correctly provided by the user in the second language.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting two or more challenge questions further includes randomly generating at least one of the two or more challenge questions from a pool of available questions.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting two or more challenge questions further includes identifying the two or more challenge questions and the corresponding answers from the user during an enrollment process for the automated procedure.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting two or more challenge questions further includes determining a total number of the two or more questions for use in the automated procedure in response to a policy associated with the user.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein selecting two or more challenge further includes receiving the policy from the user during an enrollment process for the automated procedure.

6. The method of claim 1, further includes identifying the first spoken language and the second spoken language from preference selections made by the user during an enrollment process for the automated procedure.

7. The method of claim 1, further includes permitting at least one of the two or more challenge questions to be in a mixed spoken language that includes text for the first or the second spoken languages and other text for a still another third spoken language, wherein the third spoken language is different from the first and the second spoken languages.

8. A machine-implemented method for password recovery or password reset using multilingual challenge and response security and executed on a computing device that causes the computing device to perform the method, comprising:

receiving, by the computing device, a user identification of a valid user from a requestor, wherein the user identification is received from the requestor for purposes of recovering an existing password of the valid user or for purposes of resetting the existing password to a new password for the valid user;

presenting, by the computing device, a first challenge question to the requestor in a first spoken language;

acquiring, by the computing device, a first answer to the first challenge question from the requestor;

validating, by the computing device, that the first answer is correct;

presenting, by the computing device, a second challenge question to the requestor in a second spoken language, in response to the first answer is correct;

wherein the second spoken language is different from the first spoken language; and

wherein the first and the second spoken languages were selected by the valid user or an administrator during an enrollment process;

acquiring, by the computing device, a second answer to the second challenge question from the requestor;

validating, by the computing device, that the second answer is correct; and

communicating, by the computing device, the existing password or the new password to the requestor in response to the second answer is correct;

wherein the existing password communicated for recovering the existing password or the new password communicated for resetting the existing password.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein presenting the first challenge question further includes presenting the first challenge question with some text that is in a third spoken language, and wherein the third spoken language is different from the first and the second spoken languages.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein presenting the first challenge question further includes randomly selecting the first challenge question from a pool of available questions.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein presenting the second challenge question further includes randomly selecting the second challenge question from the pool of available questions.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising;

presenting, by the computing device, a third challenge question to the requestor in the first or the second spoken language;

receiving, by the computing device, a third answer from the requestor; and

validating, by the computing device, that the third answer is correct.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein acquiring the second answer further includes acquiring the second answer in a third spoken language that is different from the first and second spoken languages.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein communicating the existing password or the new password to the requestor further includes accessing a communication policy to determine a mechanism to deliver the existing password or new password to the requestor.

15. A system for password reset or password recovery using multilingual challenge response security, the system comprising:

one or more processors;

one or more memories storing computer executable instructions that when executed by the one or more processors cause the one or more processors to;

select two or more challenge questions for a user, and the user providing answers during an automated procedure for recovering an existing password for the user or for resetting the existing password to a new password for the user;

identify a first spoken language for presentation of the two or more challenge questions to the user during the automated procedure;

randomly change the first spoken language to different spoken languages from question to question or permit the user or an administrator to select the different spoken languages;

identify a second spoken language for the answers, the second spoken language chosen from the different spoken languages during the automated procedure, wherein the first spoken language is different from the second spoken language;

start the automated procedure so that during the automated procedure a requestor supplies a valid user identification of the user and a first question of the two or more challenge questions is presented in the first spoken language to the requestor and a first answer is expected from the requestor in the second spoken language;

present a second question of the two or more challenge questions, when the first answer is correctly provided by the user in the second spoken language the second question of the two or more challenge questions again presented in the first spoken language to the requestor and a second answer is again expected from the requestor in the second spoken language; and

supply the existing password for password recovery to the requestor or the new password for password reset when the second answer is correctly provided by the user in the second spoken language, and wherein the second question of the two or more challenge questions is never presented to or discoverable by the requestor when the first answer to the first question of the two or more challenge questions is not correctly provided by the user in the second language.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the computer executable instructions further cause the one or more processors to interact with the valid user to determine a total number of questions that is to be defined in the procedure.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the computer executable instructions further cause the one or more processors to interact with the valid user to determine each of the different spoken languages.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the computer executable instructions further cause the one or more processors to permit at least one answer to at least one question be in a different spoken language from that which is associated with the at least one question asked.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein the computer executable instructions further cause the one or more processors to indicate that at least one question asked by the challenge-response service is to be randomly selected from a pool of available questions.

20. The system of claim 15, wherein when each of the answers are correctly provided by the requestor, the executable instructions further cause the one or more processors to define a communication mechanism that the challenge-response service is to employ to deliver the existing password or the new password to the requestor.

21. A system for password reset or password recovery using multilingual challenge response security, the system, comprising:

one or more processors;

one or more memories storing computer executable instructions that when executed by the one or more processors cause the one or more processors to;

receive a user identification of a valid user from a requestor, wherein the user identification is received from the requestor for purposes of recovering an existing password of the valid user or for purposes of resetting the existing password to a new password for the valid user;

present a first challenge question to the requestor in a first spoken language;

acquire a first answer to the first challenge question from the requestor;

validate that the first answer is correct;

present a second challenge question to the requestor in a second spoken language, in response to the first answer is correct;

wherein the second spoken language is different from the first spoken language; and

wherein the first and the second spoken languages were selected by the valid user or an administrator during an enrollment process;

acquire a second answer to the second challenge question from the requestor;

validate that the second answer is correct; and

communicate the existing password or the new password to the requestor in response to the second answer is correct;

wherein the existing password communicated for recovering the existing password or the new password communicated for resetting the existing password.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the computer executable instructions further cause the one or more processors to interact with the valid user in an enrollment process to define the policy, and wherein the policy identifies the first and second questions and the first and second spoken languages.

23. The system of claim 21, wherein the policy instructs the computer executable instructions to further cause the one or more processors to randomly acquire the second question from a pool of available questions.

24. The system of claim 21, wherein the first answer is received in the second spoken language.

25. The system of claim 21, wherein the second answer is received in a third spoken language, and the third spoken language is different from the first and second spoken languages.