Node reputation based on knowledge of PSTN calls

• US 8,223,755 B2
• Filed: 10/29/2009
• Issued: 07/17/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Jennings, Cullen F., Rosenberg, Jonathan David
• Primary Examiner(s): Scheibel, Robert
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mais, Mark A
• Application Number:
  US12/608,545
• Publication Number:
  US 20100082828A1
• Time in Patent Office: 992 Days
• Field of Search: 370351-354, 370/356, 370/386, 370/389, 370/392, 370/395.31, 370/395.52, 370/400, 370/401, 370/402, 370/494
• US Class Current: 370/353
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0823 using certificates cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/126 the source of the received data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/166 at the transport layer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/18 using different networks or channels, e.g. using out of band channels cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key distribution involving distinctive intermediate devices or communication paths H04L9/0827; cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for authentication using a plurality of channels H04L9/3215
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1036 at the edge
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/36 Memories
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/551 Call history
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/203 composed of PSTN and data network, e.g. the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/436 Arrangements for screening incoming calls , i.e. evaluating the characteristics of a call before deciding whether to answer it based on the calling party profile H04M3/42059; based on location H04M3/42348; based on presence H04M3/42365; diversion H04M3/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5125 with remote located operators
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5232 Call distribution algorithms
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0057 Services where the data services network provides a telephone service in addition or as an alternative, e.g. for backup purposes, to the telephone service provided by the telephone services network
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/006 Networks other than PSTN/ISDN providing telephone service, e.g. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) , including next generation networks with a packet-switched transport layer H04L65/00 takes precedence; aspects not specific to the type of network H04M3/00; special services in those networks H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0063 where the network is a peer-to-peer network
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/123 where the packet-switched network is an Internet Protocol Multimedia System-type network

Abstract

A system may provide trust relationship information for a telephone number, where the trust relationship information may indicate whether one or more nodes consider a target node as including or as being associated with a VoIP call agent for the telephone number based on demonstrated knowledge of a PSTN call. The system may determine a target trust relationship to the target node based on the trust relationship information, where the target trust relationship indicates a level of trust a validating node has in the target node being associated with or including the VoIP call agent for the telephone number, and where validating node and the one or more nodes may be in different respective administrative domains of a network.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a memory; and

a processor in communication with the memory, the memory including computer code executable with the processor, wherein the computer code is configured to;

provide trust relationship information for a telephone number, the trust relationship information indicative of whether at least one node considers a target node as including or as being associated with a Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) call agent for the telephone number based on a determination, at the at least one node, that at least one public switched telephone network (PSTN) call to the telephone number arrived at the VoIP call agent, the determination made in response to receipt, from the target node, of demonstrated knowledge of at least one attribute of the at least one PSTN call that demonstrates knowledge of the PSTN call; and

determine a target trust relationship from a validating node to the target node based on the trust relationship information, wherein the target trust relationship indicates a level of trust the validating node has in the target node being associated with or including the VoIP call agent for the telephone number, wherein the validating node and the at least one node are in different respective administrative domains of a network.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer code configured to determine the target trust relationship is further configured to determine the target trust relationship based on a reputation of the target node.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the at least one node includes a plurality of nodes, and wherein the computer code is further configured to determine the reputation of the target node based on a number of the plurality of nodes that consider the target node as including or as being associated with the VoIP call agent for the telephone number based on the demonstrated knowledge of the at least one PSTN call initiated to the telephone number over the PSTN.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer code configured to determine the target trust relationship is further configured to determine the target trust relationship based on the trust relationship information and at least one trust relationship with the at least one node, the at least one trust relationship not included in the trust relationship information.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the at least one trust relationship includes a trust-blanket relationship to any one of the at least one node.

6. The system of claim 2, wherein the telephone number is a first telephone number, the at least one PSTN call is at least one first PSTN call, and the computer code is further configured to determine the reputation of the target node based on how many nodes consider the target node as including or as being associated with the VoIP call agent for a second telephone number, the second telephone number applicable to the same geographic area as the first telephone number.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer code is further configured to validate an identity of the VoIP call agent for the telephone number based on the target trust relationship.

8. Logic encoded in one or more tangible non-transitory media for execution with a processor and when executed operable to:

generate trust relationship information for a telephone number, the trust relationship information including an indication that at least one node considers a target node as including or as being associated with a Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) call agent for the telephone number based on a determination, at the at least one node, that at least one public switched telephone network (PSTN) call to the telephone number arrived at the VoIP call agent, the determination made in response to receipt, from the target node, of demonstrated knowledge of at least one attribute of the at least one PSTN call that demonstrates knowledge of the PSTN call; and

determine a target trust relationship to the target node from the trust relationship information, wherein the target trust relationship indicates a degree to which a validating node trusts the target node as being associated with or including the VoIP call agent for the telephone number, and the validating node and the at least one node are in separate administrative domains.

9. The one or more tangible media of claim 8, wherein the logic operable to determine the target trust relationship is operable to determine a reputation of the target node and to determine the target trust relationship from the reputation of the target node.

10. The one or more tangible computer-readable media of claim 9, wherein the at least one node includes a plurality of nodes, and wherein the logic operable to reputation of the target node is further operable to determine the reputation of the target node based on how many of the plurality of nodes are in different administrative domains.

11. The one or more tangible computer-readable media of claim 8, wherein the logic operable to determine the target trust relationship is further operable to determine the target trust relationship based on whether the validating node has a blanket-trust relationship to any one of the at least one node.

12. The one or more tangible computer-readable media of claim 8, wherein the logic operable to determine the target trust relationship is further operable to determine the target trust relationship based on a chain of trust relationships from the validating node to the at least one node.

13. The one or more tangible computer-readable media of claim 8, wherein the logic is further operable to determine whether to accept at least one VoIP call from a administrative domain including the target node based on the target trust relationship.

14. A method comprising:

providing at least a portion of trust relationship information for a telephone number, the trust relationship information indicating that at least one node considers a target node as including or as being associated with a Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) call agent for the telephone number based on a determination, at the at least one node, that at least one public switched telephone network (PSTN) call to the telephone number arrived at the VoIP call agent, the determination made in response to receipt, from the target node, of demonstrated knowledge of at least one attribute of the at least one PSTN call that demonstrates knowledge of the PSTN call; and

validating an identity of the target node for the telephone number based on a target trust relationship, the target trust relationship determined from the at least a portion of the trust relationship information, the target trust relationship indicating a level of trust that a validating node has in the target node being associated with or including the VoIP call agent for the telephone number, the validating node and the at least one node being in a first administrative domain and a second administrative domain, respectively.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising determining the target trust relationship based on a reputation of the target node.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising determining the reputation of the target node based on a number of nodes included in the at least one node.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the trust relationship information further indicates how many nodes consider the target node as failing to include or to be associated with the VoIP call agent for the telephone number, and wherein determining the reputation of the target node further comprises determining whether the number of nodes included in the at least one node outweighs how many nodes consider the target node as failing to include or to be associated with the VoIP call agent for the telephone number.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising determining the reputation of the target node based on the number of administrative domains that include the at least one node.

19. The method of claim 14, further comprising determining the target trust relationship based on whether the validating node is configured to blanket trust the at least one node.

20. The method of claim 14, further comprising determining the target trust relationship at the validating node from the at least a portion of the trust relationship information without an identity of the target node by receiving the identity of the target node from the at least one node as a result of a configured trust relationship existing between the validating node and the at least one node.