Systems, methods, and computer program products for collecting and reporting sensor data in a communication network

• US 8,621,636 B2
• Filed: 12/17/2009
• Issued: 12/31/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. (American Express Company)
• Original Assignee: American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. (American Express Company)
• Inventors: Bailey, JR., Samuel A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Davis, Zachary A
• Application Number:
  US12/640,183
• Publication Number:
  US 20110154497A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,475 Days
• Field of Search: 726/22, 726/23, 726/25, 705/7.28
• US Class Current: 726/25
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/554 involving event detection and direct action
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/577 Assessing vulnerabilities and evaluating computer system security
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/034 Test or assess a computer or a system
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2463/102 applying security measure for e-commerce
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/107 wherein the security policies are location-dependent, e.g. entities privileges depend on current location or allowing specific operations only from locally connected terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1408 by monitoring network traffic monitoring network traffic per se H04L43/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1433 Vulnerability analysis
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/069 using certificates or pre-shared keys

Abstract

A system for collecting and reporting sensor data in a communication network includes a microprocessor coupled to a memory and an electronic storage device. The microprocessor receives sensor data from sensors, and stores the sensor data for each sensor in the electronic storage device. The microprocessor also receives, via the communication network, a data reporting instruction defining a data reporting technique corresponding to the sensor data associated with one or more of the sensors. The data reporting instruction is stored in the electronic storage device, and the microprocessor transmits, to a trust mediator over the communication network, at least a portion of the sensor data based on the data reporting instruction. The trust mediator maintains an acceptable level of security for data throughout the communication network by adjusting security safeguards based on the sensor data.

Claims

1. A method for reporting sensor data associated with a communication network to a trust mediator, the method comprising:

receiving sensor data from a plurality of sensors;

storing the sensor data for each sensor in an electronic storage device;

receiving, from the trust mediator, a plurality of data reporting instructions via the communication network,

wherein the plurality of data reporting instructions identify a cluster of sensors selected from the plurality of sensors and indicate a data reporting technique for each sensor of the cluster of sensors, and

wherein the trust mediator selects each sensor of the cluster of sensors and determines the data reporting technique for each sensor of the cluster of sensors, based on one or more risks associated with sensor data previously received by the trust mediator;

storing the plurality of data reporting instructions in the electronic storage device; and

transmitting, to the trust mediator over the communication network, at least a portion of the sensor data from the cluster of sensors based on the plurality of data reporting instructions.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the sensor data includes at least one of biometric data, geographic position data, financial transaction data, data defining a financial transaction type, payload data, pairing data, hash function data, digital signature data, communication session data, traffic analysis data, honeypot data, password attempt data, security-related information retrieved from a risk engine, security-related information retrieved from a risk network, security-related information retrieved by a web crawler, and statistical data.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the data reporting technique includes at least one of event-based reporting, polling-based reporting, sampling rate-based reporting, running summation-based reporting, block measurement-based reporting, reporting an aggregation of security-related information retrieved from multiple risk engines, reporting an aggregation of security-related information retrieved from multiple risk networks, and reporting statistics computed based on the sensor data.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of data reporting instructions include at least one of (a) a definition of a risk variable cluster including at least two of a plurality of risk variables and (b) an indication as to whether one or more of the plurality of risk variables are to be reported to the trust mediator.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, from the trust mediator over the communication network, an instruction to implement a security safeguard based on at least a portion of the sensor data.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the security safeguard includes at least one of an encryption algorithm, a decryption algorithm, a key length, a checksum, a hash function, an access level, a password requirement, and a fingerprint requirement.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting, to the trust mediator over the communication network, a transaction request to execute a financial transaction; and

receiving, from the trust mediator over the communication network, a response to the transaction request based on at least a portion of the sensor data.

8. A system for reporting sensor data associated with a communication network to a trust mediator, the system comprising:

an electronic storage device; and

a microprocessor coupled to a memory and the electronic storage device, wherein the microprocessor is configured to;

receive sensor data from a plurality of sensors,

store the sensor data for each sensor in the electronic storage device,

receive, from the trust mediator, a plurality of data reporting instructions via the communication network,

wherein the plurality of data reporting instructions identify a cluster of sensors selected from the plurality of sensors and indicate a data reporting technique for each sensor of the cluster of sensors, and

wherein the trust mediator selects each sensor of the cluster of sensors and determines the data reporting technique for each sensor of the cluster of sensors, based on one or more risks associated with sensor data previously received by the trust mediator,

store the plurality of data reporting instructions in the electronic storage device, and

transmit, to the trust mediator over the communication network, at least a portion of the sensor data from the cluster of sensors based on the plurality of data reporting instructions.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the sensor data includes at least one of biometric data, geographic position data, financial transaction data, data defining a financial transaction type, payload data, pairing data, hash function data, digital signature data, communication session data, traffic analysis data, honeypot data, password attempt data, security-related information retrieved from a risk engine, security-related information retrieved from a risk network, security-related information retrieved by a web crawler, and statistical data.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the data reporting technique includes at least one of event-based reporting, polling-based reporting, sampling rate-based reporting, running summation-based reporting, block measurement-based reporting, reporting an aggregation of security-related information retrieved from multiple risk engines, reporting an aggregation of security-related information retrieved from multiple risk networks, and reporting statistics computed based on the sensor data.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the plurality of data reporting instructions include at least one of (a) a definition of a risk variable cluster including at least two of a plurality of risk variables and (b) an indication as to whether one or more of the plurality of risk variables are to be reported to the trust mediator.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the microprocessor is further configured to:

receive, from the trust mediator over the communication network, an instruction to implement a security safeguard based on at least a portion of the sensor data.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the security safeguard includes at least one of an encryption algorithm, a decryption algorithm, a key length, a checksum, a hash function, an access level, a password requirement, and a fingerprint requirement.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the microprocessor is further configured to:

transmit, to the trust mediator over the communication network, a transaction request to execute a financial transaction; and

receive, from the trust mediator over the communication network, a response to the transaction request based at least a portion of the sensor data.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon sequences of instructions, the sequences of instructions including instructions, which, when executed by a computer system, cause the computer system to perform:

receiving sensor data from a plurality of sensors;

storing the sensor data for each sensor in an electronic storage device;

receiving, from a trust mediator, a plurality of data reporting instructions via the communication network,

wherein the plurality of data reporting instructions identify a cluster of sensors selected from the plurality of sensors and indicate a data reporting technique for each sensor of the cluster of sensors, and

wherein the trust mediator selects each sensor of the cluster of sensors and determines the data reporting technique for each sensor of the cluster of sensors, based on one or more risks associated with sensor data previously received by the trust mediator;

storing the plurality of data reporting instructions in the electronic storage device; and

transmitting, to the trust mediator over the communication network, at least a portion of the sensor data from the cluster of sensors based on the plurality of data reporting instructions.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the sensor data includes at least one of biometric data, geographic position data, financial transaction data, data defining a financial transaction type, payload data, pairing data, hash function data, digital signature data, communication session data, traffic analysis data, honeypot data, password attempt data, security-related information retrieved from a risk engine, security-related information retrieved from a risk network, security-related information retrieved by a web crawler, and statistical data.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the data reporting technique includes at least one of event-based reporting, polling-based reporting, sampling rate-based reporting, running summation-based reporting, block measurement-based reporting, reporting an aggregation of security-related information retrieved from multiple risk engines, reporting an aggregation of security-related information retrieved from multiple risk networks, and reporting statistics computed based on the sensor data.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the plurality of data reporting instructions include at least one of (a) a definition of a risk variable cluster including at least two of a plurality of risk variables and (b) an indication as to whether one or more of the plurality of risk variables are to be reported to the trust mediator.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the sequences of instructions further include instructions, which, when executed by the computer system, cause the computer system to perform:

receiving, from the trust mediator over the communication network, an instruction to implement a security safeguard based on at least a portion of the sensor data.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the security safeguard includes at least one of an encryption algorithm, a decryption algorithm, a key length, a checksum, a hash function, an access level, a password requirement, and a fingerprint requirement.