Altering sampling rate to thwart attacks that involve analyzing hardware sensor output

• US 8,631,490 B2
• Filed: 02/15/2012
• Issued: 01/14/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/15/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Wurster, Glenn Daniel
• Primary Examiner(s): Pwu, Jeffrey
• Assistant Examiner(s): Anderson, Michael D
• Application Number:
  US13/396,879
• Publication Number:
  US 20130212678A1
• Time in Patent Office: 699 Days
• Field of Search: 345/173, 396/55, 726/22
• US Class Current: 726/22
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/75 by inhibiting the analysis of circuitry or operation

Abstract

A hardware sensor and a hardware user-input component are integrated in a portable electronic device. The hardware sensor is operable to produce hardware sensor output indicative of orientation or motion or both of the device within its environment. The hardware user-input component has multiple elements operable to accept user input through touch. A user-input driver and the device'"'"'s operating system are jointly operable to detect touch events involving the elements. A software application stored in the device'"'"'s memory is executable by the device'"'"'s processor as a process. A sensor driver or the operating system or both are configured to control what hardware sensor output, if any, is receivable by the process. This control may thwart an attack based on analysis of the hardware sensor output, the attack designed to deduce what user input has been made via multiple elements of the hardware user-input component.

Claims

1. A portable electronic device, comprising:

a processor;

a hardware sensor integrated in the portable electronic device, the hardware sensor operable to produce hardware sensor output indicative of orientation or motion or both of the portable electronic device within its environment;

a hardware user-input component integrated in the portable electronic device, the hardware user-input component having multiple elements operable to accept user input through touch;

a memory coupled to the processor, the memory storing;

an operating system;

a sensor driver for use by the operating system to interface with the hardware sensor;

a user-input driver for use by the operating system to interface with the hardware user-input component, the user-input driver and operating system jointly operable to detect touch events involving the elements; and

a software application,

wherein, while the software application is executed by the processor as a process, the sensor driver or the operating system or both are configured to control what hardware sensor output, if any, is available to the process as follows;

hardware sensor output sampled during first time periods is receivable by the process at a higher sampling rate and hardware sensor output sampled during second time periods is downsampled from the higher sampling rate to a lower sampling rate prior to being made receivable by the process,

wherein the first time periods are those time periods throughout which the operating system is operable to notify the process of any detected touch events and the second time periods are those time periods throughout which the operating system is operable not to notify the process of any detected touch events.

2. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 1, wherein the hardware user-input component is a physical tactile keyboard, the elements are keys of the keyboard, and the touch events comprise key presses or key releases or both.

3. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 1, wherein the hardware user-input component is a touchscreen, the elements are touch sensors, and the touch events comprise presses or releases or both, the memory further storing a display driver for displaying images on the touchscreen.

4. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 3, wherein an image of a virtual keyboard is displayable on the touchscreen and the touch events comprise key presses or key releases or both or key swipes of keys in the virtual keyboard.

5. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 1, wherein the hardware sensor comprises an accelerometer.

6. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 1, wherein the hardware sensor comprises a gyroscope.

7. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 1, wherein the hardware sensor comprises a magnetometer.

8. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 1, further comprising an additional hardware sensor operable to produce additional hardware sensor output indicative of orientation or motion or both of the portable electronic device within its environment, the memory further storing an additional sensor driver for use by the operating system to interface with the additional hardware sensor, wherein, while the software application is executed by the processor as a process, the additional sensor driver or the operating system or both are configured to control what additional hardware sensor output, if any, is available to the process as follows:

additional hardware sensor output sampled during the first time periods is receivable by the process at a higher sampling rate and additional hardware sensor output sampled during the second time periods is downsampled from the higher sampling rate to a lower sampling rate prior to being made receivable by the process.

9. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 8, wherein the hardware sensor comprises an accelerometer.

10. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 8, wherein the hardware sensor comprises a gyroscope.

11. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 8, wherein the hardware sensor comprises a magnetometer.

12. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 1, wherein the memory is arranged to store another software application, wherein the operating system is operable to register that the other software application has permission to receive samples of the sensor output, wherein, while the other software application is executed by the processor as another process, the sensor driver or the operating system or both are configured to control what hardware sensor output, if any, is available to the other process as follows:

sensor output sampled from the hardware sensor is receivable at the higher sampling rate by the other process regardless of when the sensor output is sampled.

13. A portable electronic device, comprising:

a processor;

a hardware sensor integrated in the portable electronic device, the hardware sensor operable to produce hardware sensor output indicative of orientation or motion or both of the portable electronic device within its environment;

a hardware user-input component integrated in the portable electronic device, the hardware user-input component having multiple elements operable to accept user input through touch;

a memory coupled to the processor, the memory storing;

an operating system;

a sensor driver for use by the operating system to interface with the hardware sensor;

a user-input driver for use by the operating system to interface with the hardware user-input component, the user-input driver and operating system jointly operable to detect touch events involving the elements; and

a software application,

wherein, while the software application is executed by the processor as a process, the sensor driver or the operating system or both are configured to control what hardware sensor output, if any, is available to the process as follows;

hardware sensor output sampled during first time periods is receivable by the process at a higher sampling rate and hardware sensor output sampled during second time periods is downsampled from the higher sampling rate to a lower sampling rate prior to being made receivable by the process,

wherein the second time periods are touch event windows that occur during time periods throughout which the operating system is operable not to notify the process of any detected touch events, and the first time periods are all other times during execution of the software application.

14. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 13, wherein the hardware user-input component is a physical tactile keyboard, the elements are keys of the keyboard, and the touch events comprise key presses or key releases or both.

15. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 13, wherein the hardware user-input component is a touchscreen, the elements are touch sensors, and the touch events comprise presses or releases or both, the memory further storing a display driver for displaying images on the touchscreen.

16. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 15, wherein an image of a virtual keyboard is displayable on the touchscreen and the touch events comprise key presses or key releases or both or key swipes of keys in the virtual keyboard.

17. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 13, wherein the hardware sensor comprises an accelerometer.

18. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 13, wherein the hardware sensor comprises a gyroscope.

19. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 13, wherein the hardware sensor comprises a magnetometer.

20. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 13, further comprising an additional hardware sensor operable to produce additional hardware sensor output indicative of orientation or motion or both of the portable electronic device within its environment, the memory further storing an additional sensor driver for use by the operating system to interface with the additional hardware sensor, wherein, while the software application is executed by the processor as a process, the additional sensor driver or the operating system or both are configured to control what additional hardware sensor output, if any, is available to the process as follows:

additional hardware sensor output sampled during the first time periods is receivable by the process at a higher sampling rate and additional hardware sensor output sampled during the second time periods is downsampled from the higher sampling rate to a lower sampling rate prior to being made receivable by the process.

21. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 20, wherein the hardware sensor comprises an accelerometer.

22. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 20, wherein the hardware sensor comprises a gyroscope.

23. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 20, wherein the hardware sensor comprises a magnetometer.

24. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 13, wherein the memory is arranged to store another software application, wherein the operating system is operable to register that the other software application has permission to receive samples of the sensor output, wherein, while the other software application is executed by the processor as another process, the sensor driver or the operating system or both are configured to control what hardware sensor output, if any, is available to the other process as follows:

sensor output sampled from the hardware sensor is receivable at the higher sampling rate by the other process regardless of when the sensor output is sampled.