Behavioral fingerprint controlled theft detection and recovery

• US 8,689,350 B2
• Filed: 11/23/2011
• Issued: 04/01/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: RPX Corporation
• Original Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Hyde, Roderick A., Levien, Royce A., Huang, Xuedong, Gerrity, Daniel A., Dyor, Matthew G., Tegreene, Clarence T., Davis, Marc E., Myhrvold, Nathan P., Malamud, Mark A., Lord, Robert W., Lord, Richard T.
• Primary Examiner(s): PERUNGAVOOR, VENKATANARAY
• Application Number:
  US13/373,680
• Publication Number:
  US 20130097669A1
• Time in Patent Office: 860 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 726/27
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/316 by observing the pattern of computer usage, e.g. typical user behaviour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/88 Detecting or preventing theft or loss

Abstract

A computationally implemented method includes, but is not limited to: determining a behavioral fingerprint associated with a network accessible user of one or more devices, the behavioral fingerprint providing a current status of the network accessible user; and disabling the one or more devices automatically as a function of the determined behavioral fingerprint. In addition to the foregoing, other method aspects are described in the claims, drawings, and text forming a part of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A computationally-implemented system, comprising:

circuitry for determining a behavioral fingerprint associated with a network accessible user of one or more devices, the behavioral fingerprint providing a level of authentication of the network accessible user; and

circuitry for disabling at least a portion of the one or more devices automatically as a function of the determined behavioral fingerprint, including at least circuitry for re-enabling at least a portion of the one or more devices as a function of a reconstructed behavioral fingerprint of the network accessible user at least partially via a reconstructed key formed at least partially via gathered data from at least one social network.

2. The computationally-implemented system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for transmitting to the one or more devices a level of authentication for network accessible functions associated with the behavioral fingerprint; and

circuitry for disabling one or more tasks automatically as a function of the level of authentication of the network accessible user.

3. The computationally-implemented system of claim 1, wherein the circuitry for disabling at least a portion of the one or more devices automatically as a function of the determined behavioral fingerprint, including at least circuitry for re-enabling at least a portion of the one or more devices as a function of a reconstructed behavioral fingerprint of the network accessible user at least partially via a reconstructed key formed at least partially via gathered data from at least one social network comprises:

circuitry for transmitting, from a network accessible theft detection system, a disabling signal, the disabling signal promulgated over a network; and

circuitry for transmitting, from the network accessible theft detection system, an alert signal to the network accessible user.

4. The computationally-implemented system of claim 3, further comprising:

circuitry for transmitting, from the network accessible theft detection system, an alert signal to at least one of a manufacturer of the one or more devices, a law enforcement agency, a trusted group identified by the network accessible user, or a social network, the alert signal including data identifying the one or more devices.

5. The computationally-implemented system of claim 1, wherein the circuitry for disabling at least a portion of the one or more devices automatically as a function of the determined behavioral fingerprint, including at least circuitry for re-enabling at least a portion of the one or more devices as a function of a reconstructed behavioral fingerprint of the network accessible user at least partially via a reconstructed key formed at least partially via gathered data from at least one social network comprises:

circuitry for determining the behavioral fingerprint via confirming an internet presence of the network accessible user of the one or more devices.

6. The computationally-implemented system of claim 5, wherein the circuitry for determining the behavioral fingerprint via confirming an internet presence of the network accessible user of the one or more devices comprises:

circuitry for sensing one or more actions of the network accessible user and two or more designated internet available entities;

circuitry for applying one or more reliability criteria to the sensed one or more actions of the network accessible user and the two or more designated internet available entities to generate the behavioral fingerprint of the network accessible user; and

circuitry for transmitting the behavioral fingerprint to a theft detection system.

7. The computationally-implemented system of claim 6, wherein the circuitry for sensing one or more actions of the network accessible user and two or more designated internet available entities comprises:

circuitry for storing the sensed one or more actions of the network accessible user and the two or more designated internet available entities in a network accessible location, the network accessible location accessible by the theft detection system to access the one or more actions.

8. The computationally-implemented system of claim 6, wherein the circuitry for sensing one or more actions of the network accessible user and two or more designated internet available entities comprises:

circuitry for detecting the one or more actions of the network accessible user wherein the one or more actions of the network accessible user include logging into one or more social networks.

9. The computationally-implemented system of claim 6, wherein the circuitry for sensing one or more actions of the network accessible user and two or more designated internet available entities comprises:

circuitry for transmitting the sensed one or more actions of the network accessible user and the two or more designated internet available entities to the theft detection system, wherein the theft detection system is a network accessible third-party system.

10. The computationally-implemented system of claim 6, wherein the circuitry for sensing one or more actions of the network accessible user and two or more designated internet available entities comprises:

circuitry for detecting a contact pattern between the network accessible user and the two or more designated internet available entities.

11. The computationally-implemented system of claim 6, wherein the circuitry for sensing one or more actions of the network accessible user and two or more designated internet available entities comprises:

circuitry for detecting one or more contacts frequently visited by the network accessible user via one or more social networks to determine a visitation pattern associated with the network accessible user; and

circuitry for transmitting the visitation pattern to the theft detection system.

12. The computationally-implemented system of claim 6, wherein the circuitry for sensing one or more actions of the network accessible user and two or more designated internet available entities further comprises:

circuitry for transmitting one or more locations visited by the network accessible user to the theft detection system, the one or more locations including one or more of physical locations predicted as being appropriate for the network accessible user.

13. The computationally-implemented system of claim 6, wherein the circuitry for applying one or more reliability criteria to the sensed one or more actions of the network accessible user and the two or more designated internet available entities to generate the behavioral fingerprint of the network accessible user comprises:

circuitry for altering the behavioral fingerprint of the network accessible user as a function of the sensed one or more actions of the network accessible user and the two or more designated internet available entities; and

circuitry for transmitting the altered behavioral fingerprint of the network accessible user to the theft detection system.

14. The computationally-implemented system of claim 13, wherein the circuitry for altering the behavioral fingerprint of the network accessible user as a function of the sensed one or more actions of the network accessible user and the two or more designated internet available entities comprises:

circuitry for generating a disabling signal as part of the behavioral fingerprint when the sensed one or more actions of the network accessible user includes a detected anomalous action; and

circuitry for transmitting the disabling signal to the theft detection system.

15. The computationally-implemented system of claim 14, wherein the circuitry for generating a disabling signal as part of the behavioral fingerprint when the sensed one or more actions of the network accessible user includes a detected anomalous action comprises:

circuitry for transmitting the disabling signal to the one or more devices.

16. The computationally-implemented system of claim 14, wherein the circuitry for generating a disabling signal as part of the behavioral fingerprint when the sensed one or more actions of the network accessible user includes a detected anomalous action comprises:

circuitry for transmitting the disabling signal to one or more applications running on a cloud computing system.

17. The computationally-implemented system of claim 16, wherein the circuitry for transmitting the disabling signal to one or more applications running on a cloud computing system comprises:

circuitry for transmitting the disabling signal to the two or more internet available entities via the cloud computing system.

18. The computationally-implemented system of claim 13, wherein the circuitry for altering the behavioral fingerprint of the network accessible user as a function of the sensed one or more actions of the network accessible user and the two or more designated internet available entities comprises:

circuitry for notifying a predetermined set of contacts if the disabling signal is generated by the network accessible user.

19. The computationally-implemented system of claim 13, wherein the circuitry for altering the behavioral fingerprint of the network accessible user as a function of the sensed one or more actions of the network accessible user and the two or more designated internet available entities comprises:

circuitry for disabling one or more devices of the network accessible user if the behavioral fingerprint alteration indicates that the one or more devices of the network accessible user have been compromised with respect to authentication.

20. The computationally-implemented system of claim 13, wherein the circuitry for altering the behavioral fingerprint of the network accessible user as a function of the sensed one or more actions of the network accessible user and the two or more designated internet available entities comprises:

circuitry for disabling one of the one or more devices, wherein the device is a mobile device of the network accessible user if the behavioral fingerprint indicates that a level of authentication for the mobile device should be lowered to a predetermined level.

21. The computationally-implemented system of claim 1, wherein the circuitry for disabling at least a portion of the one or more devices automatically as a function of the determined behavioral fingerprint, including at least circuitry for re-enabling at least a portion of the one or more devices as a function of a reconstructed behavioral fingerprint of the network accessible user at least partially via a reconstructed key formed at least partially via gathered data from at least one social network comprises:

circuitry for generating a security certificate associated with the network accessible user based on an encryption key; and

circuitry for altering the encryption key to enable distribution of one or more altered forms of the encryption key to enable rebuilding of the encryption key at least partially via the gathered data from the at least one social network.

22. The computationally-implemented system of claim 1, wherein the circuitry for disabling at least a portion of the one or more devices automatically as a function of the determined behavioral fingerprint, including at least circuitry for re-enabling at least a portion of the one or more devices as a function of a reconstructed behavioral fingerprint of the network accessible user at least partially via a reconstructed key formed at least partially via gathered data from at least one social network comprises:

circuitry for determining, by a theft prevention system, one or more members of a trusted group from which to gather the gathered data, the one or more members of the trusted group belonging to the at least one social network, each of the one or more members capable of storing a component to enable at least partial forming of the reconstructed key.

23. The computationally-implemented system of claim 1, wherein the circuitry for disabling at least a portion of the one or more devices automatically as a function of the determined behavioral fingerprint, including at least circuitry for re-enabling at least a portion of the one or more devices as a function of a reconstructed behavioral fingerprint of the network accessible user at least partially via a reconstructed key formed at least partially via gathered data from at least one social network comprises:

circuitry for determining a private/public key pair including a private key and a public key;

circuitry for altering the private key to enable distribution of one or more components of the private key, each of the one or more components of the private key required for the reconstructed key; and

circuitry for distributing, by a network-accessible theft detection system, the one or more components of the private key to one or more members of a predetermined trusted group.

24. The computationally-implemented system of claim 1, wherein the circuitry for disabling at least a portion of the one or more devices automatically as a function of the determined behavioral fingerprint, including at least circuitry for re-enabling at least a portion of the one or more devices as a function of a reconstructed behavioral fingerprint of the network accessible user at least partially via a reconstructed key formed at least partially via gathered data from at least one social network comprises:

circuitry for determining the gathered data from the at least one social network at least partially via retrieving, by a theft detection system, one or more components of a private key required for the reconstructed key from one or more members of a trusted group via the at least one social network.

25. The computationally-implemented system of claim 24, wherein the circuitry for determining the gathered data from the at least one social network at least partially via retrieving, by a theft detection system, one or more components of a private key required for the reconstructed key from one or more members of a trusted group via the at least one social network comprises:

circuitry for requesting, by the theft detection system, each of the one or more members of the trusted group for the one or more components of the private key, each of the one or more members previously identified by the network accessible user.

26. The computationally-implemented system of claim 1, wherein the circuitry for determining a behavioral fingerprint associated with a network accessible user of one or more devices, the behavioral fingerprint providing a level of authentication of the network accessible user comprises:

circuitry for determining a behavioral fingerprint associated with a network accessible user of one or more devices, the behavioral fingerprint providing a new status of the network accessible user.

27. The computationally-implemented system of claim 1, wherein the circuitry for determining a behavioral fingerprint associated with a network accessible user of one or more devices, the behavioral fingerprint providing a level of authentication of the network accessible user comprises:

circuitry for determining a behavioral fingerprint associated with a network accessible user of one or more devices, the behavioral fingerprint providing a current status of the network accessible user based at least partially on one or more present activities.

28. The computationally-implemented system of claim 1, wherein the circuitry for determining a behavioral fingerprint associated with a network accessible user of one or more devices, the behavioral fingerprint providing a level of authentication of the network accessible user comprises:

circuitry for determining a behavioral fingerprint associated with a network accessible user of one or more devices, the behavioral fingerprint providing a most recent state of affairs of the network accessible user.

29. The computationally-implemented system of claim 1, wherein the circuitry for disabling at least a portion of the one or more devices automatically as a function of the determined behavioral fingerprint, including at least circuitry for re-enabling at least a portion of the one or more devices as a function of a reconstructed behavioral fingerprint of the network accessible user at least partially via a reconstructed key formed at least partially via gathered data from at least one social network comprises:

circuitry for disabling at least a portion of the one or more devices automatically as a function of the determined behavioral fingerprint, the disabling at least a portion of the one or more devices including at least providing at least some access to one or more of a communication application, an email application, an instant messaging application, a text messaging application, a stored document, or a personal information manager application of the one or more devices by the network accessible user.

30. The computationally-implemented system of claim 1, wherein the circuitry for disabling at least a portion of the one or more devices automatically as a function of the determined behavioral fingerprint, including at least circuitry for re-enabling at least a portion of the one or more devices as a function of a reconstructed behavioral fingerprint of the network accessible user at least partially via a reconstructed key formed at least partially via gathered data from at least one social network comprises:

circuitry for determining whether the network accessible user is an owner of the one or more devices as a function of the determined behavioral fingerprint and, if the network accessible user is not an owner of the one or more devices, disabling at least a portion of the one or more devices automatically.

31. The computationally-implemented system of claim 1, wherein the circuitry for determining a behavioral fingerprint associated with a network accessible user of one or more devices, the behavioral fingerprint providing a level of authentication of the network accessible user comprises:

circuitry for determining a behavioral fingerprint associated with a network accessible user of one or more devices, the behavioral fingerprint including at least a social network status update by the network accessible user.

32. The computationally-implemented system of claim 1, wherein the circuitry for disabling at least a portion of the one or more devices automatically as a function of the determined behavioral fingerprint, including at least circuitry for re-enabling at least a portion of the one or more devices as a function of a reconstructed behavioral fingerprint of the network accessible user at least partially via a reconstructed key formed at least partially via gathered data from at least one social network comprises:

circuitry for identifying at least one social network status update of the behavioral fingerprint indicative of at least one of the one or more devices no longer under control of the network-accessible user; and

circuitry for disabling at least a portion of the one or more devices.

33. A computationally-implemented system, comprising:

means for determining a behavioral fingerprint associated with a network accessible user of one or more devices, the behavioral fingerprint providing a level of authentication of the network accessible user; and

means for disabling at least a portion of the one or more devices automatically as a function of the determined behavioral fingerprint, including at least means for re-enabling at least a portion of the one or more devices as a function of a reconstructed behavioral fingerprint of the network accessible user at least partially via a reconstructed key formed at least partially via gathered data from at least one social network.

34. A computer program product, comprising:

at least one non-transitory computer readable medium including at least;

one or more instructions for determining a behavioral fingerprint associated with a network accessible user of one or more devices, the behavioral fingerprint providing a level of authentication of the network accessible user; and

one or more instructions for disabling at least a portion of the one or more devices automatically as a function of the determined behavioral fingerprint, said one or more instructions for disabling including at least one or more instructions for re-enabling at least a portion of the one or more devices as a function of a reconstructed behavioral fingerprint of the network accessible user at least partially via a reconstructed key formed at least partially via gathered data from at least one social network.