Method and apparatus to authenticate a user to a mobile device using mnemonic based digital signatures

• US 8,769,669 B2
• Filed: 02/03/2012
• Issued: 07/01/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/03/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Futurewei Technologies Incorporated (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Futurewei Technologies Incorporated (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Le, Zhengyi, Zhang, Xinwen, Waclawsky, John, Wei, Jiwei
• Primary Examiner(s): Armouche, Hadi
• Assistant Examiner(s): HO, DAO Q
• Application Number:
  US13/366,011
• Publication Number:
  US 20130205387A1
• Time in Patent Office: 879 Days
• Field of Search: 726/19
• US Class Current: 726/19
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/316 by observing the pattern of computer usage, e.g. typical user behaviour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/36 by graphic or iconic representation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2111 Location-sensitive, e.g. geographical location, GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2133 Verifying human interaction, e.g., Captcha
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication

Abstract

A user device comprising a processor configured to enable a mnemonic based digital signature scheme for user authentication that is based on a combination of one or more secrets and one or more actions implemented on the user device and associated with the secrets, and a device input system coupled to the processor and configured to detect the actions implemented on the user device. Also disclosed is an apparatus comprising a processor configured to implement a mnemonic based digital signature for authenticating a user, a device input system configured to enable the mnemonic based digital signature, and a memory unit configured to store input data that is used to recognize the mnemonic based digital signature, wherein the mnemonic based digital signature comprises a secret, an action associated with the secret and implemented using the device input system, and a cue associated with the action.

Claims

1. A user device comprising:

a processor configured to;

implement a digital signature scheme based on one or more mnemonic-aided secrets that authenticates a user, wherein the digital signature scheme comprises a first digital signature and a second digital signature;

authenticate the user using the first digital signature at a first predefined time; and

authenticate the user using the second digital signature at a second predefined time; and

a device input system coupled to the processor and configured to detect a plurality of atomic motions implemented on the user device,

wherein the mnemonic-aided secrets are sensory based mnemonics,

wherein the first digital signature is a first combination of one or more secrets and one or more atomic motions associated with the secrets implemented on the user device,

wherein the second digital signature is a second combination of one or more secrets and one or more atomic motions associated with the secrets implemented on the user device,

wherein the digital signature scheme uses an image based mnemonic as one of the mnemonic-aided secrets to authenticate the user,

wherein the device input system is a touch screen,

wherein the image based mnemonic comprises an image displayed on the touch screen that includes one or more image objects that allows the user to remember the secrets,

wherein the secrets correspond to one or more points that coincide with the image objects and an input order of the points,

wherein the secrets comprise one or more locations on the image and one or more predefined time intervals that correspond to the atomic motions that coincide with the image objects, and

wherein the image based mnemonic corresponds to a series of ordered atomic motions implemented with one or more predefined time intervals.

2. The user device of claim 1, wherein the digital signature scheme uses a kinetic based mnemonic as one of the mnemonic-aided secrets to authenticate the user, and wherein the kinetic based mnemonic corresponds to shaking the user device as one of the atomic motions.

3. The user device of claim 2, wherein shaking the user device corresponds to when a user holds the user device and shakes the user device along a determined axis for a number of times.

4. The user device of claim 1, wherein the digital signature scheme uses an auditory based mnemonic as one of the mnemonic-aided secrets to authenticate the user.

5. The user device of claim 1, wherein the secrets further comprise one or more points associated with at least one of the following:

an image, a graphic, a text, a location, an audio, and a motion of the handheld device.

6. The user device of claim 1, wherein the first predefined time and the second predefined time are different, and wherein the first predefined time and the second predefined time reference different times of a day.

7. The user device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to authenticate the user using the first digital signature based on a first predefined location of the user device and authenticate the user using the second digital signature based on a second predefined location of the user device.

8. The user device of claim 7, wherein the first predefined location and the second predefined location are determined using at least one of the following:

a Global Positioning System (GPS) system identification, a cellular identification, and a Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) identification.

9. The user device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to authenticate the user using the first digital signature based on a first predefined date and authenticate the user using the second digital signature based on a second predefined date.

10. The user device of claim 1, wherein the first digital signature is defined using an index parameter and a value that indicates a number of sequential atomic motion parameters within the index, wherein the index parameter is based on the first predefined time, a predefined date, and a predefined location, and wherein the index comprises a plurality of sequential atomic motion parameters.

11. The user device of claim 10, wherein each atomic motion field comprises a mnemonic parameter that indicates the mnemonic-aided secret for the atomic motion, an atomic motion parameter that indicates one of the atomic motions, and a time interval parameter that indicates a time interval from the end of the one of the atomic motions to the start of a next atomic motion.

12. An apparatus comprising:

a processor configured to;

implement a digital signature scheme based on one or more mnemonic-aids that authenticates a user, wherein the digital signature scheme comprises a plurality of signature indexes;

authenticate the user using a first signature index at a first predefined location of the user;

authenticate the user using a second signature index at a second predefined location of the user;

a sensory input coupled to the processor, wherein the sensory input is configured to detect a plurality of user actions that correspond to the digital signature scheme; and

a memory coupled to the processor, wherein the memory is configured to store input data that is used to recognize the digital signature scheme from the sensory input,

wherein the first signature index and the second signature index each comprises a secret, a user motion associated with the secret and detected by the sensory input, and at least one of the mnemonic-aids,

wherein the digital signature scheme uses an image based mnemonic as one of the mnemonic-aids to authenticate the user,

wherein the sensory input is a touch screen,

wherein the image based mnemonic comprises an image displayed on the touch screen that includes one or more image objects that allows the user to remember the secret,

wherein the secrets correspond to one or more points that coincide with the image objects and an input order of the points,

wherein the secrets comprise one or more locations on the image and one or more predefined time intervals that correspond to the user actions that coincide with the image objects, and

wherein the image based mnemonic corresponds to a series of ordered user actions implemented with one or more predefined time intervals.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the secret is a determined point on the touch screen, and wherein the user motion associated with the secret is at least one of the following:

a tap at the determined point, a hold at the determined point, and drawing a shape that crosses the determined point.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the apparatus is a handheld device, and wherein the user motion associated with the secret is at least one of the following:

a shake motion, a translation motion, and a helical motion.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the shaking motion corresponds to a number of shakes of the apparatus along an axis, wherein the translation motion corresponds to a uniform motion of the apparatus for a predefined distance along the axis, and wherein the helical motion corresponds to moving the apparatus helically along the axis.

16. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to authenticate the user using the first signature index based on a first predefined date and authenticate the user using the second signature index based on a second predefined date.

17. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to authenticate the user using the first signature index based on a first predefined time of the user device and authenticate the user using the second signature index based on a second predefined time of the user device.

18. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the first signature index further comprises a parameter value that references a number of sequential motions used by the first digital scheme to authenticate the user.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the first signature index further comprises a time interval parameter that indicates an end of one of the sequential motions and a start of another sequential motion.

20. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the user motion indicates a user action detected by the sensory input, a set of simultaneous user actions detected by the sensory input, or both.

21. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the mnemonic-aids are at least one of the following cues:

a generated audio, an image displayed on the sensory input, a vibration motion, and a time in a day.

22. A method, comprising:

implementing a digital signature scheme to authenticate a user within a user device for one or more mnemonic-aided secrets that authenticates a user, wherein the digital signature scheme comprises a first digital signature and a second digital signature;

authenticating the user using the first digital signature at a first predefined time;

authenticating the user using the second digital signature at a second predefined time; and

detecting a plurality of atomic motions implemented using the user device,

wherein the mnemonic-aided secrets are sensory based mnemonics,

wherein the first digital signature is a first combination of one or more secrets and one or more atomic motions associated with the secrets implemented on the user device,

wherein the second digital signature is a second combination of one or more secrets and one or more atomic motions associated with the secrets implemented on the user device,

wherein the digital signature scheme uses an image based mnemonic as one of the mnemonic-aided secrets to authenticate the user, wherein detecting the plurality of atomic motions is implemented on a touch screen,

wherein the image based mnemonic comprises an image displayed on the touch screen that includes one or more image objects that allows the user to remember the secrets,

wherein the secrets correspond to one or more points that coincide with the image objects and an input order of the points,

wherein the secrets comprise one or more locations on the image and one or more predefined time intervals that corresponds to the atomic motions that coincide with the image objects, and

wherein the image based mnemonic corresponds to a series of ordered atomic motions implemented with one or more predefined time intervals.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the first digital signature is defined using an index parameter and a value that indicates a number of sequential atomic motion parameters within the index, wherein the index parameter is based on the first predefined time, a predefined date, and a predefined location, and wherein the index comprises a plurality of sequential atomic motion parameters.

24. The method of claim 22, further comprising authenticating the user using the first digital signature based on a first predefined location of the user device and authenticating the user using the second digital signature based on a second predefined location of the user device.