Temporal proximity to verify physical proximity

• US 8,997,243 B2
• Filed: 12/05/2012
• Issued: 03/31/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
• Inventors: Epstein, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Okeke, Izunna
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nobahar, Abdulhakim
• Application Number:
  US13/705,511
• Publication Number:
  US 20130103947A1
• Time in Patent Office: 846 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 726/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/554 involving event detection and direct action
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2111 Location-sensitive, e.g. geographical location, GPS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0492 by using a location-limited connection, e.g. near-field communication or limited proximity of entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3271 using challenge-response

Abstract

A security system assesses the response time to requests for information to determine whether the responding system is in physical proximity to the requesting system. Generally, physical proximity corresponds to temporal proximity. If the response time indicates a substantial or abnormal lag between request and response, the system assumes that the lag is caused by the request and response having to travel a substantial or abnormal physical distance, or caused by the request being processed to generate a response, rather than being answered by an existing response in the physical possession of a user. If a substantial or abnormal lag is detected, for example due to the fact that the information was downloaded from the Internet, the system is configured to limit subsequent access to protected material by the current user, and/or to notify security personnel of the abnormal response lag.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a renderer that is configured to create a plurality of requests for a plurality of data items corresponding to a data set, and to produce from the data set a rendering of a selected data item,

a timer that is configured to measure a plurality of response times associated with the plurality of responses to the plurality of requests for data items; and

a verifier operably coupled to the timer and to the renderer, the verifier configured to preclude the rendering of the selected data item based at least in part on an assessment of the plurality of response times and in part on whether one or more data items other than the selected data item exist in the data set to be available to the renderer.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the verifier is configured to form the assessment of the plurality of response times based on at least one of:

an average of the plurality of response times,

a comparison of the plurality of response times to one or more threshold times, and

a statistical test based on the plurality of response times.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the verifier is configured to provide the plurality of requests, based on a random selection of one or more items to request.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the assessment of the plurality of response times forms an assessment of whether the plurality of responses were communicated via a network connection.

5. A method for rendering content based on authorization, the method comprising:

requesting a plurality of data items corresponding to a data set, the plurality of data items including a selected data item;

measuring a plurality of response times associated with a plurality of responses to the plurality of requests for the plurality of data items;

determining by an authorization based at least in part on an assessment of the one or more response times and whether one or more data items other than the selected data item exist in the data set to be available to the renderer; and

rendering the selected data item only if authorized.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein determining the response time comprises:

requesting one of the plurality of data item from the source at a first time,

receiving the one of the plurality of data item at a receiver at a second time, and

determining a response time corresponding to a difference between the second time and the first time.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the assessment of one or more response times is selected from the group consisting of, an average of the plurality of response times, a count based on a comparison of each difference between response times to one or more threshold times, and a statistical parameter based on the differences between one or subsets of the plurality of response times.

8. A processor for processing information depending on an authorization, the processor comprising:

a challenge-response device configured to execute a challenge-response protocol between the processor and an access device, during which protocol a security key is exchanged,

a timer configured to measure a response time between a challenge sent during said protocol and a response to the challenge, the response time being correlated to a physical proximity between the processor and the access device, wherein measuring said response time comprises;

requesting one of a plurality of data items stored on a medium from the access device at a first time,

receiving one of the plurality of data items at the processor at a second time, and

determining a response time corresponding to a difference between the second time and the first time, and

a verifier configured to terminate the protocol depending at least in part on an assessment of the response time to the challenge, the assessment including a comparison between the measured response time to the challenge and an expected response time to the challenge.

9. A processor for processing information depending on an authorization, the processor comprising:

a challenge-response device configured to execute a key exchange protocol comprising a challenge-response between the processor and an access device,

a timer configured to measure a response time between a challenge sent during said protocol and a response to the challenge, the response time being correlated to a physical proximity between the processor and the access device, wherein measuring said response time comprises;

requesting one of a plurality of data items stored on a medium from the access device at a first time,

receiving one of the plurality of data items at the processor at a second time, and

determining a response time corresponding to a difference between the second time and the first time, and

a verifier configured to terminate the protocol depending at least in part on an assessment of the response time to the challenge, the assessment including a comparison between the measured response time to the challenge and an expected response time to the challenge.