Authentication frequency and challenge type based on environmental and physiological properties

• US 9,262,609 B2
• Filed: 03/09/2015
• Issued: 02/16/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Arlington Technologies, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Inventors: Bentley, Jon Louis, Erhart, George William, O'Gorman, Lawrence, Sammon, Michael J., Skiba, David Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): LEE, JASON T
• Application Number:
  US14/642,028
• Publication Number:
  US 20150178486A1
• Time in Patent Office: 344 Days
• Field of Search: 726/7
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/32 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints

Abstract

An apparatus and method are disclosed for determining authentication frequency (i.e., the length of time between authenticating and re-authenticating a user) and challenge type (e.g., username/password, fingerprint recognition, voice recognition, etc.) based on one or more environmental properties (e.g., ambient noise level, ambient luminosity, temperature, etc.), or one or more physiological properties of a user (e.g., heart rate, blood pressure, etc.), or both. Advantageously, the illustrative embodiment enables authentication frequency and challenge type to be adjusted based on the likelihood of malicious activity, as inferred from these properties. In addition, the illustrative embodiment enables the authentication challenge type to be tailored to particular environmental conditions (e.g., noisy environments, dark environments, etc.).

Claims

1. A method comprising:

presenting, via a hardware processor, a first authentication challenge on a device at a first time;

obtaining a measurement of an environmental property associated with the device, at a second time later than the first time; and

presenting a second authentication challenge on the device at a third time later than the second time, wherein a time interval between the first time and the second time is based on the measurement of the environmental property.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the time interval is also based on the environmental property measured at a fourth time prior to the first time.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the environmental property is ambient noise.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the time interval is configured to decrease as a level of the ambient noise increases.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the environmental property is ambient luminosity.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the time interval is configured to decrease as a level of the ambient luminosity decreases.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the environmental property is ambient air pressure.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the environmental property is ambient humidity.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the environmental property is ambient temperature.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the time interval is configured to increase when the measurement indicates that an environment in which the device is being used is different from a norm.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein an authentication challenge type of the second authentication challenge is determined based on the measurement.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the environmental property is luminosity, and wherein the authentication challenge type is voice recognition when the measurement is lower than a threshold.

13. A system comprising:

A hardware processor; and

a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed by the hardware processor, cause the hardware processor to perform operations comprising;

presenting a first authentication challenge on a device at a first time;

obtaining a measurement of a physiological property associated with a user of the device at a second time later than the first time; and

presenting a second authentication challenge on the device at a third time later than the second time, wherein a time interval between the first time and the second time is based on the measurement of the physiological property.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the time interval is further based on the physiological property measured at a fourth time prior to the first time.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the physiological property is one of heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, respiration rate, brain activity, or pulse regularity.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the time interval is configured to increase when the measurement indicates that the user may be nervous.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein the time interval is configured to increase when the measurement indicates that an environment in which the device is being used is different from a norm.

18. The system of claim 13, wherein an authentication challenge type of the second authentication challenge is determined based on the measurement.

19. A computer-readable storage device storing instructions which, when executed by a hardware processor, cause the hardware processor to perform operations comprising:

presenting a first authentication challenge on a device at a first time;

obtaining a measurement of an environmental property associated with the device, at a second time later than the first time; and

presenting a second authentication challenge on the device at a third time later than the second time, wherein a time interval between the first time and the second time is based on the measurement of the environmental property.

20. The computer-readable storage device of claim 19, wherein the environmental property is at least one of noise, luminosity, humidity, or temperature.