Sealing secret data with a policy that includes a sensor-based constraint

• US 9,411,970 B2
• Filed: 08/19/2011
• Issued: 08/09/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/19/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Saroiu, Stefan, Wolman, Alastair, Raj, Himanshu, Liu, He
• Primary Examiner(s): Najjar, Saleh
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pan, Peiliang
• Application Number:
  US13/213,085
• Publication Number:
  US 20130047197A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,817 Days
• Field of Search: 726/1, 726/2, 726/4, 726/27, 380/258
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45587 Isolation or security of virtual machine instances
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6209 to a single file or object, e.g. in a secure envelope, encrypted and accessed using a key, or with access control rules appended to the object itself
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2111 Location-sensitive, e.g. geographical location, GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45558 Hypervisor-specific management and integration aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0435 wherein the sending and receiving network entities apply symmetric encryption, i.e. same key used for encryption and decryption cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for symmetric key encryption H04L9/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/06 for supporting key management in a packet data network cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key management H04L9/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/083 using passwords cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using a predetermined code H04L9/3226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/107 wherein the security policies are location-dependent, e.g. entities privileges depend on current location or allowing specific operations only from locally connected terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/168 above the transport layer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/14 using a plurality of keys or algorithms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/30 Public key, i.e. encryption algorithm being computationally infeasible to invert or user's encryption keys not requiring secrecy
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3247 involving digital signatures
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/04 Key management, e.g. using generic bootstrapping architecture [GBA]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/128 Anti-malware arrangements, e.g. protection against SMS fraud or mobile malware
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/68 Gesture-dependent or behaviour-dependent
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 : Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences

Abstract

Technologies pertaining to limiting access to secret data through utilization of sensor-based constraints are described herein. A sensor-based constraint is a constraint that can only be satisfied by predefined readings that may be output by at least one sensor on a mobile computing device. If the sensor on the mobile computing device outputs a reading that satisfies the sensor-based constraint, secret data is provided to a requesting application. Otherwise, the requesting application is prevented from accessing the secret data.

Claims

1. A method executed at a mobile computing device, the method comprising:

at a processor on a mobile computing device;

receiving, from an application executing on the mobile computing device, a request to access secret data retained on computer-readable storage of the mobile computing device;

responsive to receiving the request, retrieving an encrypted policy from the computer-readable storage on the mobile computing device and decrypting the encrypted policy, the policy comprising a sensor-based constraint, the sensor-based constraint tied to a sensor on the mobile computing device, the policy defines a value from the sensor that satisfies the sensor-based constraint;

responsive to retrieving and decrypting the encrypted policy, requesting a sensor reading from the sensor on the mobile computing device;

receiving the sensor reading;

determining whether the policy is satisfied based upon a comparison between the value defined in the policy and the sensor reading from the sensor; and

when and only when the policy is satisfied, providing the application with the secret data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the sensor is a global positioning system sensor.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the sensor is one of a thermometer, an accelerometer, a velocity sensor, a proximity sensor, or a gyroscope.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the policy defines that the secret data is inaccessible to any device other than the mobile computing device.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a request to generate the policy;

generating the policy responsive to receipt of the request; and

sealing the secret data with the policy responsive to receipt of the request, such that the application is unable to access the secret data unless the policy is satisfied by the sensor reading.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the generating of the policy and the sealing of the secret data with the policy is undertaken on the mobile computing device.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the generating of the policy and the sealing of the secret data with the policy is undertaken on a server that is in communication with the mobile computing device.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile computing device is one of a portable telephone, a tablet, a netbook, or a laptop, and the at least one sensor is a global positioning system sensor.

9. The method of claim 1, the application being a text messaging application, the secret data being a key, wherein the application is configured to send and receive text messages responsive to receipt of the key.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the secret data is encrypted, the method further comprising decrypting the secret data when and only when the policy is satisfied, wherein decrypting the secret data is undertaken in a hardware trusted platform module.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

executing the application on a first core of the processor; and

determining that the policy is satisfied on a second core of the processor.

12. A computing device, comprising:

a processor; and

computer-readable storage that stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform acts comprising;

receiving, from an application executing on the computing device, a request to unseal secret data from a policy, the policy encrypted and stored in the computer-readable storage, the policy comprises a sensor-based constraint that is tied to a sensor on the computing device, the policy defining a sensor value that satisfies the sensor-based constraint, the sensor-based constraint satisfiable only by data output by the sensor;

responsive to receiving the request, decrypting the policy;

responsive to decrypting the policy, identifying the sensor that is tied to the sensor-based constraint;

responsive to identifying the sensor, retrieving a sensor reading from the sensor; and

unsealing the secret data from the policy and outputting the secret data to the application when and only when the sensor reading from the sensor corresponds to the sensor value and satisfies the sensor-based constraint.

13. The computing device of claim 12, the secret data being a password.

14. The computing device of claim 12, the acts further comprising:

receiving the policy from the application;

receiving the secret data;

receiving a request to seal the secret data with the policy; and

sealing the secret data with the policy responsive to receiving the request to seal the secret data with the policy, wherein sealing the secret data with the policy comprises;

encrypting the policy and storing the encrypted policy in the computer-readable storage; and

encrypting the secret data and storing the encrypted secret data in the computer-readable storage.

15. The computing device of claim 12, the processor being a hardware trusted platform module.

16. The computing device of claim 12 comprising a first virtual machine and a second virtual machine, wherein the application executes in the second virtual machine and the acts are performed in the first virtual machine.

17. The computing device of claim 12, the application being a text messaging application, the secret data being a key, wherein the application is configured to send and receive text messages responsive to receipt of the key.

18. The computing device of claim 12, the policy identifies the sensor of the sensor-based constraint.

19. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform acts comprising:

receiving a request to transmit a text message by way of a text messaging application installed on a mobile computing device;

responsive to receiving the request, retrieving a policy retained in computer-readable storage on the mobile computing device, the policy defines whether transmittal of text messages is authorized, the policy comprising a sensor-based constraint that is tied to a sensor on the mobile computing device, the policy defines a value that satisfies the sensor-based constraint;

retrieving a sensor reading from the sensor on the mobile computing device;

determining whether the sensor-based constraint has been satisfied based upon a comparison between the value defined in the policy and the sensor reading from the sensor; and

when and only when the sensor-based constraint is satisfied, transmitting the text message.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein a hardware trusted platform module performs at least determining whether the sensor-based constraint has been satisfied based at least in part upon a comparison between the value defined in the policy and the sensor reading from the sensor.