Secure display element

• US 9,430,635 B2
• Filed: 10/29/2014
• Issued: 08/30/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Block, Inc. (f/k/a Square, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Square Inc (Block, Inc. (f/k/a Square, Inc.))
• Inventors: Dai Zovi, Dino
• Primary Examiner(s): CERVETTI, DAVID GARCIA
• Application Number:
  US14/527,639
• Publication Number:
  US 20160125181A1
• Time in Patent Office: 671 Days
• Field of Search: 726/19
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/36 by graphic or iconic representation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/83 input devices, e.g. keyboards, mice or controllers thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/84 output devices, e.g. displays or monitors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/031 Protect user input by software means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/032 Protect output to user by software means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0236 using selection techniques to select from displayed items
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/204 comprising interface for record bearing medium or carrier for electronic funds transfer or payment credit
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/206 comprising security or operator identification provisions, e.g. password entry

Abstract

Techniques for securely displaying sensitive information against attempts to capture such information via screenshots are introduced. Similar to the pieces of a puzzle, a plurality of images that collectively represent a keypad (for example) are generated and each image represents a different part of the characters. The generated images are to be displayed to a human user in a sequential fashion at at least a predetermined minimum frame rate, such that the plurality of images sequentially displayed are perceivable by the human user collectively as the keypad. In each of the plurality of images, at least a part of the characters of the keypad is disguised or concealed, and in some embodiments, to the extent that not a single character of the keypad is recognizable by a human or a machine. Further, bogus data can be selectively inserted to enhance security.

Claims

1. A method for securely displaying sensitive information on a mobile computing device, the method comprising:

receiving, at the mobile computing device, an instruction to display a keypad in a predetermined display area of a display device of the mobile computing device to enable a human user of the mobile computing device to enter a personal identifier number (PIN) by use of the keypad, wherein the keypad includes a plurality of characters to enable a user to enter the PIN into the computing device via the keypad;

generating, by the computing device, data operable to facilitate a plurality of images to be rendered, each image representing a different part of the plurality of characters, wherein the plurality of images collectively represent the keypad being statically displayed, and wherein said generating includes;

controlling a graphics accelerator of the computing device to alter the keypad so that, in one or more images of the plurality of images, at least one character on the keypad is covered by a bogus data, wherein which character on the keypad is covered by the bogus data varies with time; and

causing the keypad to be displayed to the human user of the mobile computing device by rendering, using a graphics accelerator in the mobile computing device, the plurality of images in the predetermined display area sequentially at least at a predetermined minimum frame rate, such that not all of the plurality of images are displayed at any instant in time but where the predetermined minimum frame rate is such that the plurality of images sequentially displayed are perceivable by the human user collectively as the keypad,

wherein the bogus data includes fake data.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

analyzing, by a processor of the computing device, the plurality of the characters included in the keypad to determine a content category, wherein the content category indicates whether the plurality of characters are (1) alphanumerical, (2) alphabetical, or (3) numerical; and

selecting the bogus data from the content category.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

converting, by the graphics accelerator of the computing device, results from said controlling into pixel information, wherein said converting is repeatedly performed over a duration of said controlling; and

storing the pixel information into a frame buffer of the computing device for display.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein, when the plurality of images are sequentially displayed at or above the predetermined minimum frame rate, an amount of the bogus data for a given character in the plurality of images is less than an amount of real data in the plurality of images for the given character.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein no two bogus data cover the same character in the plurality of images.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of images, when sequentially displayed at least at the predetermined frame rate, are perceivable by a human user collectively as the item of information without being substantially interfered by the bogus data.

7. A method of securely displaying information on a computing device, the method comprising:

detecting, in the computing device, an instruction to display, on a display coupled to the computing device, an item of information to be secured;

altering, by the computing device, the item of information so as to render at least one segment of the item of information with a bogus data at a select number of instances in time, wherein which segment of the item of information is rendered with the bogus data varies with time;

converting, by the computing device, results from said altering into pixel information, wherein said converting is repeatedly performed over a duration of said altering; and

storing the pixel information into a frame buffer of the computing device for display, the pixel information representing a plurality of images,

wherein the bogus data includes fake data.

8. The method of claim 7,

wherein the plurality of images, when sequentially displayed at least at a predetermined minimum frame rate, are perceivable by a human user collectively as the item of information being statically displayed without being substantially interfered by any bogus data.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein, when the plurality of images are sequentially displayed at or above a predetermined minimum frame rate, an amount of the bogus data for a given character in the plurality of images is at or less than a predetermined percentage of an amount of real data in the plurality of images for the given character.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein no two bogus data cover the same character in the plurality of images.

11. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

analyzing, by a central processor of the computing device, the item of information to determine a content category, wherein the content category indicates whether the item of information is (1) alphanumerical, (2) alphabetical, or (3) numerical; and

selecting the bogus data from the content category.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said selecting is to choose, for the bogus data, a font style and a size that are substantially similar to what the bogus data is to cover.

13. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

determining a predetermined minimum frame rate based on a computing performance of the computing device; and

dynamically adjusting a total number of the segments based an updated computing performance of the computing device.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein said dynamically adjusting comprises:

reducing the total number of the segments if an effective minimum frame rate is reducing, but wherein the total number of segments is never reduced below a minimum threshold defined by a minimum security level.

15. The method of claim 7, wherein said altering comprises loading an image processing function into a vertex shader of a graphics accelerator, and wherein the image processing function automatically varies over time and based on a computing performance of the computing device.

16. The method of claim 7, wherein the item of information is altered so that at least one segment of the item of information is rendered with a bogus data at any instant in time.

17. A computing device comprising:

a display;

an application processor configured to receive an item of information and an instruction to display, on the display, the item of information in a predetermined display area;

a graphics processor configured to alter the predetermined display area so as to render at least one segment of the item of information with a bogus data at a select number of instances in time, wherein which segment of the item of information is rendered with the bogus data varies with time;

a rasterizer coupled to the graphics processor and configured to convert results from the graphics processor into pixel information, wherein the converting is repeatedly performed over a duration of the graphics processor altering the predetermined display area; and

a frame buffer configured to store the pixel information for display, the pixel information representing a plurality of images,

wherein the bogus data includes fake data.

18. The device of claim 17, wherein the plurality of images are sequentially displayed on the display at least at a predetermined minimum frame rate, and

wherein the predetermined minimum frame rate is such that the plurality of images sequentially displayed are perceivable by a human user collectively as the item of information free of any bogus data.

19. The device of claim 17, wherein, when the plurality of images are sequentially displayed at or above a predetermined minimum frame rate, an amount of the bogus data for a given character in the plurality of images is at or less than a predetermined percentage of an amount of real data in the plurality of images for the given character.

20. The device of claim 17, wherein no conflicting bogus data is inserted for covering the same character in the remainder of the plurality of images once the bogus data is inserted in any one of the plurality of images.

21. The device of claim 17, wherein the application processor is further configured to analyze the item of information to determine a content category, wherein the content category indicates whether the item of information is (1) alphanumerical, (2) alphabetical, or (3) numerical, and

wherein the application processor is further configured to select the bogus data from the content category.