Method and opportunistic sensing

• US 9,525,669 B2
• Filed: 12/05/2013
• Issued: 12/20/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: ST-Ericcson SA (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Inventors: Porscke, Benn, Fagerstrom, Mats, Bergstrom, Mats, Bjorkengren, Ulf, Anyuru, Andreas, Ryd, Patrik
• Primary Examiner(s): Homayounmehr, Farid
• Assistant Examiner(s): SARKER, SANCHIT K
• Application Number:
  US14/440,885
• Publication Number:
  US 20150295900A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,111 Days
• Field of Search: 713/168
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/24 Key scheduling, i.e. generating round keys or sub-keys for block encryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0421 Anonymous communication, i.e. the party's identifiers are hidden from the other party or parties, e.g. using an anonymizer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/062 for key distribution, e.g. centrally by trusted party cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key distribution involving a central third party H04L9/0819
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3242 involving keyed hash functions, e.g. message authentication codes [MACs], CBC-MAC or HMAC

Abstract

A method in a first device for anonymously delivering data to a part that has initiated a task is provided. The first device and the part initiating a task are participants in opportunistic sensing. The method comprises creating a data sample and encrypting the data sample with a public key of the task initiating part. After communicating the protected sample to one or more intermediate devices, one of the one or more intermediate devices delivers the protected sample to the task initiating part, such that the task initiating part does not know the identity of the first device. The task initiating device only know the identity of the one of the one or more intermediate devices that delivered the protected sample to the task initiating part, wherein the intermediate devices are participants in the opportunistic sensing.

Claims

1. A method in a group of devices for anonymously delivering data from a sampling device to a task initiator, the group of devices comprising at least one device acting as the sampling device, and one or more devices acting as intermediate devices, the method comprising:

the task initiator initiating a task,

the sampling device

creating a data sample related to the initiated task,

calculating a hash based on at least the data sample,

encrypting the hash with a public key of the sampling device,

encrypting the created data sample and the encrypted hash with a public key of the task initiator to produce a protected sample, and

communicating the protected sample to one of the one or more intermediate devices,

one of the one or more intermediate devices delivering the protected sample to the task initiator, such that the task initiator does not know the identity of the sampling device, and only the identity of said one of the one or more intermediate devices that delivered the protected sample to the task initiator,

wherein the group of devices are participants in opportunistic sensing.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the communicating comprises exchanging the protected sample one or more times.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein, the one or more intermediate devices to communicate the protected sample to are selected from a First In First Out, FIFO, list of devices kept in the sampling device.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the devices to participate in the task accepts the task by that the task initiator in advance publishes information about the task, and that a device accept terms for the task by producing a “

dummy”

sample containing no sensor data that is exchanged, and received by the task initiator.

5. The method according to claim 1 wherein the communicating comprises an exchange of at least one recipient address.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the hash is encrypted with the public key of the sampling device along with a device secret.

7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising proving the identity of the sampling device creating the sample by decrypting the hash and device secret with a private key of the sampling device.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the encrypting further comprises encrypting the data sample together with an anonymous device identity with the public key of the task initiator.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the encrypting further comprises encrypting the data sample together with a sequence number with the public key of the task initiator.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising adding to the data sample a hop counter.

11. The method according to claim 1, further comprising adding to the data sample a Task Initiator URL to where the data finally will be delivered.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the protected data sample includes a hop counter that is decremented by each of the intermediate devices involved in delivering the protected sample and the protected data sample is not delivered to the task initiator until the hop counter reaches zero.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the protected sample is delivered from the sampling device to the task initiator via a plurality of the one or more intermediate devices, and when the protected sample is transmitted from a first one of the one or more intermediate devices to a second one of the one or more intermediate devices the first and second of the one or more intermediate devices exchange an address of another one of the one or more intermediate devices.

14. A multiprocessor system for anonymously delivering data from a sampling device to a task initiator, the system comprising:

a task initiator comprising a processor executing a computer program stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, which causes the processor to initiate a task, and

a group of devices being participants in opportunistic sensing, wherein the group comprises;

at least one sampling device comprising a processor executing a computer program stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, which causes the processor to create a data sample, calculate a hash based on at least the data sample, encrypt the hash with a public key of the sampling device, encrypt the data sample and the encrypted hash with a public key of the task initiator to produce a protected sample, and communicate the protected sample to one or more devices acting as intermediate devices, and

one or more intermediate devices, each comprising a processor executing a computer program stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, which causes the processor to deliver the protected sample to the task initiator,

wherein the task initiating part does not know the identity of the sampling device, only the identity of the device acting as delivering device delivering the protected sample to the task initiating part.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the protected data sample includes a hop counter that is decremented by each of the intermediate devices involved in delivering the protected sample and the protected data sample is not delivered to the task initiator until the hop counter reaches zero.

15. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therein, wherein execution of the computer readable program code by processors in a multiprocessor system causes the processors to execute a method in a group of devices for anonymously delivering data from a sampling device to a task initiator, the group of devices comprising at least one device acting as the sampling device, and one or more devices acting as intermediate devices, the method comprising:

the task initiator initiating a task,

the sampling device

creating a data sample related to the initiated task,

calculating a hash based on at least the data sample,

encrypting the hash with a public key of the sampling device,

encrypting the created data sample and the encrypted hash with a public key of the task initiator to produce a protected sample, and

communicating the protected sample to one of the one or more intermediate devices,

one of the one or more intermediate devices delivering the protected sample to the task initiator, such that the task initiator does not know the identity of the sampling device, and only the identity of said one of the one or more intermediate devices that delivered the protected sample to the task initiator.

17. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the protected data sample includes a hop counter that is decremented by each of the intermediate devices involved in delivering the protected sample and the protected data sample is not delivered to the task initiator until the hop counter reaches zero.