Providing secure access to smart card applications

• US 9,883,381 B1
• Filed: 10/02/2007
• Issued: 01/30/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile Innovations LLC (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: Sprint Communications Company LP (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Katzer, Robin Dale, Koellner, Todd N., Zhu, Kevin
• Primary Examiner(s): Huang, Tsan-Yu J
• Application Number:
  US11/866,410
• Time in Patent Office: 3,773 Days
• Field of Search: 455410, 455411
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/068 using credential vaults, e.g. password manager applications or one time password [OTP] applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/084 using delegated authorisation, e.g. open authorisation [OAuth] protocol
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/122 Counter-measures against attacks; Protection against rogue devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/126 Anti-theft arrangements, e.g. protection against subscriber identity module [SIM] cloning
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/35 Protecting application or service provisioning, e.g. securing SIM application provisioning

Abstract

A method is provided for secure access to a smart card application. An alert is received related to a mobile device having the smart card application. Access by the mobile device to the smart card application is restricted responsive to receiving the alert.

Claims

1. A system for providing secure access to a smart card application, comprising:

a mobile device comprising a component that, upon execution of at least one processor;

determines that the mobile device is in airplane mode or has been out of communication with a communication service provider for a pre-defined period of time,

in response to the determination by the mobile device, restricts access to the smart card application stored in a non-transitory memory on the mobile device based on initiation, by the mobile device, of an access restriction specific to the smart card application wherein the smart card application is activated and provisioned with a smart card application provider prior to initiation of the access restriction; and

a server that, upon execution by at least one processor of the server,

receives an alert related to the smart card application on the mobile device from the smart card application provider, wherein the smart card application provider receives a notification that the mobile device is lost or stolen prior to the server receiving the alert,

responsive to reception of the alert from the smart card provider, conveys the alert to another smart card application provider based on a record of smart card applications stored in the non-transitory memory of the mobile device, and

initiates the access restriction targeting the smart card application via the component in response to receiving the alert, wherein access is restricted specifically to the smart card application by the access restriction that requires input of access enabling information into the mobile device to access the smart card application from the mobile device, and wherein the access restriction does not require re-provisioning the smart card application.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the component configures a user interface of the mobile device based on the access restriction targeting the smart card application, the smart card application associated with at least one of a loyalty card, an identification card, a credit card, a security card, a debit card, a bank account card, or a cash card.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the mobile device further comprises a plurality of smart card applications stored in the non-transitory memory of the mobile device, wherein the server initiates restricting access to the plurality of smart card applications via the component in response to receiving a second alert associated with another smart card application of the plurality of smart card applications, and wherein restricting access to the plurality of smart card applications further comprises applying a different access restriction to at least one of the plurality of smart card applications.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the alert specifies at least one of a missing mobile device or fraudulent activity from the mobile device using the smart card application.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the mobile device further comprises a hardware component that configures a user interface of the mobile device, and wherein the server further instructs the mobile device during a period of communication between the server and the mobile device to restrict access to the smart card application from the mobile device responsive to the mobile device determining that the mobile device has been out of communication with the server subsequent to a pre-defined period of time or being put into airplane mode.

6. A method for providing secure access to a smart card application stored in a non-transitory memory of a mobile device, comprising:

determining by the mobile device, that the mobile device is in airplane mode or has been out of communication with a communication service provider for a pre-defined period of time;

in response to the determination by the mobile device, restricting, by the mobile device based on initiation, by the mobile device, of an access restriction specific to the smart card application wherein the smart card application is activated and provisioned by the mobile device with a smart card application provider prior to initiation of the access restriction;

receiving, by a server, an alert related to the smart card application on the mobile device from the smart card application provider, wherein the smart card application provider receives a notification that the mobile device is lost or stolen prior to the server receiving the alert;

conveying the alert to another smart card application provider based on a record of smart card applications stored in the non-transitory memory of the mobile device in response to reception of the alert from the smart card provider; and

initiating the access restriction targeting the smart card application via the component in response to receiving the alert, wherein access is restricted specifically to the smart card application by the access restriction that requires input of access enabling information into the mobile device to access the smart card application from the mobile device, and wherein the access restriction does not require re-provisioning the smart card application.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising configuring, by the mobile device, a user interface of the mobile device based on the access restriction targeting the smart card application, the smart card application associated with at least one of a loyalty card, an identification card, a credit card, a security card, a debit card, a bank account card, or a cash card.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the mobile device comprises a plurality of smart card applications stored in the non-transitory memory of the mobile device, wherein the method further comprises restricting, by the server, access to the plurality of smart card applications via the mobile device in response to receiving a second alert associated with another smart card application of the plurality of smart card applications, and wherein restricting access to the plurality of smart card applications further comprises applying a different access restriction to at least one of the plurality of smart card applications.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the alert specifies at least one of a missing mobile device or fraudulent activity from the mobile device using the smart card application.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein the mobile device comprises a hardware component that configures a user interface of the mobile device, and wherein the method further comprises instructing, by the server, the mobile device during a period of communication between the server and the mobile device to restrict access to the smart card application from the mobile device responsive to the mobile device determining that the mobile device has been out of communication with the server subsequent to a pre-defined period of time or being put into airplane mode.