Methods and apparatus for SIM-based authentication of non-SIM devices

• US 9,980,142 B2
• Filed: 03/22/2016
• Issued: 05/22/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Beals, Travis Roland
• Primary Examiner(s): Miller, Brandon J
• Application Number:
  US15/077,597
• Publication Number:
  US 20170280324A1
• Time in Patent Office: 791 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0823 using certificates cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0853 using an additional device, e.g. smartcard, SIM or a different communication terminal cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving additional secure or trusted devices H04L9/3234
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0892 by using authentication-authorization-accounting [AAA] servers or protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3263 involving certificates, e.g. public key certificate [PKC] or attribute certificate [AC]; Public key infrastructure [PKI] arrangements network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using certificates in a packet data network H04L63/0823
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42153 by subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/43 using shared identity modules, e.g. SIM sharing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/08 Access restriction or access information delivery, e.g. discovery data delivery signalling during connection H04W76/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]

Abstract

Methods and apparatus presented herein allow a non-SIM device to access a paid Wi-Fi network by having a server emulate the non-SIM device as a related SIM-enabled device to a mobile operator. The mobile operator is led to believe that the non-SIM device is the related SIM-enabled device, and thereby grants authorization to the non-SIM device to access the paid Wi-Fi network.

Claims

1. A method by a server for subscriber identity module (SIM)-based authentication of a non-SIM device, the method comprising:

receiving, by the server, an access request to access a wireless network from the non-SIM device; and

in response to the access request, enabling, by the server, the non-SIM device to access the wireless network by emulating an ability of a related SIM-enabled device to access the wireless network for the non-SIM device to a mobile SIM-operator, wherein emulating the ability of the related SIM-enabled device to access the wireless network for the non-SIM device comprises making communication between the non-SIM device and the mobile SIM-operator to access the wireless network appear as though the communication to access the wireless network was between the related SIM-enabled device and the mobile SIM-operator.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein emulating the ability of the related SIM-enabled device to access the wireless network for the non-SIM device comprises determining an association between identification data of the non-SIM device and identification data of the related SIM-enabled device.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein receiving the access request comprises receiving a non-SIM device certificate with a SIM-enabled device link from the non-SIM device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein determining the association further comprises authenticating the non-SIM device based on the non-SIM device certificate with a SIM-enabled device link, and determining the related SIM-enabled device in response to the authentication of the non-SIM device certificate with a SIM-enabled device link.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

creating, by the server, an emulated SIM-operator authentication message for the non-SIM device using credentials of the related SIM-enabled device based on the authenticated non-SIM device certificate with a SIM-enabled device link;

communicating, by the server, the emulated SIM-operator authentication message to a mobile SIM-operator server;

receiving, by the server, one of an access granted message or an access denied message for the non-SIM device in response to communicating the emulated SIM-operator authentication message to the mobile SIM-operator server;

communicating, by the server, the one of the access granted message or the access denied message to an access point of the wireless network; and

wherein enabling the non-SIM device to access the wireless network comprises one of granting the non-SIM device access to the wireless network or denying the non-SIM device access to the wireless network based on the one of the access granted message or the access denied message.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

receiving, by the server, data usage information indicating an amount of data used by the non-SIM device on the wireless network;

creating, by the server, an emulated SIM-operator accounting message for the non-SIM device using the data usage information and the credentials of the related SIM-enabled device based on the authenticated non-SIM device certificate with a SIM-enabled device link; and

communicating, by the server, the emulated SIM-operator accounting message to a mobile SIM-operator server.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

in response to receiving the emulated SIM-operator accounting message for the non-SIM device from the server, billing, by the mobile SIM-operator server, an account associated with the related SIM-enabled device for the amount of data used by the non-SIM device on the wireless network.

8. The method of claim 2, further comprising communicating, by the server, the association to a mobile SIM-operator server.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

communicating, by the server, a SIM-operator authentication message for the non-SIM device to the mobile SIM-operator server;

receiving, by the server, an access granted message in response to communicating the SIM-operator authentication message to the mobile SIM-operator server;

communicating, by the server, the access granted message to an access point of the wireless network; and

wherein enabling the non-SIM device to access the wireless network comprises granting the non-SIM device access to the wireless network based on the access granted message.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

receiving, by the server, data usage information indicating an amount of data used by the non-SIM device on the wireless network;

communicating, by the server, a SIM-operator accounting message for the non-SIM device using the data usage information to the mobile SIM-operator server.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

in response to receiving the association, linking, by the mobile SIM-operator server, the non-SIM device to an account associated with the related SIM-enabled device; and

billing, by the mobile SIM-operator server, the account associated with the related SIM-enabled device for the amount of data used by the non-SIM device on the wireless network.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the server, a phone number associated with the related SIM-enabled device;

generating, by the server, a verification code associated with the related SIM-enabled device in response to receiving the phone number;

communicating, by the server, the verification code associated with the related SIM-enabled device to the related SIM-enabled device;

receiving, by the server, the verification code associated with the related SIM-enabled device from the non-SIM device;

generating, by the server, the non-SIM device certificate with a SIM-enabled device link in response to receiving the verification code; and

communicating, by the server, the non-SIM device certificate with a SIM-enabled device link to the non-SIM device.

13. A server communicatively coupled to a wireless network, the server comprising:

a processor, coupled to a communications unit, configured to cause the server to;

receive, via the communications unit, an access request to access the wireless network from a non-subscriber identity module (SIM) device; and

in response to the access request, enable the non-SIM device to access the wireless network by emulating an ability of a related SIM-enabled device to access the wireless network for the non-SIM device to a mobile SIM-operator, wherein emulating the ability of the related SIM-enabled device to access the wireless network for the non-SIM device comprises making communication between the non-SIM device and the mobile SIM-operator to access the wireless network appear as though the communication to access the wireless network was between the related SIM-enabled device and the mobile SIM-operator.

14. The server of claim 13, wherein emulating the ability of the related SIM-enabled device to access the wireless network for the non-SIM device comprises determining an association between identification data of the non-SIM device and identification data of the related SIM-enabled device.

15. The server of claim 14, wherein receiving the access request comprises receiving a non-SIM device certificate with a SIM-enabled device link from the non-SIM device.

16. The server of claim 15, wherein determining the association further comprises authenticating the non-SIM device based on the non-SIM device certificate with a SIM-enabled device link, and determining the related SIM-enabled device in response to the authentication of the non-SIM device certificate with a SIM-enabled device link.

17. The server of claim 16, wherein the processor is further configured to cause the server:

create an emulated SIM-operator authentication message for the non-SIM device using credentials of the related SIM-enabled device based on the authenticated non-SIM device certificate with a SIM-enabled device link;

communicate, via the communications unit, the emulated SIM-operator authentication message to a mobile SIM-operator server;

receive, via the communications unit, one of an access granted message or an access denied message for the non-SIM device in response to communicating the emulated SIM-operator authentication message to the mobile SIM-operator server;

communicate, via the communications unit, the one of the access granted message or the access denied message to an access point of the wireless network; and

wherein enabling the non-SIM device to access the wireless network comprises one of granting the non-SIM device access to the wireless network or denying the non-SIM device access to the wireless network based on the one of the access granted message or the access denied message.

18. The server of claim 17, wherein the processor is further configured to cause the server to:

receive, via the communications unit, a phone number associated with the related SIM-enabled device;

generate a verification code associated with the related SIM-enabled device in response to receiving the phone number;

communicate, via the communications unit, the verification code associated with the related SIM-enabled device to the related SIM-enabled device;

receive, via the communications unit, the verification code associated with the related SIM-enabled device from the non-SIM device;

generate the non-SIM device certificate with a SIM-enabled device link in response to receiving the verification code; and

communicate, via the communications unit, the non-SIM device certificate with a SIM-enabled device link to the non-SIM device.

19. The server of claim 16, wherein the processor is further configured to cause the server to:

receive, via the communications unit, data usage information indicating an amount of data used by the non-SIM device on the wireless network;

create an emulated SIM-operator accounting message for the non-SIM device using the data usage information and the credentials of the related SIM-enabled device based on the authenticated non-SIM device certificate with a SIM-enabled device link; and

communicate, via the communications unit, the emulated SIM-operator accounting message to a mobile SIM-operator server.

20. A method by a server to authenticate a non-subscriber identity module (SIM) device, the method comprising:

receiving, by the server, an association between the non-SIM device and a related SIM-enabled device from another server;

linking, by the server, the non-SIM device to an account associated with the related SIM-enabled device based on the received association between the non-SIM device and the related SIM-enabled device;

granting, by the server, the non-SIM device access to a wireless network by communicating an access granted message to the another server in response to receiving a SIM-operator authentication message from the another server for the non-SIM device to access the wireless network; and

billing, by the server, the account associated with the related SIM-enabled device for an amount of data used by the non-SIM device on the wireless network in response to receiving a SIM-operator accounting message from the another server for the non-SIM device.