Process for preserving the privacy of a user connected to a network

• US 9,998,916 B2
• Filed: 03/27/2015
• Issued: 06/12/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/16/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: L'Haridon, Sylvain, Papillon, Serge, Kanoun, Wael
• Primary Examiner(s): Sarwar, Babar
• Application Number:
  US15/303,850
• Publication Number:
  US 20170034695A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,173 Days
• Field of Search: 4554042, 4554121-4142, 455418-4221, 4555521, 4554561-457
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/02 Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/16 selectively restricting mobility data tracking

Abstract

Process for preserving the privacy of a user connected to a network through a terminal that comprises geolocation means adapted to emit geolocation information (2, 2a) about the geographical position of said user, said process providing for: —analyzing a packet (1) from said terminal to detect the eventual presence of geolocation information (2) into said packet; —replacing in said packet said detected geolocation information by virtual geolocation information (9, 9a) that have been computed for said user; —forwarding through said network said packet with said virtual geolocation information.

Claims

1. A process for preserving the privacy of a user connected to a network through a terminal that comprises a geolocation part adapted to emit geolocation information about the geographical position of said user, said process comprising:

analysing a packet from said terminal to detect a presence of geolocation information in said packet;

in response to detecting the presence of geolocation information in the packet as a result of said analysing, replacing in said packet said detected geolocation information with virtual geolocation information that have been computed for said user; and

forwarding through said network said packet with said virtual geolocation information.

2. The process according to claim 1, wherein it prior provides for allowing the registration of a user and for checking the registration of a user upon reception of a packet from said user, said packet being analysed or not for detection of geolocation information according to said checking.

3. The process according to claim 2, wherein it provides, for each user sending packets and being not registered, for tracking geolocation information of said user and for estimating the confidentiality of said tracked geolocation information, and thus for sending to said user a notification for registration according to said estimation, said user being registered according to the response of said user to said notification.

4. The process according to claim 2, wherein it provides, for each user sending packets and being registered, for tracking geolocation information of said user and for estimating the confidentiality of said tracked geolocation information, virtual geolocation information further being computed according to said estimation.

5. The process according to claim 4, wherein it provides for unregistering the user when the latest tracked geolocation information of said user is not confidential whereas the preceding tracked geolocation information of said user was confidential.

6. The process according to claim 5, wherein it provides for computing additional virtual geolocation information for the user upon unregistration of said user, said additional virtual geolocation information creating a realistic virtual path between the virtual geolocation information computed for said user at the time of said unregistration and ulterior tracked geolocation information of said user.

7. The process according to claim 2, wherein it provides for unregistering the user upon manual intervention of said user.

8. An architecture for preserving the privacy of a user connected to a network through a terminal that comprises a geolocation part adapted to emit geolocation information about the geographical position of said user, said architecture comprising:

a detection device that analyses a packet sent by said terminal to detect a presence of geolocation information in said packet;

a computing device that computes virtual geolocation information for said user;

a patching device that, in response to detecting the presence of qeolocation information in the packet as a result of said analyses by the detection device, replaces in said packet said detected geolocation information with said virtual geolocation information and forwards through said network said packet with said virtual geolocation information.

9. The architecture according to claim 8, wherein the computing device comprises a virtual location database into which is stored the computed virtual geolocation information associated with the user, the patching device comprising an interface which interacts with said virtual location database for replacing into a packet detected geolocation information with virtual geolocation information retrieved from said virtual location database.

10. The architecture according to claim 8, wherein it further comprises:

a registration device that prior allows a registration of a user, including a storage device that stores information about said user in a client database upon said registration;

a switch device that receives a packet sent by a user and checks in the client database the presence of information about said user, said switch device further operative to forward or not said packet to the detection device according to the presence or not of such information about said user in said client database.

11. The architecture according to claim 10, wherein the registration device comprises a tracking part that tracks, for each user sending packets and being not registered, geolocation information of said user and an estimating part that estimates the confidentiality of said tracked geolocation information, including a sending part that sends to said user a notification for registration according to said estimation, information about said user being registered into the client database according to the response of said user to said notification.

12. The architecture according to claim 11, wherein the registration device comprises a tracking part that tracks, for each user sending packets and being registered, geolocation information of said user and an estimating part that estimates the confidentiality of said tracked geolocation information, the computing device being adapted to compute virtual geolocation information for said user according to said estimation.

13. The architecture according to claim 12, wherein the registration device comprises an unregistering part that unregisters the user when the latest tracked geolocation information of said user is not confidential whereas the preceding tracked geolocation information of said user was confidential.

14. The architecture according to claim 13, wherein the computing device comprises a trigger that triggers a virtual path module upon unregistration of a user, said virtual path module being operative to compute additional virtual geolocation information for creating a realistic virtual path between the latest virtual geolocation information computed for said user at the time of said unregistration and ulterior tracked geolocation information of said user.

15. An architecture for preserving the privacy of a user connected to a network through a terminal that comprises a qeo-locater that emits geolocation information about the geographical position of said user, said architecture comprising:

a service platform embedded in said network and operative to compute virtual geolocation information for said user;

wherein

said terminal is operative to;

analyse a packet to be sent by said terminal to detect a presence of geolocation information in said packet;

request computation of virtual geolocation information for said user upon said detection of the presence of geolocation information in the packet as a result of said analysis;

replace in said packet said detected geolocation information with said virtual geolocation information; and

forward through said network said packet with said virtual geolocation information.

16. An architecture for preserving the privacy of a user connected to a network through a terminal that comprises a qeo-locater that emits geolocation information about the geographical position of said user, said architecture comprising:

a service platform embedded in said network and operative to compute virtual geolocation information for said user; and

network equipment operative for;

analysing a packet to be sent by said terminal to detect the eventual presence of geolocation information into said packet;

requesting computation of virtual geolocation information for said user upon said detection of the presence of geolocation information in the packet as a result of said analysing;

replacing in said packet said detected geolocation information with said virtual geolocation information; and

forwarding through said network said packet with said virtual geolocation information.