Bypassing security authentication scheme on a lost device to return the device to the owner

• US 10,257,709 B2
• Filed: 08/18/2017
• Issued: 04/09/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/11/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Schushan, Asaf
• Primary Examiner(s): Perez, Julio R
• Application Number:
  US15/681,318
• Publication Number:
  US 20180063717A1
• Time in Patent Office: 599 Days
• Field of Search: 455410, 455411, 4554561, 4554563, 455565, 726 4, 726 17
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/12 Detection or prevention of fraud
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/126 Anti-theft arrangements, e.g. protection against subscriber identity module [SIM] cloning

Abstract

Some embodiments provide a method for bypassing device security protections to communicate with a contact of a secure device. The method displays a selectable user interface object on the device enabling a user to bypass the security protections of the device. Upon receiving a selection of the user interface object, the method initiates a communication to a contact that is preselected from a list of contacts.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

displaying, while a device is in a locked mode in which a plurality of services are unavailable on the device, a selectable user interface (UI) item on the device for enabling a person to operate the device to communicate with a privileged contact while the device is in the locked mode;

upon selection of the UI item, displaying a list of privileged contacts while the device is in the locked mode, wherein the list of privileged contacts includes an owner of the device;

displaying, upon selection of the privileged contact from the list of privileged contacts, a list of different communication types for initiating a communication with the privileged contact, the displayed list of different communication types being exclusive of communication types for initiating a communication with other privileged contacts; and

initiating the communication with the privileged contact selected from the list of privileged contacts, the communication having a communication type selected from the list of different communication types.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving the selection of the communication type from the list of different communication types before initiating the communication.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the list of different communication types comprises a communication type provided by a third party application and the different communication types of the list of different communication types having been filtered based at least on a configuration of the device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the selected privileged contact is the owner of the device.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the list of different communication types for the owner of the device comprises an e-mail communication type.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the list of different communication types comprises different sets of communication types for different privileged contacts.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the device is placed in the locked mode after a predetermined period of inactivity, the locked mode requiring the device to be unlocked before making said plurality of services available.

8. A non-transitory machine readable medium storing a program which when executed by at least one processing unit of a device bypasses a device security protection to communicate with a privileged contact, the program comprising sets of instructions for:

displaying, while the device is in a locked mode in which a plurality of services are unavailable on the device, a selectable user interface (UI) item on the device for enabling a person to operate the device to communicate with the privileged contact while the device is in the locked mode;

upon selection of the UI item, displaying a list of privileged contacts while the device is in the locked mode, wherein the list of privileged contacts includes an owner of the device;

upon selection of the privileged contact from the list of privileged contacts, determining a communication type of a plurality of different communication types for initiating a communication to the privileged contact based at least in part on a configuration of the device; and

initiating the communication with the privileged contact selected from the list of privileged contacts, the communication having the determined communication type.

9. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 8, wherein the program further comprises a set of instructions for receiving the selection of the privileged contact from the list of privileged contacts before initiating the communication.

10. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 9, wherein the program further comprises a set of instructions for displaying, upon receiving the selection of the privileged contact, a list of the plurality of different communication types.

11. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 10, wherein determining the communication type of the plurality of different communication types for initiating a communication to the privileged contact based at least in part on the configuration of the device further comprises determining the communication type of the plurality of different communication types based at least in part on the configuration of the device and a selection of one of the plurality of different communication types.

12. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 10, wherein the list of the plurality of different communication types comprises different sets of communication mechanisms for different privileged contacts.

13. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 8, wherein the list of privileged contacts comprises a set of automatically-generated privileged contacts.

14. A device comprising:

a memory; and

at least one processor configured to;

display while the device is in a locked mode in which a plurality of services are unavailable on the device, a selectable user interface (UI) item on the device for enabling a person to operate the device to communicate with a privileged contact while the device is in the locked mode;

upon selection of the UI item, display a list of privileged contacts while the device is in the locked mode, wherein the list of privileged contacts includes an owner of the device; and

initiate a communication with the privileged contact selected from the list of privileged contacts, the communication having a communication type selected from a plurality of different communication types determined based on a configuration of the device.

15. The device of claim 14, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive a selection of the privileged contact from the list of privileged contacts before initiating the communication.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to display, upon receiving the selection of the privileged contact, a list of selectable communication mechanisms.

17. The device of claim 16, wherein the selected privileged contact is the owner of the device, wherein the list of selectable communication mechanisms for the owner of the device comprises at least one of e-mail and a phone call to a phone number not associated with the device.

18. The device of claim 16, wherein the list of selectable communication mechanisms includes different sets of communication mechanisms for different privileged contacts.

19. The device of claim 14, wherein the configuration of the device does not support cellular communications.

20. The device of claim 14, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to initiate the communication comprises a set of instructions for using a third-party application to initiate the communication.