Method for authenticating a device

• US 10,476,856 B2
• Filed: 12/04/2015
• Issued: 11/12/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Orange S.A.
• Original Assignee: Orange S.A.
• Inventors: Audsin, Dev Pramil, Ahmad, Zaheer, Wary, Jean-Philippe, Qureshi, Mobeen
• Primary Examiner(s): Shepperd, Eric W
• Application Number:
  US14/960,165
• Publication Number:
  US 20160182481A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,439 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/44 Program or device authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G09C 1/00 Apparatus or methods whereby a given sequence of signs, e.g. an intelligible text, is transformed into an unintelligible sequence of signs by transposing the signs or groups of signs or by replacing them by others according to a predetermined system cryptographic typewriters G09C3/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0876 based on the identity of the terminal or configuration, e.g. MAC address, hardware or software configuration or device fingerprint
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/002 Countermeasures against attacks on cryptographic mechanisms network architectures or network communication protocols for protection against malicious traffic H04L63/1441
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3271 using challenge-response

Abstract

Present system relates to a method for authenticating a first device, the method being executed by a second device, the second device comprising a database, the database storing a profile associated to a user of the first device, the second device using the profile of the user to generate a first challenge comprising a question and a corresponding response for authentication of the first device, the method comprising, upon successful authentication of the first device using the first challenge, the steps of collecting contextual information from the first device and updating the profile associated to the user of the first device with the received contextual information for a subsequent generation of a second challenge for authentication of the first device.

Claims

1. A method for authenticating a first device, the method being executed by a second device, the second device comprising a database, the database storing a profile associated to a user of the first device, the method comprising:

receiving a request for authentication from the first device;

upon reception of the request for authentication, using the profile of the user to generate and send to the first device a first challenge comprising a question about a characteristic of the first device and a corresponding response for authentication of the first device; and

authenticating the first device using the first challenge based on a response to the first challenge issued by the first device independent of user input, wherein a successful authentication of the first device using the first challenge triggers;

immediately collecting contextual information from the first device, the contextual information including information that uniquely identifies the first device; and

updating the profile associated to the user of the first device with the collected contextual information for a subsequent generation of a second challenge including a second question about another characteristic of the first device for authentication of the first device.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the generation of the first challenge is based at least on contextual information received during a previous updating of the profile.

3. The method according to claim 1, comprising requesting the contextual information from the first device.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the contextual information includes a parameter associated with a component of the first device.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the profile of the user comprises one or more device profiles associated with one or more respective devices used by the user.

6. The method of claim 5, comprising:

receiving a request for authentication from the first device, the request for authentication including information identifying the first device to the second device;

retrieving, from the profile associated to the user of the first device, a device profile associated with the first device, wherein the device profile comprises information that uniquely identifies the first device; and

generating the first challenge using the retrieved device profile associated with the first device.

7. A server comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium, the medium storing a profile associated to a user of a first device, the server being adapted for:

receiving a request for authentication from the first device;

upon reception of the request for authentication, using the profile of the user to generate and to send to the first device a first challenge comprising a question about a characteristic of the first device and a corresponding response for authentication of the first device; and

authenticating the first device using the first challenge based on a response to the first challenge issued by the first device independent of user input, wherein a successful authentication of the first device using the first challenge triggers;

immediately collecting contextual information from the first device, the contextual information including information that uniquely identifies the first device; and

updating the profile associated to the user of the first device with the collected contextual information for a subsequent generation of a second challenge including a second question about another characteristic of the first device for authentication of the first device.

8. The server according to claim 7, wherein the generation of the first challenge is based at least on contextual information received during a previous updating of the profile.

9. The server according to claim 7, wherein the server is further adapted to request the contextual information from the first device.

10. The server according to claim 7, wherein the contextual information includes a parameter associated with a component of the first device.

11. The server according to claim 7, wherein the profile of the user comprises one or more device profiles associated with one or more respective devices used by the user.

12. The server according to claim 11, wherein the server is further adapted for:

receiving a request for authentication from the first device, the request for authentication including information identifying the first device to the second device;

retrieving, from the profile associated to the user of the first device, a device profile associated with the first device, wherein the device profile comprises information that uniquely identifies the first device; and

generating the first challenge using the retrieved device profile associated with the first device.

13. An application program embodied on a non-transitory computer readable medium and arranged to execute a method for authenticating a first device, the method being executed by a second device, the second device comprising a database, the database storing a profile associated to a user of the first device, the method comprising:

receiving a request for authentication from the first device;

upon reception of the request for authentication, using the profile of the user to generate and send to the first device a first challenge comprising a question about a characteristic of the first device and a corresponding response for authentication of the first device; and

authenticating the first device using the first challenge based on a response to the first challenge issued by the first device independent of user input, wherein a successful authentication of the first device using the first challenge triggers;

immediately collecting contextual information from the first device, the contextual information including information that uniquely identifies the first device; and

updating the profile associated to the user of the first device with the collected contextual information for a subsequent generation of a second challenge including a second question about another characteristic of the first device for authentication of the first device.

14. The application program according to claim 13, wherein the generation of the first challenge is based at least on contextual information received during a previous updating of the profile.

15. The application program according to claim 13, the method further comprising requesting the contextual information from the first device.

16. The application program according to claim 13, wherein the contextual information includes a parameter associated with a component of the first device.

17. The application program according to claim 13, wherein the profile of the user comprises one or more device profiles associated with one or more respective devices used by the user.

18. The application program according to claim 17, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving a request for authentication from the first device, the request for authentication including information identifying the first device to the second device;

retrieving, from the profile associated to the user of the first device, a device profile associated with the first device, wherein the device profile comprises information that uniquely identifies the first device; and

generating the first challenge using the retrieved device profile associated with the first device.