Secure digital communications

• US 10,505,743 B1
• Filed: 08/07/2018
• Issued: 12/10/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/13/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Wells Fargo Bank NA (Wells Fargo & Company)
• Original Assignee: Wells Fargo Bank NA (Wells Fargo & Company)
• Inventors: Maeng, Joon, Ramanathan, Ramanathan, Hayes, Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): Holder, Bradley W
• Application Number:
  US16/057,067
• Time in Patent Office: 490 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/36 using electronic wallets or electronic money safes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3829 involving key management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/4012 Verifying personal identification numbers [PIN]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/56 Financial cryptography, e.g. electronic payment or e-cash
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/80 Wireless network architectures or network communication protocols for wireless network security H04W12/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/083 involving central third party, e.g. key distribution center [KDC] or trusted third party [TTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/30 Public key, i.e. encryption algorithm being computationally infeasible to invert or user's encryption keys not requiring secrecy
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3236 using cryptographic hash functions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3249 using RSA or related signature schemes, e.g. Rabin scheme
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3271 using challenge-response
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/02 Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/03 Protecting confidentiality, e.g. by encryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/10 Integrity

Abstract

Disclosed in some examples are methods, systems, and machine readable mediums for secure end-to-end digital communications involving mobile wallets. The result is direct, secure, in-band messaging using mobile wallets that may be used to send messages such as payments, requests for money, financial information, or messages to authorize a debit or credit.

Claims

1. A method for secure mobile wallet communications, the method comprising:

using one or more processors;

executing a first mobile wallet application;

authenticating a message received from a second mobile wallet application by;

comparing a calculated hash of the message to a hash value contained in the message, the hash value contained in the message being in an encrypted form;

responsive to determining that the calculated hash of the message matches the hash value contained in the message;

sending a challenge to the second mobile wallet application, the challenge requesting financial account information from the second mobile wallet application about a user of the first mobile wallet application;

receiving a challenge-response;

determining whether the challenge-response includes a correct answer to the challenge;

responsive to determining that the challenge-response includes the correct answer, marking the message from the second mobile wallet application as authenticated; and

responsive to authenticating the message, engaging in a financial transaction with the second mobile wallet application.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

contacting a public key server of a domain of the second mobile wallet application;

obtaining a public key of the second mobile wallet application from the public key server; and

wherein comparing the calculated hash of the message to the hash value contained in the message comprises decrypting the hash value contained in the message using the public key of the second mobile wallet application.

3. The method of claim 1, comprising:

receiving a second message from a third mobile wallet application;

determining that a hash of the second message does not match a hash in a decrypted portion of the second message; and

responsive to determining that the hash of the second message does not match the hash in the decrypted portion of the second message, marking the second message as unverified.

4. The method of claim 1, comprising:

receiving a second message from a third mobile wallet application;

sending a second challenge to the third mobile wallet application;

receiving a second challenge response from the third mobile wallet application;

determining whether the second challenge response includes a second correct answer to the challenge; and

responsive to determining that the second challenge-response does not include the second correct answer, marking the message from the second mobile wallet application as unverified.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the authentication is automatically done in response to receiving the message from the second mobile wallet application.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the authentication is done responsive to a request from a user of the first mobile wallet application.

7. A device for secure mobile wallet communications, the device comprising:

one or more processors executing a first mobile wallet application, the first mobile wallet application configured to perform operations comprising;

authenticating a message received from a second mobile wallet application by;

comparing a calculated hash of the message to a hash value contained in the message, the hash value contained in the message being in an encrypted form;

responsive to determining that the calculated hash of the message matches the hash value contained in the message;

sending a challenge to the second mobile wallet application, the challenge requesting financial account information from the second mobile wallet application about a user of the first mobile wallet application;

receiving a challenge-response;

determining whether the challenge-response includes a correct answer to the challenge;

responsive to determining that the challenge-response includes the correct answer, marking the message from the second mobile wallet application as authenticated; and

responsive to authenticating the message, engaging in a financial transaction with the second mobile wallet application.

8. The device of claim 7, further comprising:

contacting a public key server of a domain of the second mobile wallet application;

obtaining a public key of the second mobile wallet application from the public key server; and

wherein comparing the calculated hash of the message to the hash value contained in the message comprises decrypting the hash value contained in the message using the public key of the second mobile wallet application.

9. The device of claim 7, comprising:

receiving a second message from a third mobile wallet application;

determining that a hash of the second message does not match a hash in a decrypted portion of the second message; and

responsive to determining that the hash of the second message does not match the hash in the decrypted portion of the second message, marking the second message as unverified.

10. The device of claim 7, comprising:

receiving a second message from a third mobile wallet application;

sending a second challenge to the third mobile wallet application;

receiving a second challenge response from the third mobile wallet application;

determining whether the second challenge response includes a second correct answer to the challenge; and

responsive to determining that the second challenge-response does not include the second correct answer, marking the message from the second mobile wallet application as unverified.

11. The device of claim 7, wherein the authentication is automatically done in response to receiving the message from the second mobile wallet application.

12. The device of claim 7, wherein the authentication is done responsive to a request from a user of the first mobile wallet application.

13. A non-transitory machine-readable medium storing instructions of a first mobile wallet application, the instructions when executed by a machine, causes the machine to perform operations comprising:

authenticating a message received from a second mobile wallet application by;

comparing a calculated hash of the message to a hash value contained in the message, the hash value contained in the message being in an encrypted form;

responsive to determining that the calculated hash of the message matches the hash value contained in the message;

sending a challenge to the second mobile wallet application, the challenge requesting financial account information from the second mobile wallet application about a user of the first mobile wallet application;

receiving a challenge-response;

determining whether the challenge-response includes a correct answer to the challenge;

responsive to determining that the challenge-response includes the correct answer, marking the message from the second mobile wallet application as authenticated; and

responsive to authenticating the message, engaging in a financial transaction with the second mobile wallet application.

14. The machine-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise:

contacting a public key server of a domain of the second mobile wallet application;

obtaining a public key of the second mobile wallet application from the public key server; and

wherein comparing the calculated hash of the message to the hash value contained in the message comprises decrypting the hash value contained in the message using the public key of the second mobile wallet application.

15. The machine-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving a second message from a third mobile wallet application;

determining that a hash of the second message does not match a hash in a decrypted portion of the second message; and

responsive to determining that the hash of the second message does not match the hash in the decrypted portion of the second message, marking the second message as unverified.

16. The machine-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving a second message from a third mobile wallet application;

sending a second challenge to the third mobile wallet application;

receiving a second challenge response from the third mobile wallet application;

determining whether the second challenge response includes a second correct answer to the challenge; and

responsive determining that the second challenge-response does not include the second correct answer, marking the message from the second mobile wallet application as unverified.

17. The machine-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the authentication is automatically done in response to receiving the message from the second mobile wallet application.