AUTHENTICATOR APPARATUS

• US 20090271860A1
• Filed: 11/02/2007
• Published: 10/29/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/06/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Maeda, Manabu, Ito, Yoshikatsu, Futa, Yuichi, Yokota, Kaoru, Matsuzaki, Natsume, Nonaka, Masao
• Granted Patent: US 8,347,091 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/16
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3278 using physically unclonable functions [PUF]

Abstract

An authenticator apparatus which makes it difficult for an unauthorized user to masquerade and enhances safety includes an authenticating information holding unit (102) previously stores characteristic information indicating an input and output characteristic involving an environment change of an authentic authenticatee apparatus entitled to be authentic, an authenticating information transmitting unit (107) which transmits authenticating information to a portable medium (2), a response information receiving unit (108) which receives response information outputted from the portable medium (2) in response to an input of the authenticating information, an environment selecting unit (105) which identifies an environment of the portable medium (2), and a response information confirming unit (109) which determines whether or not the authenticating information and the response information satisfy the input and output characteristic indicated in the characteristic information stored in the authenticating information holding unit (102), and judges that the portable medium (2) is authentic in the case where the input and output characteristic is satisfied, the authenticating information and the response information being in the environment identified by said environment identifying unit.

Claims

1. An authenticator apparatus which authenticates an authenticatee apparatus, said authenticator apparatus comprising:

a storing unit which previously stores characteristic information indicating an input and output characteristic involving an environment change of an authentic authenticatee apparatus entitled to be authentic;

an authenticating information transmitting unit configured to transmit authenticating information to the authenticatee apparatus;

a response information receiving unit configured to receive response information outputted from the authenticatee apparatus in response to an input of the authenticating information;

an environment identifying unit configured to identify an environment of the authenticatee apparatus; and

a judging unit configured to determine whether or not the authenticating information and the response information satisfy the input and output characteristic indicated in the characteristic information stored in said storing unit, and to judge that the authenticatee apparatus is authentic in the case where the input and output characteristic is satisfied, the authenticating information and the response information being in the environment identified by said environment identifying unit.

2. The authenticator apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising

an environment setting unit configured to set the environment of the authenticatee apparatus,

wherein said environment identifying unit is configured to identify the environment set by said environment setting unit.

3. The authenticator apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein the characteristic information indicates input data, output data, and change identification data as the input and output characteristic, the output data being outputted in response to an input of the input data by the authentic authenticatee apparatus in a predetermined first environment, the change identification data indicating whether or not an output in response to the input of the input data from the authentic authenticatee apparatus in a second environment changes from the output data, the second environment being different from the first environment, and

said authenticating information transmitting unit is configured to transmit the input data as the authenticating information.

4. The authenticator apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein said judging unit is configured to:

compare the response information and the output data either when the change identification data indicates no change in the output or when the environment identified by said environment identifying unit is the first environment, and judge that the authenticatee apparatus is authentic in the case where the response information and the output data are equivalent to each other; and

compare the response information and the output data when the change identification data indicates a change in the output, and the environment identified by said environment identifying unit is the second environment, and judge that the authenticatee apparatus is authentic in the case where the response information and the output data are different from each other.

5. The authenticator apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein said storing unit stores the characteristic information indicating a plurality of groups each including the input data, the output data, and the change identification data,

said authenticator apparatus further includes a group selecting unit configured to select any one group out of the plurality of groups indicated in the characteristic information,

said authenticating information transmitting unit is configured to transmit input data, included in the group selected by said group selecting unit, as the authenticating information, and

said judging unit is configured to compare the response information with output data included in a same group to which the input data belongs, the input data being transmitted by said authenticating information transmitting unit.

6. The authenticator apparatus according to claim 5,

wherein said authenticator apparatus further includes an environment selecting unit configured to select one of the first and the second environments, and

said environment setting unit is configured to set the environment of the authenticatee apparatus to the environment selected by said environment selecting unit.

7. The authenticator apparatus according to claim 6,

wherein said group selecting unit is configured to randomly select any one group out of the plurality of groups, and

said environment selecting unit is configured to randomly select one of the first and the second environments.

8. The authenticator apparatus according to claim 5,

wherein said group selecting unit is configured to sequentially select groups out of the plurality of groups for the authenticatee apparatus,

said authenticating information transmitting unit is configured to transmit input data included in each of the selected groups as the authenticating information with respect to each of selections of the group by said group selecting unit,

said judging unit is configured to compare the response information with the output data corresponding to the input data with respect to each of transmissions of the input data, and to judge whether or not the authenticatee apparatus is authentic, and

said authenticator apparatus further includes a final determining unit configured to:

determine whether or not a proportion of the number of times, which the authenticatee apparatus has been determined to be authentic out of the number of determinations by the judging unit, is not less than a predetermined proportion; and

finally determine that the authenticatee apparatus is authentic in the case where the proportion is not less than the predetermined proportion.

9. The authenticator apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising

an environment obtaining unit configured to obtain the environment information of the environment, of the authenticatee apparatus, notified by the authenticatee apparatus,

wherein said environment identifying unit is configured to identify the environment indicated in the environment information obtained by said environment obtaining unit.

10. The authenticator apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising

an environment measuring unit configured to measure the environment of the authenticatee apparatus,

wherein said environment identifying unit is configured to identify the environment measured by said environment measuring unit.

11. The authenticator apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising

an environment predicting unit configured to predict the environment of the authenticatee apparatus,

wherein said environment identifying unit is configured to identify the environment predicted by said environment predicting unit.

12. The authenticator apparatus according to claim 11,

wherein said environment predicting unit is configured to predict the environment of the authenticatee apparatus based either on:

a time, a date, and a location at which the authenticatee apparatus outputs the response information;

or a period of time for which the authenticatee apparatus has been used until the time.

13. The authenticator apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein said response information receiving unit is configured to receive the response information outputted when a Physical Unclonable Function (PUF) circuit in the authenticatee apparatus obtains the authenticating information.

14. The authenticator apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein said environment identifying unit is configured to identify at least one of the temperature of the authenticatee apparatus and a voltage supplied to said authenticator apparatus as the environment.

15. An authenticatee apparatus which an authenticator apparatus authenticates, said authenticatee apparatus comprising:

an authenticating information receiving unit configured to receive authenticating information from the authenticator apparatus;

a response information outputting unit configured to obtain the authenticating information and output response information which corresponds to the authenticating information and possibly changes according to an environment;

a response information transmitting unit configured to transmit the response information to the authenticator apparatus, the response information being outputted from said response information outputting unit; and

a notifying unit configured to notify the authenticator apparatus of the environment of said response information outputting unit.

16. An authenticatee apparatus according to claim 15,

wherein said notifying unit is configured to notify the authenticator apparatus of at least one of a temperature of said response information outputting unit and a voltage supplied to said response information outputting unit.

17. An authenticatee apparatus according to claim 15,

wherein said response information outputting unit includes a Physical Unclonable Function (PUF) circuit, and is configured to output output data from the PUF circuit as the response information, the output data being outputted in response to an input of the authenticating information.

18. An authenticating method for authenticating an authenticatee apparatus,

wherein said authenticating method utilizes a storing unit which previously stores characteristic information indicating an input and output characteristic involving an environment change of an authentic authenticatee apparatus entitled to be authentic, and includes:

transmitting authenticating information to the authenticatee apparatus;

receiving response information outputted from the authenticatee apparatus in response to an input of the authenticating information;

identifying an environment of the authenticatee apparatus; and

determining whether or not the authenticating information and the response information satisfy the input and output characteristic indicated by the characteristic information stored in the storing unit, and judging that the authenticatee apparatus is authentic in the case where the input and output characteristic is satisfied, the authenticating information and the response information being in the environment identified in said identifying.

19. A processing method performed by an authenticatee apparatus authenticated by an authenticator apparatus, said processing method comprising:

receiving authenticating information from the authenticator apparatus;

obtaining the authenticating information and outputting response information which corresponds to the authenticating information and possibly changes according to an environment;

transmitting the response information to the authenticator apparatus, the response information being outputted in said obtaining and outputting; and

notifying the authenticator apparatus of the environment of the authenticatee apparatus.

20. A computer program for authenticating an authenticatee apparatus,

wherein said computer program uses a storing unit which previously stores characteristic information indicating an input and output characteristic involving an environment change of an authentic authenticatee apparatus entitled to be authentic, and causes a computer to execute:

transmitting authenticating information to the authenticatee apparatus;

receiving response information outputted from the authenticatee apparatus in response to an input of the authenticating information;

identifying an environment of the authenticatee apparatus; and

determining whether or not the authenticating information and the response information satisfy the input and output characteristic indicated by the characteristic information stored in the storing unit, and judging that the authenticatee apparatus is authentic in the case where the input and output characteristic is satisfied, the authenticating information and the response information being in the environment identified in said identifying.

21. An integrated circuit which authenticates an authenticatee apparatus, said integrated circuit comprising:

a storing unit which previously stores characteristic information indicating an input and output characteristic involving an environment change of an authentic authenticatee apparatus entitled to be authentic;

an authenticating information transmitting unit configured to transmit authenticating information to the authenticatee apparatus;

a response information receiving unit configured to receive response information outputted, in response to an input of the authenticating information, from the authenticatee apparatus;

an environment identifying unit configured to identify an environment of the authenticatee apparatus; and

a judging unit configured to determine whether or not the authenticating information and the response information satisfy the input and output characteristic indicated by the characteristics information stored in said storing unit, and to judge that the authenticatee apparatus is authentic in the case where the input and output characteristic is satisfied, the authenticating information and the response information being in the environment identified by said environment identifying unit.

22. An integrated circuit which an authenticator apparatus authenticates, said integrated circuit comprising:

an authenticating information receiving unit configured to receive authenticating information from the authenticator apparatus;

a response information outputting unit configured to obtain the authenticating information and output response information which corresponds to the authenticating information and possibly changes according to an environment;

a response information transmitting unit configured to transmit the response information to the authenticator apparatus, the response information being outputted from the response information outputting unit; and

a notifying unit configured to notify the authenticator apparatus of the environment of the response information outputting unit.