Personal security system

• US 5,361,062 A
• Filed: 11/25/1992
• Issued: 11/01/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: EMC Corporation (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Security Dynamics Technologies, Inc. (Symphony Technology Group LLC)
• Inventors: Howard, Sheldon, Weiss, Kenneth P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Yusko, Donald J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): ZIMMERMAN, BRIAN A
• Application Number:
  US07/981,808
• Time in Patent Office: 706 Days
• Field of Search: 340/825.33, 340/825.31, 340/825.34, 380/21, 380/23, 380/48, 235/382
• US Class Current: 340/5.26
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/34 involving the use of external additional devices, e.g. dongles or smart cards
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/4012 Verifying personal identification numbers [PIN]
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/21 having a variable access code
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/382 using authorisation codes or passwords

Abstract

A method and apparatus are provided for verifying the identity of a system user. Each user has a token which processes an inputted seed to generate a stored value which is either a current seed value or a function thereof. This value is then changed to generate a new current seed in response to each of a plurality of selectively generated trigger signals. The stored current seed or a selected function thereof is outputted, for example by being displayed on the token, and is received and inputted into a host verification unit. This unit either has or generates the current seed value (and the outputted function thereof where required) for the user, the user being indicated by an input also provided to the host with the token output, and compares the received and generated seed function values to verify the user.

Claims

1. A security system for verifying the identify of a user comprising:

a token associated with each user, said token having means for receiving a selected input value, means for processing said input value to generate a pseudo-random seed, means for storing the generated pseudo-random seed, means for generating a trigger signal at selected times, means responsive to each trigger signal for utilizing a value which is a predetermined first function of the stored pseudo-random seed as an input to said means for processing to cause the means for processing to generate a new pseudo-random seed which is stored in the means for storing in place of the seed previously stored therein, and means for providing an output which is a second function of at least a portion of the stored seed; and

a verification unit having means for receiving a user identification and the token output, means responsive to the user identification for generating the second function for the seed which should be stored in the token for the user, and means for comparing the received outputting function of the stored seed with the corresponding generated function of the seed to verify the identify of the user.

2. A system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said second function is at least a portion of the stored seed.

3. A system as claimed in claim 2 wherein said token is a card having a display, and wherein said means for providing an output displays the at least a portion of the current stored seed on said display.

4. A system as claimed in claim 3 wherein each user has a fixed identification code, and including means for also displaying the fixed identification code on the display.

5. A system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said means for generating a trigger signal includes a clock, and means for generating trigger outputs from said clock at selected time intervals.

6. A system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the input to the means for processing for the generation of each new pseudo-random seed is the current seed.

7. A system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the input to the means for processing for the generation of each new pseudo-random seed is an intermediate function in the generation of the current seed.

8. A system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the input to the means for processing for the generation of each new pseudo-random seed is a selected portion of the current seed.

9. A system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said means for generating the second function at the verification unit includes means for storing a seed for each user on the system and for storing an indication of the number of triggerings since such seed was current, and means for iteratively processing, with said stored seed being processed for the first iteration and each succeeding generated seed being processed for the subsequent iterations, the number of processing iterations being that required to bring the seed to that which should be stored in the token.

10. A system as claimed in claim 9 wherein said verification unit includes means operative at selected times to update the seeds for users on the system.

11. A system as claimed in claim 10 wherein said verification unit includes means operative at selected times for utilizing the means to update to generate the current seed for each user on the system.

12. A system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said token includes means for transmitting synchronization data with the outputted function.

13. A system as claimed in claim 12 wherein said means for generating a trigger signal includes a clock, and means for generating trigger outputs from said clock at selected time intervals, and wherein said synchronization data is at least a portion of the current clock output.

14. A method for verifying the identity of a system user comprising the steps of:

providing an output from a token associated with the user which is a predetermined function of at least a portion of a stored seed, said providing step including the steps performed at said token of receiving a selected input code, processing said input code to generate a pseudo-random seed, storing the pseudo-random seed, generating a trigger signal at selected time intervals, operating in response to each trigger signal to utilize a value which is a predetermined first function of each stored seed as an input to said processing step, said processing step generating a new pseudo-random seed as a result thereof which is stored in place of the previously stored seed, the outputted function being a second function of at least a portion of each stored seed; and

verifying the identity of the user at a verification unit, said verifying step including the steps performed at said verification unit of receiving a user identification and the token output, generating the second function of the seed which should be stored for the user with the token, and comparing the received outputted second function of the stored seed with the corresponding generated second function of the seed to verify the identity of the user.