Device, system, and method of establishing secure wireless communication

• US 8,170,212 B2
• Filed: 03/17/2008
• Issued: 05/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Pering, Trevor A., Want, Roy
• Primary Examiner(s): EL HADY, NABIL M
• Application Number:
  US12/049,833
• Publication Number:
  US 20100278342A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,506 Days
• Field of Search: 380/270, 380/255, 713/168, 713/171, 713/182, 713/186
• US Class Current: 380/270
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/80 Wireless network architectures or network communication protocols for wireless network security H04W12/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0827 involving distinctive intermediate devices or communication paths network architectures or network communication protocols using different networks H04L63/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3236 using cryptographic hash functions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3297 involving time stamps, e.g. generation of time stamps
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/04 Key management, e.g. using generic bootstrapping architecture [GBA]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/10 Integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/61 Time-dependent

Abstract

Device, system, and method of establishing secure wireless communication. A system includes at least one wireless communication device having a sensor to measure one or more parameters of a physical event shared between that device and another wireless communication device, and a processor to translate the one or more measured parameters into a secret data sequence known only to the devices sharing the event. A first of the wireless communication devices sharing the event is to combine a communication key with the secret data sequence, thereby to generate an encoded message for distribution over a wireless link accessible by the devices, and a second of the wireless communication devices sharing the event is to decode said encoded message using the secret data sequence, thereby to obtain the communication key. The wireless communication devices may then connect using the secret communication key as a basis for secure communication.

Claims

1. A method for establishing secure wireless communication, the method comprising:

translating one or more measured parameters of a shared physical event between two or more wireless communication devices into two or more different versions of a secret data sequences using different quantization functions, wherein the two or more different versions of the secret data sequences are known only to the devices sharing said event;

combining a communication key with the two or more different versions of the secret data sequence to generate at least two different encoded messages for distribution over a wireless link accessible by said two or more wireless communication devices;

decoding said at least two different encoded messages using the two or more different versions of the secret data sequence to obtain two or more decoded communication keys;

verifying that at least one of the two or more decoded communication keys matches the communication key; and

establishing a wireless connection between the two or more wireless communication devices using the communication key as a basis for secure communication.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein to verify if said communication key is correctly obtained from the encoded messages, the method comprises:

distributing a secure hash of the obtained communication key; and

determining if the distributed hash matches an independently calculated hash of the applied communication key.

3. The method of claim 1, comprising:

broadcasting the communication key over a wireless network to one or more other communication devices.

4. The method of claim 1, comprising:

automatically creating a connection between the wireless communication devices upon receiving an appropriate communication key.

5. The method of claim 1, comprising connecting said devices only if user confirmation is received.

6. The method of claim 1, comprising using the communication key as an encryption key for said secure communication.

7. The method of claim 1, said shared physical event comprises an impact between said wireless communication devices.

8. The method of claim 1, said one or more measured parameters include a timestamp of said event.

9. The method of claim 1, comprising translating the one or more measured parameters of the shared physical event into the two or more different versions of the secret data sequence only if said parameters are above a threshold value.

10. A system for establishing secure wireless communication, the system comprising:

a first wireless communication device having a sensor to measure one or more parameters of a physical event shared between said first device and a second wireless communication device, the first device comprising a processor to translate said one or more measured parameters into two or more different versions of a secret data sequences using different quantization functions, wherein the two or more different versions of the secret data sequence are known only to the first and second devices sharing said event;

the first device operative to combine a communication key with the two or more different versions of the secret data sequence to generate at least two different encoded messages for distribution over a wireless link accessible by said first and second devices,

the second device operative to decode said at least two different encoded messages using the two or more different versions of the secret data sequence to obtain two or more decoded communication keys;

the first device operative to verifie that at least one of the two or more decoded communication keys matches the communication key; and

the first and second devices operative to establish a wireless connection using said communication key as a basis for secure communication.

11. The system of claim 10, said second wireless communication device operative to distribute a secure hash of the obtained communication key, and said first wireless communication device operative to determine if the distributed hash matches an independently calculated hash of the applied communication key to verify if said communication key is correctly obtained from the two or more encoded messages.

12. The system of claim 10, the first or second device operative to automatically establish the wireless connection upon receiving an appropriate communication key.

13. The system of claim 10, the first and second devices operative to use the communication key as an encryption key for said secure communication.