Wireless device monitoring methods, wireless device monitoring systems, and articles of manufacture

• US 8,175,578 B2
• Filed: 05/07/2007
• Issued: 05/08/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/07/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Battelle Energy Alliance LLC (Battelle Memorial Institute)
• Original Assignee: Battelle Energy Alliance LLC (Battelle Memorial Institute)
• Inventors: McCown, Steven H., Derr, Kurt W., Rohde, Kenneth W.
• Primary Examiner(s): LY, NGHI H
• Application Number:
  US11/745,319
• Publication Number:
  US 20080280592A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,828 Days
• Field of Search: 455/411.1, 455/410, 455/456.4, 455/411, 455/414.1, 455/456.1, 380/247
• US Class Current: 455/411
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/80 Wireless network architectures or network communication protocols for wireless network security H04W12/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/107 wherein the security policies are location-dependent, e.g. entities privileges depend on current location or allowing specific operations only from locally connected terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3247 involving digital signatures
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

Wireless device monitoring methods, wireless device monitoring systems, and articles of manufacture are described. According to one embodiment, a wireless device monitoring method includes accessing device configuration information of a wireless device present at a secure area, wherein the device configuration information comprises information regarding a configuration of the wireless device, accessing stored information corresponding to the wireless device, wherein the stored information comprises information regarding the configuration of the wireless device, comparing the device configuration information with the stored information, and indicating the wireless device as one of authorized and unauthorized for presence at the secure area using the comparing.

Claims

1. A wireless device monitoring method comprising:

monitoring within a secure area for the presence of wireless communications transmitted from a wireless device located within the secure area;

issuing a request for device configuration information to the wireless device upon detection of the presence of the wireless communications;

receiving device configuration information from the wireless device, wherein the received device configuration information complies with a security protocol, compliance with the security protocol including at least one of the received device configuration information being signed with a digital signature and the received device configuration information being encrypted;

accessing stored device configuration information corresponding to the wireless device;

comparing the received device configuration information with the stored device configuration information and

indicating the wireless device as one of authorized and unauthorized for presence at the secure area responsive to the comparing.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the received device configuration information includes a device identifier of the wireless device and the stored information includes the device identifier.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the monitoring, issuing, receiving, accessing, comparing, and indicating are executed by a node device located at the secure area.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the receiving and accessing is executed by a node device located at the secure area, the method further comprising:

communicating the received and accessed device configuration information from the node device to a remote device, wherein the comparing is executed by the remote device.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the node device and secure area is associated with a first organization and the remote device is associated with a second organization.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the receiving and accessing is executed by a node device located at the secure area, the method further comprising:

communicating the accessed and received device configuration information from the node device to a management device; and

communicating the accessed and received device configuration information from the management device to a remote device comprising an external device associated with the wireless device, wherein the comparing is executed by the external device.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising communicating an identifier of the management device from the wireless device to the remote device and verifying the identity of the management device using the identifier of the management device.

8. The method of claim 6 further comprising verifying an identity of the external device prior to communicating the accessed and received device configuration information to the remote device.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the stored information comprises information regarding a configuration of the wireless device at a moment in time before the device configuration information is received, and wherein the indicating comprises indicating the wireless device as being unauthorized responsive to the device configuration information being different than the stored information.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

accessing a list of authorized secure areas for the wireless device;

comparing the secure area the wireless devices is located in with the list of authorized secure areas; and

indicating the wireless device as being at least one of authorized and unauthorized responsively to the comparison using the list.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

disabling a function performed by the wireless device responsively to the comparing.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the received device configuration information includes and the stored information includes the device identifier.

13. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

communicating the received and accessed device configuration information from the node device to a remote device, wherein the comparing is executed by the remote device.

14. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

communicating the accessed and received device configuration information from the node device to a management device; and

communicating the accessed and received device configuration information from the management device to a remote device comprising an external device associated with the wireless device, wherein the comparing is executed by the external device.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

communicating, by the management device, an identifier of the management device from the wireless device to the remote device; and

verifying, by the remote device, the identity of the management device using the identifier of the management device.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising verifying an identity of the external device prior to communicating the accessed and received device configuration information to the remote device.

17. The method of claim 11 wherein the stored information comprises information regarding a configuration of the wireless device at a moment in time before the device configuration information is received, and wherein the indicating comprises indicating the wireless device as being unauthorized responsive to the device configuration information being different than the stored information.

18. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

accessing, by the node, a list of authorized secure areas for the wireless device;

comparing the secure area the wireless devices is located in with the list of authorized secure areas; and

indicating, by the node, the wireless device as being at least one of authorized and unauthorized responsively to the comparison using the list.

19. A wireless device monitoring system comprising:

a plurality of node devices associated with respective ones of a plurality of secure areas, wherein the node devices are individually configured to detect the presence of wireless devices at a respective one of the secure areas associated with the individual node device and receive device configuration information from the wireless devices, wherein the received device configuration information complies with a security protocol, compliance with the security protocol including at least one of the received device configuration information being signed with a digital signature and the received device configuration information being encrypted and transmit the received device configuration information to a management device; and

the management device coupled with the node devices and configured to receive the information regarding the wireless devices from the node devices, analyze the information, and to indicate, for an individual one of the node devices, whether respective ones of the wireless devices are authorized or unauthorized with respect to the respective one of the secure areas.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein the node devices are configured to receive device identifiers from the wireless devices, and wherein the management device is configured to indicate individual ones of the wireless devices as being authorized or unauthorized with respect to respective ones of the secure areas using the device identifiers.

21. The system of claim 19 wherein the node devices are configured to receive device configuration information from the wireless devices, and wherein the management device is configured to indicate individual ones of the wireless devices as being authorized or unauthorized with respect to respective ones of the secure areas using the device configuration information.

22. The system of claim 21 wherein the management device is configured to store information regarding configurations of the wireless devices, and wherein the management device is configured to indicate individual ones of the wireless devices as being authorized or unauthorized responsive to comparisons of the device configuration information with the stored information.

23. The system of claim 19 wherein the management device is configured to indicate one of the wireless devices as being unauthorized with respect to one of the secure areas and authorized with respect to another of the secure areas using a list of authorized secure areas for the one wireless device.

24. The system of claim 19 wherein the management device is associated with a first organization, and wherein the management device is configured to output the information regarding the wireless devices to an external device associated with a second organization, and wherein the management device is configured to indicate the wireless devices as being authorized or unauthorized with respect to the respective one of the secure areas responsive to responses from the external device associated with the second organization.

25. The system of claim 19, wherein at least one of the node device and the management device are configured to disable a function performed by the wireless device responsively to the comparing.

26. An article of manufacture comprising:

media comprising programming configured to cause processing circuitry to perform processing comprising;

monitoring within a secure area for the presence of wireless communications transmitted from a wireless device located within the secure area;

issuing a request for device configuration information to the wireless device upon detection of the presence of the wireless communications;

receiving device configuration information from the wireless device, wherein the received device configuration information complies with a security protocol, compliance with the security protocol including at least one of the received device configuration information being signed with a digital signature and the received device configuration information being encrypted;

accessing stored device configuration information corresponding to the wireless device;

comparing the received device configuration information with the stored device configuration information; and

indicating the wireless device as one of authorized and unauthorized for presence at the secure area responsive to the comparing.

27. The article of claim 26 wherein the stored information comprises information regarding a configuration of the wireless device at a moment in time before the device configuration information is received, and wherein the indicating comprises indicating the wireless device as being unauthorized responsive to the device configuration information being different than the stored information.

28. The article of claim 26 wherein the indicating comprises indicating the wireless device as being unauthorized responsive to the device configuration information not matching the stored configuration information.

29. The article of claim 26, wherein the processing further comprises:

disabling a function performed by the wireless device responsively to the comparing.