Method and apparatus for establishing secured link between devices

• US 8,661,244 B2
• Filed: 12/08/2011
• Issued: 02/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Jung, Soo-yeon, Jun, Hae-young, Kwon, Hyuk-choon, Park, Dong-seek, Kim, Ho-dong
• Primary Examiner(s): LEMMA, SAMSON B
• Application Number:
  US13/314,871
• Publication Number:
  US 20120272055A1
• Time in Patent Office: 810 Days
• Field of Search: 713/153, 713/168, 709/220, 709/222, 370/338, 380/270
• US Class Current: 713/153
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0869 for achieving mutual authentication cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for mutual authentication H04L9/3273
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0884 by delegation of authentication, e.g. a proxy authenticates an entity to be authenticated on behalf of this entity vis-à-vis an authentication entity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/083 involving central third party, e.g. key distribution center [KDC] or trusted third party [TTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security

Abstract

A method and apparatus for establishing a secured link between devices. In the establishing of the secured link, a coordinator respectively receives from the first and second devices first pairing information indicating that a first device is to establish a secured link and second pairing information indicating that a second device is to establish a secured link. The coordinator further receives via a first secured link established between the first device and the coordinator shared secured information. The shared secured information is shared between the first and second devices. The coordinator establishes a second secured link with the second device based on the shared secured information; and broadcasts partner notice information indicating that the first and second devices are partner devices. The broadcast partner notice information is then used to establish a third secured link.

Claims

1. A method of establishing a secured link, performed by a coordinator, the method comprising:

receiving, by the coordinator, wherein the coordinator comprises at least one hardware processor, from a first device first pairing information indicating that the first device is to establish a third secured link;

receiving from a second device second pairing information indicating that the second device is to establish the third secured link;

receiving shared secured information that has been shared between the first and second devices, via a first secured link established between the first device and the coordinator,

establishing a second secured link between the coordinator and the second device;

broadcasting or transmitting partner notice information to the first and second devices; and

establishing the third secured link between the first and second devices using the partner notice information.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting a request for the shared secured information to the first device; and

transmitting via the first secured link by the first device to the coordinator a response comprising the shared secured information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving the shared secured information via the first secured link comprises:

receiving via the first secured link, the shared secured information encrypted using an encryption key,

wherein the encryption key is a key determined by the first device and the coordinator to use the key to encrypt the shared secured information.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the establishing the second secured link comprises:

exchanging between the coordinator and the second device the shared secured information and at least one other information,

wherein the at least one other information is at least one of;

information related to performing device verification between the coordinator and the second device, and

information related to an encryption algorithm to be applied to data that is to be exchanged between the coordinator and the second device; and

sharing between the coordinator and the second device an encryption key for encrypting data exchanged between the coordinator and the second device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the establishing the third secured link comprises:

exchanging between the first and second devices the shared secured information and at least one other information,

wherein the at least one other information is at least one of;

information related to performing device verification between the first and second devices, and

information related to an encryption algorithm to be applied to data that is to be exchanged between the first and second devices; and

sharing between the first and second devices an encryption key for encrypting data exchanged between the first and second devices.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first device and the coordinator belong to the same network, and the second device does not belong to the same network,

wherein the second secured link and the third secured link are robust secure network associations (RSNAs), and

wherein, if the first and second devices receive the partner notice information, the first and second devices establish the third secured link therebetween by using the shared secured information.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving link request information comprising a value indicating a degree of desire of the first device to establish the third secured link, and

wherein the coordinator optionally establishes the second secured link based on the link request information.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the shared secured information comprises a personal identification number or a password.

28. A non-transitory computer readable recording medium having recorded thereon a computer program for executing the method of claim 1.

9. A method of establishing a secured link, performed by a coordinator, the method comprising:

receiving, by the coordinator, wherein the coordinator comprises at least one hardware processor, from a first device first pairing information indicating that the first device is to establish a third secured link; and

receiving from a second device second pairing information indicating that the second device is to establish the third secured link;

receiving, via a first secured link established between the first device and the coordinator, random numbers generated by the first device, and modified secured information;

transmitting the random numbers to the second device;

establishing a second secured link between the coordinator and the second device based on the modified secured information;

broadcasting or transmitting partner notice information to the first and second devices; and

establishing the third secured link between the first and second devices using the partner notice information,

wherein the modified secured information is generated based on the random numbers and shared secured information, and

wherein the shared secured information is information shared between the first and second devices.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the receiving the first and second pairing information comprises:

receiving the first pairing information from the first device;

broadcasting the received first pairing information; and

after the broadcasting receiving the second pairing information from the second device.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the modified secured information is obtained by applying a hash function to the random numbers and the shared secured information.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the transmitting the random numbers to the second device comprises providing to the second device a method which instructs the second device how to generate the modified secured information.

29. A non-transitory computer readable recording medium having recorded thereon a computer program for executing the method of claim 9.

13. A method of establishing a secured link, performed by a coordinator, the method comprising:

receiving, by the coordinator, wherein the coordinator comprises at least one hardware processor, from the first device first pairing information indicating that the first device is to establish a third secured link;

receiving from a second device second pairing information indicating that the second device is to establish the third secured link;

generating random numbers;

transmitting the random numbers to the first and second devices;

receiving modified secured information generated by the first device via a first secured link established between the first device and the coordinator;

establishing a second secured link between the coordinator and the second device based on the modified secured information;

broadcasting or transmitting partner notice information to the first and second devices; and

establishing the third secure link between the first and second devices using the partner notice information,

wherein the modified secured information is generated based on the random numbers and shared secured information shared between the first and second devices.

30. A non-transitory computer readable recording medium having recorded thereon a computer program for executing the method of claim 13.

14. A method of establishing a secured link, the method comprising:

transmitting from a first device to a coordinator first pairing information indicating that a first device is to establish a third secured link;

transmitting from a second device to the coordinator second pairing information indicating that a second device is to establish the third secured link;

transmitting by the first device shared secured information that is shared between the first and second devices, to the coordinator via a first secured link established between the first device and the coordinator;

establishing, by the coordinator, based on the shared information, a second secured link between the second device and the coordinator;

transmitting by the coordinator key generation information to the first and second devices; and

establishing by the first and second devices, the third secured link based on the key generation information,

wherein the coordinator comprises at least one hardware processor.

31. A non-transitory computer readable recording medium having recorded thereon a computer program for executing the method of claim 14.

15. An apparatus for establishing a secured link, installed in a coordinator, the apparatus comprising:

a receiver which respectively receives from first and second devices first pairing information indicating that a first device is to establish a third secured link and second pairing information indicating that a second device is to establish the third secured link, and which receives via a first secured link established between the first and second devices shared secured information, which is information shared between the first and second devices;

a link controller device which establishes a second secured link between the coordinator and the second device; and

a transmitter which transmits or broadcasts partner notice information,

wherein the partner notice information indicates that the first and second devices are partner devices establishing the third secured link.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the transmitter further transmits a request for the shared secured information to the first device, and

the first device transmits via the first secured link to the coordinator a response comprising the shared secure information.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the shared secured information, which the receiver receives via the first secured link, is encrypted using an encryption key, and

wherein the encryption key is a key determined by the first device and the coordinator to use the key to encrypt the shared secured information.

18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein:

the link controller controls the transmitter and the receiver to exchange between the coordinator and the second device the shared secured information and at least one other information,

the at least one other information is at least one of;

information related to performing device verification between the coordinator and the second device, and

information related to an encryption algorithm to be applied to data that is to be exchanged between the coordinator and the second device; and

the link controller generates, based on the exchanged information, an encryption key for encrypting data, which is to be transmitted to the second device.

19. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the establishing the third secured link between the first and second devices comprises:

exchanging between the first and second devices the shared secured information and at least one other information,

wherein the at least one other information is at least one of;

information related to performing device verification between the first and second devices, and

information related to an encryption algorithm to be applied to data that is to be exchanged between the first and second devices; and

sharing between the first and second devices an encryption key for encrypting data exchanged between the first and second devices.

20. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the first device and the coordinator belong to the same network, and the second device does not belong to the same network,

wherein the second secured link and the third secured link are robust secure network associations (RSNAs), and

wherein, if the first and second devices receive the partner notice information, the first and second devices establish the third secured link therebetween by using the shared secured information shared between the first and second devices.

21. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the receiver further receives link request information comprising a value indicating a degree of desire of the first device to establish the third secured link, and

wherein the link controller optionally establishes the second secured link based on the link request information.

22. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the shared secured information comprises a personal identification number or a password.

23. An apparatus for establishing a secured link between devices, installed in a coordinator, the apparatus comprising:

a receiver which respectively receives first pairing information from a first device indicating that the first device is to establish a third secured link and second pairing information from a second device indicating that a second device is to establish the third secured link, and which receives via a first secured link established between the first device and the coordinator random numbers generated by the first device and modified secured information generated based on the random numbers and shared secured information, which is shared between the first and second devices;

a transmitter which transmits the random numbers to the second device; and

a link controller device which establishes a second secured link between the coordinator and the second device, based on the modified secured information,

wherein the transmitter broadcasts or transmits to the first and second devices partner notice information indicating that the first and second devices are partner devices, and

wherein a third secured link is established based on the partner notice information.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the first pairing information and the second pairing information are received by receiving the first pairing information from the first device via the receiver, wherein the transmitter broadcasts the received first pairing information, and the receiver receives from the second device the second pairing information.

25. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the modified secured information is obtained by applying a hash function to the random numbers and the shared secured information.

26. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the transmitter provides a method of generating the modified secured information to the second device, together with the random numbers.

27. An apparatus for establishing a secured link, installed in a coordinator, the apparatus comprising:

a receiver which respectively receives first pairing information from a first device indicating that the first device is to establish a third secured link and second pairing information from a second device indicating that a second device is to establish the third secured link;

a random number generator which generates random numbers;

a transmitter which transmits the random numbers to the first and second devices; and

a link controller device which establishes a second secured link between the coordinator and the second device based on modified secured information when the receiver receives the modified secured information via a first secured link established between the first device and the coordinator,

wherein the modified secured information is generated by the first device and based on the random numbers and shared secured information shared by the first and second devices,

wherein the transmitter broadcasts or transmits partner notice information to the first and second devices,

wherein the partner notice information indicates that the first and second devices are partner devices, and

wherein a third secured link is established based on the partner notice information.