Method and apparatus for privacy-safe actionable analytics on mobile data usage

• US 8,838,784 B1
• Filed: 08/04/2011
• Issued: 09/16/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/04/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ribbon Communications Securities Corp. (Ribbon Communications, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Zettics Incorporated. (Ribbon Communications, Inc.)
• Inventors: Kalavade, Asawaree
• Primary Examiner(s): Jensen, Nicholas
• Assistant Examiner(s): ALI, SYED
• Application Number:
  US13/198,290
• Time in Patent Office: 1,139 Days
• Field of Search: 709/252, 709/230, 709/235, 709/224, 726/26
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/028 by filtering
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/045 for graphical visualisation of monitoring data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/062 related to network traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/067 using time frame reporting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/02 Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]

Abstract

System and method for capturing, analyzing, and accessing application level activity and other user information on a mobile data network based on various privacy controls. A platform non-intrusively and transparently monitors data activity on a mobile data network in real-time. The platform comprises collectors, data managers, and a reports manager. The collectors capture information from routers and correlate IP addresses with phone numbers. The collectors retain data allowed by a set of capture filter rules. Data managers receive the retained data and augment it with additional information. A set of usage filter rules determines the communications and additional information that can go to each data manager for use in real-time reports on aggregated usage of the network. The report manager works with the data manager to provide real-time reports to an operator. A set of access usage rules determines the reports that the operator can access.

Claims

1. A platform for real-time, non-intrusive transparent monitoring of application-level data activity from user mobile devices on a mobile data network so that data can be captured, analyzed, and accessed by an operator based on a plurality of privacy controls, the platform comprising:

a plurality of collectors distributed through the mobile data network, each collector corresponding to and being in communication with a corresponding router in the mobile data network to receive data communications from the user mobile devices via the router, the data communications including a uniform resource locator (URL), wherein each collector is responsive to a plurality of capture filter rules that specify collected data to be retained, each collector inspecting the retained communications of the user mobile devices to detect source IP addresses and correlating the retained communications with phone numbers associated with the user mobile devices, wherein the capture filter rules include analyzing a first segment of the URL, and determining whether to retain a second segment of the URL based on the analysis of the first segment of the URL;

a plurality of data managers receiving the communications and the correlated phone numbers from the plurality of routers, each data manager using a corresponding phone number for each communication to query additional information associated with the phone number, each data manager analyzing the communications and the associated additional information to provide information to satisfy parameters of a plurality of defined real-time reports, the real-time reports providing real-time information on aggregated usage of the network, wherein each data manager is responsive to a plurality of usage filter rules that specify the communications and associated additional information that can be aggregated in the defined real-time reports in each data manager;

a report manager, cooperating with the data manager, to provide a set of defined real-time reports in response to operator instructions, wherein the report manager is responsive to a plurality of access filter rules that specify the reports that can be provided to the operator;

wherein the access filter rules specify the real-time reports that can be provided to the operator based on a plurality of rights given to a plurality of groups, wherein the operator is included in the plurality of groups;

wherein the access filter rules specify a baseline set of real-time reports that can be provided to the operator and any of the plurality of groups.

2. The platform of claim 1 wherein the capture filter rules include at least one of URL default depth, on-deck URL depth, app store activity, black lists, and white lists.

3. The platform of claim 2 wherein the white list includes at least one of selective URL depth, ad networks, search strings, and referrers.

4. The platform of claim 3 wherein the selective URL depth can be selectively turned on for a specific duration of time or for a specific event.

5. The platform of claim 1 wherein the usage filter rules specify the communications and associated additional information that can be aggregated in each data manager based on a plurality of applications associated with each data manager.

6. The platform of claim 5 wherein the usage filter rules allow an end user to remove a subset of information from the communications and associated additional information that satisfy the usage filter rules before the data managers aggregate the communications and associated additional information, the subset of information being specific to the end user.

7. The platform of claim 6 wherein the usage filter rules allow the end user to remove the subset of information from being aggregated in at least one application, the subset of user information being aggregated in remaining applications requiring the subset of user information.

8. The platform of claim 1 wherein the access filter rules specify the real-time reports that can be provided to the operator based on a plurality of rights given to a group, wherein the operator is included in the group.

9. The platform of claim 1 wherein granularity of at least one of the capture filter rules, usage filter rules, and access filter rules can be adjusted to filter more or less data.

10. The platform of claim 1 wherein the collectors capture data from a plurality of sources including at least one of off-deck websites, on-deck websites, web applications, video applications, apps, and messaging.