Authentication mechanisms for wireless networks

• US 9,591,483 B2
• Filed: 07/23/2015
• Issued: 03/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/22/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Shen, Hui, Hassan, Amer A., Lu, Yi, Kuehnel, Thomas W., Baron, Andrew T., Wu, Deyun
• Primary Examiner(s): Colin, Carl
• Assistant Examiner(s): LAVELLE, GARY E
• Application Number:
  US14/806,985
• Publication Number:
  US 20150327067A1
• Time in Patent Office: 593 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/56 Financial cryptography, e.g. electronic payment or e-cash
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/60 Digital content management, e.g. content distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/805 Lightweight hardware, e.g. radio-frequency identification [RFID] or sensor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0442 wherein the sending and receiving network entities apply asymmetric encryption, i.e. different keys for encryption and decryption cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for public-key encryption H04L9/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0823 using certificates cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/123 received data contents, e.g. message integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/126 the source of the received data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/30 Public key, i.e. encryption algorithm being computationally infeasible to invert or user's encryption keys not requiring secrecy
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3263 involving certificates, e.g. public key certificate [PKC] or attribute certificate [AC]; Public key infrastructure [PKI] arrangements network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using certificates in a packet data network H04L63/0823
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3271 using challenge-response
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/04 Key management, e.g. using generic bootstrapping architecture [GBA]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/10 Integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/12 Detection or prevention of fraud
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/122 Counter-measures against attacks; Protection against rogue devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/63 : Location-dependent; Proximity-dependent
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 : Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 : Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 : Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/08 : Access restriction or access information delivery, e.g. discovery data delivery signalling during connection H04W76/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 : Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 : WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]

Abstract

Security techniques and security mechanisms for wireless networks that transmit content such as advertisements. According to exemplary techniques, control messages comprising unrequested content (e.g., advertisement data) may be transmitted in response to a request from a client device, while in other exemplary techniques the control messages may be transmitted without any request from a client device. In some exemplary implementations, security mechanisms such as public key cryptography algorithms may be used to secure transmissions. In some of these techniques which implement public key cryptography, a user may be required to retrieve a public key from a source other than the wireless access point transmitting encrypted advertisements (e.g., a sign or terminal in a commercial entity transmitting such advertisements, or from a web service), such that the user may confirm that the encrypted content is from a source matching the retrieved public key and thus confirm the authenticity of a wireless access point.

Claims

1. A method performed on a client computing device, the method comprising:

obtaining, by the client computing device, trust information related to a wireless access point from a source other than the wireless access point;

receiving, by the client computing device from the wireless access point while the client computing device is not connected to any network to which access is provided by the wireless access point, an unrequested message that is encrypted;

decrypting, by the client computing device based on the obtained trust information, the received unrequested message;

verifying, by the client computing device based on successful decryption of the received unrequested message, the received unrequested message or an identity of the wireless access point; and

accepting, by the client computing device in response to the verifying, the decrypted message.

2. The method of claim 1 where the trust information is obtained from a directory.

3. The method of claim 1 where the trust information is obtained from a sign.

4. The method of claim 1 where the trust information is obtained from a server or a web service.

5. The method of claim 1 where the accepted message comprises location information corresponding to the wireless access point.

6. The method of claim 1 where the trust information comprises a public key associated with the wireless access point.

7. The method of claim 1 where the trust information comprises a public key infrastructure (“

PKI”

) certificate.

8. A system comprising:

a client computing device configured to obtain trust information related to a wireless access point from a source other than the wireless access point;

a network adapter configured to receive, from the wireless access point while the client computing device is not connected to any network to which access is provided by the wireless access point, an unrequested message that is encrypted;

a processor configured to decrypt, device based on the obtained trust information, the received unrequested message;

the client computing device further configured to verify, based on successful decryption of the received unrequested message, the received unrequested message or an identity of the wireless access point; and

the client computing device further configured to accept, in response to the verified message or the verified identity of the wireless access point, the decrypted message.

9. The system of claim 8 where the trust information is obtained from a directory.

10. The system of claim 8 where the trust information is obtained from a sign.

11. The system of claim 8 where the trust information is obtained from a server or a web service.

12. The system of claim 8 where the accepted message comprises location information corresponding to the wireless access point.

13. The system of claim 8 where the trust information comprises a public key associated with the wireless access point.

14. The system of claim 8 where the trust information comprises a public key infrastructure (“

PKI”

) certificate.

15. At least one computer-readable medium comprising:

memory that comprises computer-executable instructions that, based on execution by a client computing device, configure the client computing device to;

obtain trust information related to a wireless access point from a source other than the wireless access point;

receive, from the wireless access point while the client computing device is not connected to any network to which access is provided by the wireless access point, an unrequested message that is encrypted;

decrypt, based on the obtained trust information, the received unrequested message;

verify, based on successful decryption of the received unrequested message, the received unrequested message or an identity of the wireless access point; and

accept, based on the verified successful decryption of the received unrequested message or the verified identity of the wireless access point, the decrypted message.

16. The at least one computer-readable medium of claim 15 where the trust information is obtained from a directory.

17. The at least one computer-readable medium of claim 15 where the trust information is obtained from a sign.

18. The at least one computer-readable medium of claim 15 where the trust information is obtained from a server or a web service.

19. The at least one computer-readable medium of claim 15 where the accepted transmission comprises location information corresponding to the wireless access point.

20. The at least one computer-readable medium of claim 15 where the trust information comprises a public key associated with the wireless access point, or where the trust information comprises a public key infrastructure (“

PKI”

) certificate.