18955results about "Secret communication" patented technology

Disclosed is a method and apparatus of securely providing data to a user's system. The data is encrypted so as to only be decryptable by a data decrypting key, the data decrypting key being encrypted using a first public key, and the encrypted data being accessible to the user's system, the method comprising the steps of: transferring the encrypted data decrypting key to a clearing house that possesses a first private key, which corresponds to the first public key; decrypting the data decrypting key using the first private key; re-encrypting the data decrypting key using a second public key; transferring the re-encrypted data decrypting key to the user's system, the user's system possessing a second private key, which corresponds to the second public key; and decrypting the re-encrypted data decrypting key using the second private key.

Channel state information (CSI) can be used by a communications system to precondition transmissions between transmitter units and receiver units. In one aspect of the invention, disjoint sub-channel sets are assigned to transmit antennas located at a transmitter unit. Pilot symbols are generated and transmitted on a subset of the disjoint sub-channels. Upon receipt of the transmitted pilot symbols, the receiver units determine the CSI for the disjoint sub-channels that carried pilot symbols. These CSI values are reported to the transmitter unit, which will use these CSI values to generate CSI estimates for the disjoint sub-channels that did not carry pilot symbols. The amount of information necessary to report CSI on the reverse link can be further minimized through compression techniques and resource allocation techniques.

Secure computation environments are protected from bogus or rogue load modules, executables and other data elements through use of digital signatures, seals and certificates issued by a verifying authority. A verifying authority-which may be a trusted independent third party-tests the load modules or other executables to verify that their corresponding specifications are accurate and complete, and then digitally signs the load module or other executable based on tamper resistance work factor classification. Secure computation environments with different tamper resistance work factors use different verification digital signature authentication techniques (e.g., different signature algorithms and/or signature verification keys)-allowing one tamper resistance work factor environment to protect itself against load modules from another, different tamper resistance work factor environment. Several dissimilar digital signature algorithms may be used to reduce vulnerability from algorithm compromise, and subsets of multiple digital signatures may be used to reduce the scope of any specific compromise.

A system and method authenticates users via any two or three of 1) Something the user knows; 2) Something the user has; and 3) A physical characteristic of the user.

Systems and methods for providing energy management utilize wireless wide-area network broadcast signals and a decentralized receiver architecture to allow customers to make informed choices with regard to energy consumption and load shedding for particular appliances. A receiver assembly embedded within an appliance receives a broadcast signal, e.g., an FM subcarrier signal, including tariff data and other electrical grid data. A processor coupled with the receiver controls the appliance in accordance with the received data and in accordance with user-defined preferences. In some embodiments, a transceiver assembly is embedded in one or more appliances in a household. Each transceiver is configured to receive broadcast signals regarding grid data, and to communicate with other appliances and/or a usage meter over a wireless personal area network. Meter data from one or more households may be aggregated and uplinked back to the energy provider or other entities.

A method for performing secure transactions, such as credit card purchases, using two or more non-secure networks (such as the Internet and the public telephone system) in such a way that security is insured. A person wishing to initiate a secure transaction sends a message over one of the non-secure networks to a computer. That computer automatically uses the second non-secure network to contact the person back to verify the transaction. The call-back mechanism employs a method to authenticate the identity or authority of the person initiating the transaction. No single wire-tapping or network snooping device sees the entire transaction. No single database contains the entire set of information.

Carrier Interferometry (CI) provides wideband transmission protocols with frequency-band selectivity to improve interference rejection, reduce multipath fading, and enable operation across non-continuous frequency bands. Direct-sequence protocols, such as DS-CDMA, are provided with CI to greatly improve performance and reduce transceiver complexity. CI introduces families of orthogonal polyphase codes that can be used for channel coding, spreading, and/or multiple access. Unlike conventional DS-CDMA, CI coding is not necessary for energy spreading because a set of CI carriers has an inherently wide aggregate bandwidth. Instead, CI codes are used for channelization, energy smoothing in the frequency domain, and interference suppression. CI-based ultra-wideband protocols are implemented via frequency-domain processing to reduce synchronization problems, transceiver complexity, and poor multipath performance of conventional ultra-wideband systems. CI allows wideband protocols to be implemented with space-frequency processing and other array-processing techniques to provide either or both diversity combining and sub-space processing. CI also enables spatial processing without antenna arrays. Even the bandwidth efficiency of multicarrier protocols is greatly enhanced with CI. CI-based wavelets avoid time and frequency resolution trade-offs associated with conventional wavelet processing. CI-based Fourier transforms eliminate all multiplications, which greatly simplifies multi-frequency processing. The quantum-wave principles of CI improve all types of baseband and radio processing.

A method of monitoring a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in a wireless communication system is provided. A user equipment monitors a set of PDCCH candidates for a search space in a subframe. The search space includes a common search space monitored by all user equipments in a cell and a UE-specific search space monitored by at least one UE in the cell.

In a network user authentication system, a network user is identified for authentication purposes using the unique identifier for a dedicated physical communication line associated with the building in which the network user is located or a digital certificate which is associated with a secure component or communication line physically attached to a building. An authentication server initially verifies the identification of the dedicated communication line to be associated with a network service subscriber or issues a unique digital certificate to be associated with the dedicated communication line for authentication purposes. The digital certificate may be stored in a building gateway or in an edge site module which is connected to the secure components of a plurality of buildings and stores unique digital certificates for each building.

A system of mobile units are installed in multiple vehicles in traffic. These mobile units include both wireless communications devices and apparatus that determines the location of each vehicle. Monitoring a vehicle's position as a function of time also reveals the velocity of the vehicle. Position and speed information is periodically broadcast by the vehicles to a central monitoring station and to neighboring vehicles. At the central monitoring station, the collective input of a set of vehicles is processed to provide an instant chart of traffic conditions in the area. Warnings of delays or updates on traffic conditions on the road ahead are then automatically returned to subscribers of the information or are used as part of an Intelligent Vehicle Highway System (IVHS). Neighboring vehicles within a region communicating with one another form a network in which the broadcast information is processed locally on the respective vehicles to estimate possible problems ahead and consider computing an alternate road and/or checking with the central monitoring station for more information. If out of range of the central monitoring station, the vehicles in the network form a local area network for the exchange and update of information, and when any vehicle in the network is within range of the central monitoring station, the local area network data is uploaded to help update the overall traffic information.

The present invention discloses a central certificate management system for thin client devices in data networks and has particular applications to systems having a large number of the thin clients serviced by a proxy server through which the thin clients communicate with a plurality of secure server computers over a data network. According to one aspect, the present invention provides a certificate management module that causes the server device to manage digital certificates for each of the thin client devices. To minimize the latency of obtaining certificates for each of the thin client devices, the certificate management module reserves a fixed number of free certificates signed by a certificate authority and their respective private keys in a certificate database and frequently updates the free certificate according to a certificate updating message. Whenever a user account is created for a thin client device, the certificate management module fetches one or more free certificates from the certificate database and associate the fetched certificates to the created account and meanwhile the certificate management module creates new free certificates with the certificate authority to fill in the certificate database. Apart from the tradition of obtaining certificates locally in client devices that normally have sufficient computing power, the present invention uses the computing resources in a server device to carry out the task of obtaining and maintaining certificates asynchronously in the proxy server and further. These and other features in the present invention dramatically minimize the demands for computing power and memory in thin client devices like mobile devices, cellular phones, landline telephones or Internet appliance controllers.

The present invention is directed to security systems and methods for mobile network-based data environments. The present invention provides an integration of security, mobile computing, wireless and IT infrastructure management technology, to create a new level of automation and enforcement to enable the transparent application of mobile security across an enterprise, while embracing end user “transparency” and “ease of use” and empowering IT administration.

System and methodology providing a secure workspace environment is described. In one embodiment, for example, in a computer system, a method is described for creating a secured workspace within an existing operating system for allowing users to run applications in a secured manner, the method comprises steps of: creating a policy for configuring the secured workspace, the policy specifying how information created during operation of the applications may be accessed; hooking particular functions of the operating system in order to obtain control over the information created during operation of the applications; during operation of the applications, encrypting the information to prevent unauthorized access; in response to a request for access to the information, determining whether the request complies with the policy; and if the request complies with the policy, satisfying the request by providing access to a decrypted copy of the information.

Briefly according to the present invention, a system, computer readable medium and method to deliver encrypted digital content to from a first system for playing the content to a second system for playing the content. The method on the first user system comprising the steps of: reading from a computer readable medium metadata which has previously been associated with the content; selecting from the metadata associated content to decrypt; establishing a secure connection with an authorization authority, such as a clearinghouse, for decrypting the key used to encrypt the content; receiving a secure container containing the decrypting key for decrypting at least part of the previously encrypted content as permitted; decrypting the content and then encrypting the content with a new encryption key that is generated locally on the end user system.

Embodiments of the present invention overcome the problems in the existing art described above by providing a secure digital content licensing system and method. Rental of the digital content occurs within an online environment including one or more user network-enabled devices and one or more server network devices connected by a communications link to the one or more user network-enabled devices. A user selects content displayed on a main website and requests download of the selected content to the user network-enabled device. To be able to access the content the user must obtain a license. The user's request for a license for specific content comprises information about a desired rental model, an expiration date for the rental model, and information that identifies the user's user network-enabled device, along with other information. A license for the content is generated which comprises the above information and also includes an encryption key for the selected movie. Media player and security technology residing on the user network-enabled device provides protection against unauthorized access to the content by ensuring that only licensed content is viewed and is accessed according to the rental model contained in the license. Media player and security technology also provides security against tampering by performing integrity checks on its various components and other components within the user network-enabled device. Revocation of access rights is made possible by revocation certificates that inhibit accessing of particular content for various reasons including compromised files or components.

A smart card authenticates a cardholder. The smart card includes a substrate, a sensor module, a wireless transceiver module, and a power circuit. The sensor module includes (a) a biometric sensor adapted to detect biometric information from a person's body, (b) a processor unit adapted to authenticate the person in response to the detected biometric information and generate an authentication signal representing an authentication result, and (c) a memory adapted to store biometric information of a specific individual associated with the smart card. The wireless transceiver module transmits signals received from the processor unit and receives a wirelessly-transmitted power signal. The power circuit generates at least one supply voltage from the received power signal and provides the supply voltage to the sensor module. An electronic passport is embedded with the smart card, and a terminal module is used for wirelessly transmitting power to and receiving signals from the electronic passport.

A disclosed gaming machine may securely communicate with devices over a public network such as the Internet. The gaming machine utilizes a combination of symmetric and asymmetric encryption that allows a single gaming machine to securely communicate with a remote server using a public network. The secure communication methods may be used to transfer gaming software and gaming information between two gaming devices, such as between a game server and a gaming machine. For regulatory and tracking purposes, the transfer of gaming software between the two gaming devices may be authorized and monitored by a software authorization agent.

Methods, systems and computer program products are provided which provide for controlling access to digital data in a file by encrypting the data with a first key, encrypting the first key with a second personal key generated from a password/passphrase associated with the file and further encrypting the encrypted first key with a control key which is managed by the system. In certain embodiments, user authentication may also be provided by issuing a ticket which is utilized to create, access and administer the files in the system.

Methods and systems for selecting a payment source for use in making a mobile financial payment utilizing a mobile device such as a mobile telephone (cellphone) or wireless connected personal digital assistant (PDA). A mobile financial transaction system (MFTS) is coupled for electronic communications with one or more financial service providers with which the user maintains one or more accounts, and also for wireless communications with mobile devices. The mobile device displays information corresponding to accounts available to the user as a payment source for use in connection with making a payment using the mobile device. The user selects a payment source for making a payment. The mobile device generates a mobile payment instruction comprising information corresponding to the payment and a selected payment source. The mobile payment instruction is wirelessly communicated to the MFTS. The MFTS generates an MFTS payment instruction that includes an amount, information corresponding to the identified payee, and information indicating the selected payment source. The MFTS payment instruction is communicated to the payment instruction recipient, which effects the payment utilizing the selected payment source.

A secure data parser is provided that may be integrated into any suitable system for securely storing and communicating data. The secure data parser parses data and then splits the data into multiple portions that are stored or communicated distinctly. Encryption of the original data, the portions of data, or both may be employed for additional security. The secure data parser may be used to protect data in motion by splitting original data into portions of data, that may be communicated using multiple communications paths.