System and method for preventing unauthorized access to an onboard vehicle network

Abstract

The present application relates to systems and methods for preventing unauthorized access to an onboard vehicle network. A method for preventing unauthorized access to a network on a vehicle is disclosed, the network being an onboard network, and the method comprising: detecting multiple conditions at a portable computing device disposed on the vehicle; evaluating at least one of a time or a weighting of the multiple conditions detected by the portable computing device to determine a confidence score, the confidence score indicating the likelihood that the portable computing device is operated, held, or carried by one or more persons; granting the portable computing device access to the onboard network when the confidence score is above a threshold; and denying the portable computing device access to the onboard network when the confidence score is below a threshold.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the invention patent application with national application number 201780047900.3, the application date of which is April 20, 2017, and the name of the invention is "System and method for avoiding unauthorized access to airborne vehicle networks".

[0002] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0003] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Application No. 15 / 170,649 (titled “Systems and Methods for Averting Unsanctioned Access to On-Board Vehicle Networks,” filed on June 1, 2016), and is related to U.S. Patent Application No. 13 / 781,841 (titled “Determining Human Stimuli at Computing Devices,” and issued as U.S. Patent No. 9,147,065), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes. Technical Field

[0004] The present disclosure generally relates to avoiding or preventing unauthorized access of a computing device to an onboard network of a vehicle. More specifically, the present disclosure generally relates to determining whether a condition detected by a computing device on a vehicle is consistent with a computing device operated by an individual, and granting or denying computing device access to an onboard network based on the determination. Background Art

[0005] People can carry their personal computing or electronic devices (e.g., cell phones, laptops, e-readers, tablets, smart devices, etc.) on a vehicle and use their devices to access an onboard communication network while the vehicle is en route. For example, a person may use their laptop or smart phone to access a wireless network on an aircraft during flight in order to communicatively connect to other devices on the aircraft, other devices on the ground, the Internet, other ground-based networks, etc., and / or access various services and applications. An onboard communication network is typically provided by a vehicle-based communication service provider (e.g., an aircraft-based wireless Internet service provider) and may or may not be a secure network. As is well known, access to a secure network typically requires a computing device to provide a network key, password, or passphrase before the device can connect to the network. Although the network key, password, or passphrase may initially be entered by the individual, the key, password, or passphrase may be saved locally on the computing device for future automatic access or connection by the device. Alternatively, an automatic password decoder may be used by a computing device to automatically determine the network key, password, or passphrase of a network and thereby automatically connect to the network.

[0006] For the purposes of this discussion, an entity that provides and / or operates at least a portion of one or more onboard communication networks and provides and / or operates communication services and connectivity for public personal computing devices via one or more onboard communication networks is generally referred to herein as a "service provider" or "onboard service provider." For example, an onboard service provider may be an airline (or another company that contracts with an airline) that provides in-flight communication services to passengers. The onboard communication network provided by the onboard service provider is referred to herein as a "public" onboard network because any member of the public may access the onboard network using their computing device, provided certain criteria are met, such as providing a network key, agreeing to terms and conditions, using the network, and / or paying for services provided by the network, etc. A "user," as generally used herein, refers to an individual, such as a passenger, crew member, or other human being, who operates, utilizes, carries, holds, or otherwise interacts with a computing device. For example, a user may purchase or otherwise receive services (e.g., in-flight communication services, entertainment services, etc.) from an onboard service provider, and may access those services using his or her personal device via the onboard network while he or she is on a vehicle.

[0007] In the United States of America, in the interests of public safety, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) publishes technical requirements for communication service providers based on vehicles. These technical requirements are aimed at preventing or avoiding unauthorized or unauthorized access to airborne communication networks by computing devices for evil purposes. Specifically, the technical requirements also stipulate that communication service providers based on vehicles do not allow public computing devices (such as computing devices owned and / or operated by members of the public) to automatically access their airborne communication networks. For example, a computing device stored in a suitcase in the cargo hold of an aircraft should be prevented from automatically accessing a public airborne communication network, and thus be prevented from using the airborne network to obtain and / or change critical flight data, disable aircraft electronics, penetrate other devices on the network, respond to a trigger or message from another device (such as a device on the ground) to initiate an unexpected or catastrophic action (such as detonating an explosive device, etc.). Accordingly, the goal of the technical requirements is to grant airborne communication network access only to those computing devices currently operated by individuals on the vehicle.

[0008] The method suggested by the FBI to meet its technical requirements is to require public computing devices on vehicles to pass a visual or external challenge-response test in order to be granted access to the onboard communication network. These challenge-response tests are generally easy for computers to generate and easy for humans to solve, but difficult for computers to solve. One such commonly used test is a CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell computers and humans apart), which is typically a series of alphanumeric symbols or other symbols (which are common on the keyboard, keypad, or equivalent user interface of the computing device). The symbols are deformed, distorted, or damaged when provided, but are generally still human-readable. In a typical visual challenge-response test, a computing device generates a CAPTCHA word and provides the CAPTCHA word on a display. An individual or human views the deformed image and enters the displayed symbol via a keyboard, keypad, or equivalent. Accordingly, the response to the challenge is said to be provided "externally", such as a response provided by an entity external to the computing device. An example of a prior art CAPTCHA display is shown in FIG. Figure 1A and Figure 1B Shown in. Figure 1A shows two series of distorted alphabetic characters (each of which is overlaid with an angled line), and Figure 1B Three series of distorted alphanumeric characters are shown (with symbols clustered together). Graphical CAPTCHAs are also known and used, such as those that require an individual to select only those images from a displayed set of images that contain a particular object (e.g., a street sign or a flower). If a mostly correct external response to the challenge issued is received at the computing device, it is assumed that the computing device is currently operated by an individual or human being, and the computing device is accordingly granted access to the onboard airborne communication network. Summary of the invention

[0009] This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0010] In an embodiment, a method of avoiding or preventing unauthorized access to a network on a vehicle may include detecting, at a computing device on the vehicle, one or more externally generated stimuli or conditions, wherein the one or more externally generated stimuli or conditions do not include a response to a challenge issued at a user interface of the computing device. The method may also include determining whether the one or more externally generated stimuli or conditions are contextual to the vehicle and indicate whether the computing device is utilized by one or more persons on the vehicle. Additionally, the method may include granting access to the onboard network to the computing device, wherein granting is based on a determination that the one or more externally generated stimuli or conditions are contextual to the vehicle and indicate that the computing device is utilized by one or more persons on the vehicle.

[0011] In an embodiment, a system for avoiding or preventing unauthorized access to a network on a vehicle includes a component for detecting one or more stimuli or conditions external to a computing device (which is on the vehicle), wherein the one or more externally generated stimuli or conditions do not include a response to a challenge issued at a user interface of the computing device. The system may also include a component for determining whether the one or more externally generated stimuli or conditions are contextual to the vehicle and indicate that the computing device is being utilized by one or more persons on the vehicle. In addition, the system may also include a component for granting access to the onboard network to the computing device, the granting being based on a determination as to whether the one or more externally generated stimuli or conditions are contextual to the vehicle and indicate that the computing device is being utilized by one or more persons on the vehicle.

[0012] In an embodiment, a system for avoiding or preventing unauthorized access to a network on a vehicle may include a detection engine that is communicatively coupled to one or more components of a computing device that is on the vehicle and is configured to detect one or more stimuli or conditions external to the computing device via coupling to the one or more components. The system may also include a determination engine that is coupled to the detection engine and is configured to determine whether the computing device is being utilized by one or more persons on the vehicle based on the one or more stimuli or conditions detected by the detection engine. The granting or denial of access to the onboard network by the computing device may be based on the determination engine's determination of whether the computing device is being utilized by one or more persons on the vehicle. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Figure 1A and Figure 1B An example of an existing CAPTCHA used to determine whether a human is interacting with a target computing device is shown;

[0014] Figure 2 A flow chart illustrating an example method of avoiding, preventing and / or mitigating unauthorized or unauthorized access to an on-vehicle network by a computing or electronic device;

[0015] Figure 3A and Figure 3B showing an example comparison of vehicle and target computing device accelerometer outputs versus time;

[0016] Figure 3C showing an example comparison of signal strength of a stored device and signal strength of a device held or utilized by a human on a vehicle versus time;

[0017] Figure 4 A block diagram illustrating an example system for avoiding and / or preventing unauthorized access to an on-vehicle communication network by a target computing device; and

[0018] Figure 5 One or more onboard communication networks (accessible via Figure 2 by means of and / or by Figure 4 Block diagram of an example vehicle managed by a system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] Although the following text sets forth detailed descriptions of many different embodiments, it should be understood that the legal scope of this description is defined by the words of the claims set forth at the end of this patent and their equivalents. The detailed description is to be understood as merely exemplary and does not describe every possible embodiment, as it would be impractical to describe every possible embodiment. Many alternative embodiments may be implemented using current technology or technology developed after the filing date of this patent, and still fall within the scope of the claims.

[0020] It should also be understood that unless a term is expressly defined in this patent using the phrase "As used herein, the term '______' is hereby defined to mean ..." or similar phrases, no limitation, express or implied, is intended to limit the meaning of that term beyond its obvious or ordinary meaning, and such term should not be construed as limited in scope based on any statement made in any section of this patent (other than the language of the claims). To the extent that any term recited in the claims at the end of this patent is referred to in this patent in a manner consistent with a single meaning, it is done only for clarity to avoid confusing the reader, and is not intended to limit such claim term, implicitly or otherwise, to that single meaning. Finally, unless a claim element is defined by reciting the word "means" and the function of the recitation without any structure, it is not intended to be interpreted based on the application of 35 USC § 112, Chapter VI.

[0021] As described above, a method suggested by the FBI to satisfy its technical requirement to not allow automated access to an onboard public network by a computing or electronic device is to require the computing or electronic device to pass a visual or external challenge-response test (e.g., a CAPTCHA), which may take alphanumeric, symbolic, and / or pictorial form. A challenge (e.g., a CAPTCHA) may be provided or issued at a user interface of a target computing or electronic device, and if a majority of correct responses to the challenge are received at the target computing device, it is assumed that the computing device is currently operated by a person or human. Accordingly, the computing device is granted access to the onboard network. Examples of CAPTCHAs and valid responses are provided in Figure 1A-1B and is also described in the aforementioned U.S. Patent No. 9,147,065.

[0022] However, the visual or external challenge-response method suggested by the FBI is not intuitive to the user and creates a service barrier to people on the vehicle (e.g., the public). For example, challenge-response tests (e.g., CAPTCHA) are typically issued via a web browser of a target computing device. However, if a passenger does not launch a web browser, but instead launches an application on his or her device that does not require the use of a web browser but requires the use of an onboard network, the passenger may be blocked from utilizing the application without knowing why. The passenger must somehow realize that he or she needs to launch a browser in order to be redirected to a challenge-response web page in order to be granted access to the onboard network. One possible solution is to issue an onboard network-related challenge-response test within each application, but since the number of possible applications that can be loaded onto a passenger's device is impractical (and today is approaching infinity), it is not realistic for an onboard network provider to embed their challenge-response test into every application that might possibly be loaded onto a passenger's device.

[0023] On the other hand, the new technologies, systems and methods disclosed herein balance the components, functionality and / or user interfaces of computing devices (e.g., "target" computing devices) and other devices on a vehicle so as to avoid or prevent unauthorized and / or unapproved access to an onboard network by a computing device, at least in part, by automatically determining whether an individual holds, carries, utilizes, operates and / or otherwise interacts with a target computing device. If conditions consistent with a target computing device operated, utilized or held / carried by an individual are detected or otherwise determined, access to an onboard network and / or one or more services and / or applications may be automatically granted. Importantly, the new technologies, systems and methods may be executed without knowledge of the passenger or user of the target computing device. Therefore, the passenger's computing or electronic device can not only meet the FBI's tactical requirements, but also do so in a manner that is transparent to the passenger or user. In fact, the passenger or user may not even know that his or her device has been automatically reviewed to obtain onboard network access. Therefore, the new technologies, systems and methods disclosed herein can not only avoid or prevent unapproved access of a device to a communication network on a vehicle to increase the safety and security of people on the vehicle, but also do so in a manner that preserves a satisfactory user experience.

[0024] In some embodiments, the target computing device may be a mobile electronic device, such as a smart device, a phone, a tablet computing device, an electronic reading device, a laptop computer, or other portable, mobile device with a memory, a processor, and a wireless interface. In some embodiments, the target computing device may be a fixed computing device, such as a desktop computing device, a server, or other computing device that is generally not moved to different locations. For ease of discussion, the techniques, systems, and methods are described herein with reference to mobile computing devices, but the techniques, systems, and methods are equally applicable to computing devices that remain essentially fixed. Generally speaking, the target computing device (to which the new techniques, systems, and methods disclosed herein are applied) is a public computing device (e.g., a computing device owned and / or operated by a passenger or other member of the public), but the new techniques, systems, and methods described herein are equally applicable to other computing and / or electronic devices.

[0025] In addition, although the present disclosure occasionally refers to "vehicles" as aircraft or aircraft, this is exemplary and for ease of discussion only, and is not intended to be limiting. In fact, the technology described herein can be easily applied to other vehicles, such as other types of aircraft, ships, trains, cars, buses, or any other type of vehicle with the ability to move through the air, on the ground, through space, or on water.

[0026] Figure 21 is a flowchart of an example method 100 for avoiding, preventing and / or mitigating unauthorized or unauthorized access to a communication network on a vehicle. The method 100 may be used to grant or deny access to an onboard communication network by a target computing device on a vehicle. The method 100 may be performed locally on the target computing device, or the method 100 may be performed by a computing device (a server, a peer device, or another computing device) that is remote from the target computing device and communicates with the target computing device. In some embodiments, the target computing device may perform at least a portion of the method 100, and the remote computing device (with which the target computing device communicates) may perform at least a portion of the method 100. The onboard communication network may be a public or publicly accessible network, such as a network that any member of the public may access via their computing or electronic device, as long as certain criteria are met, such as providing an appropriate network key, agreeing to terms and conditions, paying for the use of the network and the services provided by the network, etc. In addition, the onboard communication network may be secure or insecure. Accordingly, although the following method 100 is discussed from the perspective of the target computing device, this is for ease of discussion and is only one of many embodiments. For example, in other embodiments, one or more of the blocks of method 100 may be executed by a remote computing device on the vehicle. For example, a server or computing device of an onboard communication network may execute one or more of the blocks of method 100. In an embodiment, a server or computing device of an onboard communication network may execute all of the blocks of method 100.

[0027] In any case, at box 102, method 100 may include detecting one or more externally generated stimuli and / or external conditions at a target computing device on a vehicle. For example, the target computing device may obtain an indication indicating the occurrence of an externally generated stimulus or external condition. The externally generated stimulus or external condition may be, for example, an action or activity whose target of action or activity is at least one part or component of the target computing device, an action or activity whose result affects at least one part or component of the target computing device, and / or an action or activity detected or otherwise observed by the target computing device. Therefore, the externally generated stimulus or external condition may be a stimulus or condition that is neither generated nor initiated by any part or component of the target computing device, but is generated or initiated by one or more independent entities other than the target computing device. The independent entity that generates the stimulus and / or condition includes, for example, a human or individual and / or another device on a vehicle. In an embodiment, the independent entity that generates or initiates the stimulus or condition may be a device fixedly connected to the vehicle, as described in the following subsection.

[0028] The detected externally generated stimulus or external condition (block 102) may be independent of (e.g., may include or may not include) a user's response to a previously issued challenge (e.g., a CAPTCHA or CAPTCHA-like challenge) at the target computing device. For example, the detected stimulus or condition is not an attempt to recreate, reproduce, or enter an ordered series of ASCII printable characters (which was previously provided on a user interface) or another user response to an issued challenge. The detected stimulus or condition (block 102) may be another type of externally generated stimulus or external condition that is detected or observed by one or more components of the target computing device. In an embodiment, the externally generated stimulus or external condition may be an ad hoc stimulus or condition that is generated or initiated independently of any challenge, e.g., it is not a response to a previously issued challenge. For example, the stimulus or condition may be generated or caused by a user of the target computing device, but not in response to an issued challenge. In an embodiment, the ad hoc externally generated stimulus or condition may be generated or caused by another device on the vehicle.

[0029] Referring now to block 105, method 100 includes determining whether the detected externally generated stimulus or external condition is contextual to the vehicle and indicates that the target computing device is utilized, operated, held, and / or carried by one or more persons on the vehicle. Such determination may be based specifically on the type(s) of external stimulus(ies) or external condition(s) that have been detected (block 102), as discussed in more detail in a later subsection.

[0030] If the detected externally generated stimulus or external condition is determined to be contextual to the vehicle and indicates that the target computing device is utilized, operated, held, and / or carried by one or more persons on the vehicle (e.g., the "yes" branch of block 105), the target computing device may be granted or allowed at least partial access to the onboard network (block 108). On the other hand, if the detected externally generated stimulus or external condition is determined to indicate that the target computing device is not utilized, operated, held, and / or carried by one or more persons on the vehicle (e.g., the "no" branch of block 105), a challenge (e.g., a CAPTCHA) may be issued at a user interface of the target computing device (block 110). If an appropriate response to the challenge is received at the target computing device within a predetermined amount of time (e.g., the "yes" branch of block 112), the target computing device may be granted or allowed access to the onboard network (block 108). If an inappropriate response to the challenge is received at the target computing device, or if no response is received within a predetermined amount of time (e.g., the "No" branch of block 112), the target computing device may be denied access to the onboard communication network and / or blocked from accessing the onboard communication network (block 115). Thus, blocks 102 and 105 of method 100 may be used as an initial assessment as to whether the target computing device is held, carried, utilized, and / or otherwise operated by an individual, and the challenge response tests corresponding to blocks 110 and 112 may be used as a backup assessment as to whether the target computing device is held, carried, utilized, and / or otherwise operated by an individual. For example, if a passenger places his or her computing device on a tray table and falls asleep, he or she may still be able to access the onboard communication network (e.g., via blocks 110, 112) at a later time, even if the device has not been actively operated and / or moved for some time.

[0031] However, in some embodiments of method 100, blocks 110-112 may be omitted. In these embodiments, if the detected externally generated stimulus or external condition is determined to indicate that the target computing device is not being utilized, operated, held, and / or carried by one or more persons on board the vehicle (e.g., the "No" branch of block 105), then the target computing device may be automatically denied access to the onboard network (block 115) without any intermediate challenge-response testing or alternate evaluation.

[0032] It should be noted that in method 100, the blocks 102-105 corresponding to the initial assessment of whether the target computing device is utilized, operated, maintained and / or carried by individuals on the aircraft may be executed without using or requiring any user input. For example, blocks 102-105 may be automatically executed at the initialization of the target computing device or an application thereon. In another example, blocks 102-105 may be automatically executed when the target computing device detects the presence of an onboard communication network (e.g., a signal generated by a transceiver of an onboard network is detected). In fact, the user of the target computing device may not provide any indication that blocks 102-105 are executed, and therefore may not be aware of the execution of blocks 102-105. Therefore, at least a portion (even if not all) of the external stimulus / condition detection and assessment of whether the target computing device is utilized and / or operated by individuals on the vehicle may be transparent to the user, thereby providing a seamless, convenient and satisfactory user experience.

[0033] Several examples are provided below that illustrate at least a portion of the concepts and techniques of method 100. It is to be understood that these examples are not limiting, but are merely a few of the many use cases to which method 100 may be applied.

[0034] In an embodiment, the one or more externally generated stimuli or external conditions detected by the target computing device (block 102) may include one or more signals detected by the target computing device. The one or more signals may be generated by one or more transmitters or transceivers (which are on a vehicle and may be fixedly connected to the vehicle). For example, an onboard Wi-Fi access point may generate a beacon or another wireless signal that is detected by the target computing device. Aspects of the Wi-Fi access point generated signal (e.g., an identifier of an onboard network, such as an SSID (service set identifier) ​​contained in the signal, signal strength, etc.) may be examined to determine whether the target computing device is in the context of the aircraft / on the aircraft (block 105). For example, a specific SSID of a non-onboard network corresponding to a specific flight may be known in advance to the target computing device. If the SSID generated by the access point and detected by the target computing device matches a specific SSID known in advance to the target computing device, the target computing device may be assumed to be on the vehicle.

[0035] Additionally or alternatively, wireless signals generated by other types of transmitters or transceivers on the aircraft (e.g., cellular or pico transceivers, Bluetooth® or other short-range wireless transceivers, near field communication (NFC) transceivers, etc.) may be detected (block 102), and their corresponding signals may be checked (block 105) to ascertain whether the target computing device is in the context of / on a vehicle. For example, the presence, identification code, and / or content of a particular Bluetooth or another type of beacon may indicate that the target computing device is on a vehicle. For example, a beacon or another wireless signal generated by an onboard transceiver or transmitter may continuously transmit a flight number, an originating airport code, a destination airport code, an aircraft's tale number, and / or other data indicating a physical aircraft and / or its particular flight, flight, or flight path. Vehicle and / or flight information transmitted to the vehicle by the onboard transceiver and / or flight information known in advance to the target computing device may indicate that the target computing device is located on an expected vehicle for an expected flight and / or flight path.

[0036] In an embodiment, characteristics of one or more wireless signals detected at a target computing device may indicate whether the target computing device is not only on a vehicle, but also whether the target computing device is held, carried, utilized, or otherwise operated by an individual. For example, the perceived or detected strength of a signal transmitted by a Wi-Fi access point transmitting within a cabin of an aircraft will be stronger for devices located within the cabin of the aircraft and weaker for devices located within the cargo hold of the aircraft. Therefore, if the strength of the detected wireless signal is above a particular threshold, the target computing device may be considered to be located within the cabin of the aircraft (and not in the cargo hold) and, therefore, operated or utilized by an individual. In another example, the respective strengths of respective signals generated by two or more access points may be triangulated or otherwise compared to one another to determine whether the target computing device is located within the cabin of the aircraft.

[0037] In some cases, wireless signals generated by transmitters or transceivers on an aircraft may be detected and examined over time to ascertain whether a target computing device is held, carried, utilized, and / or otherwise operated by an individual. For example, as an individual walks down the aisle of an airplane with their device, their device may first detect access point A, and then may detect wireless access point B. The sequential detection of the wireless access points over time may indicate that the target device is moving within the cabin of the airplane and is therefore operated, utilized, held, and / or carried by an individual.

[0038] In an embodiment, other devices on a vehicle and whose signals can be used to determine whether the target computing device is held, carried, utilized and / or otherwise operated (frame 105) by an individual on the vehicle may include monitoring devices and / or sensing devices when the vehicle is navigating or en route, which monitor, measure, track and / or sense dynamic characteristics and / or conditions corresponding to the vehicle. Data corresponding to and / or indicating these dynamic characteristics and / or conditions are generally referred to as "vehicle navigation data" or "vehicle probe data" in this article. Examples of vehicle navigation or probe data include the spatial orientation (e.g., roll, pitch and / or yaw) of the vehicle, vehicle movement, vehicle position, vehicle speed, airspeed, appropriate acceleration, coordinate acceleration, heading, flight altitude, depth, etc. Therefore, the monitoring and / or sensing device may include an accelerometer and / or other type of spatial orientation detector, meter, pipe, gauge, sensor and / or any other appropriate measurement, sensing and / or detection device. Typically, but not necessarily, the monitoring, sensing and / or detection device that generates vehicle navigation or probe data is fixedly connected to the vehicle. For example, in an aircraft, such devices may be contained in a line replaceable unit (LRU).

[0039] Characteristics and / or conditions as determined at the onboard monitoring / sensing device may be compared to similar characteristics and / or conditions as determined at the target computing device to ascertain whether the target device is operated, held, and / or carried by an individual on board a vehicle (block 105). For example, the output of an accelerometer fixedly connected to the vehicle may be compared over time to the output of an accelerometer disposed in the target computing device. If the accelerometer outputs are sufficiently similar and / or consistent over time in the same dimension, this may be an indication that the target computing device is fixed within the vehicle and, therefore, may not be operated or held by an individual. On the other hand, if the output of the target computing device's accelerometer differs over time in the same dimension from the output of the vehicle's accelerometer, this may be an indication that the target computing device is manipulated, used, and / or operated by a user. Figure 3A and Figure 3B An example comparison of vehicle and target computing device accelerometer outputs versus time is shown. Figure 3A In , the output of the target computing device accelerometer is generally tracked with the output of the vehicle accelerometer, and thus the target computing device can be determined to be not operated, held, or carried by the individual in the vehicle (e.g., the “No” branch of block 105). In contrast, Figure 3BIn the method 100, the output of the target computing device accelerometer varies from the output of the vehicle accelerometer over time in several cases (e.g., 118a, 118b, 118c), and therefore the target computing device can move freely within the cabin and is assumed to be operated, held and / or carried by an individual. Therefore, the target computing device can be granted access to the onboard network (box 108). In general, any vehicle data generated, sensed and / or detected by one or more devices other than the target computing device on the vehicle (and in some cases fixedly connected to the vehicle) can be compared with similar data generated, sensed and / or detected by the target computing device (e.g., over time). A determination as to whether the target computing device is held, carried, utilized and / or otherwise operated by an individual on the vehicle can be determined based on the comparison results (box 105). Therefore, the vehicle navigation or trial data can be used in method 100 to determine whether the target computing device is operated by an individual on the vehicle (box 105).

[0040] In addition to or in lieu of vehicle navigation or sounding data, certain data generated, sensed, detected, and / or captured via one or more interfaces of the target computing device may indicate that the target computing device is operated, utilized, held, and / or carried by an individual on the vehicle. For example, certain ad hoc stimuli generated at one or more user interfaces of the target computing device (e.g., stimuli generated in an ad hoc manner rather than in response to explicit questioning) may indicate that the target computing device is operated, utilized, held, and / or carried by an individual on the vehicle. Generally speaking, such ad hoc stimuli are stimuli that may be detectable by one or more components of the target computing device and that may indicate the presence of an individual.

[0041] In an embodiment, one or more components on which the self-organized stimulus may be detected may be components of a target computing device that can be directly manipulated by a human. In a mobile computing device, for example, such components may include: a keyboard; a keypad; a touch screen; a mouse; a track pad; a track ball; a plug-in connection for an SD (Secure Digital) card, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) device, an Ethernet or another network interface, a power cord or another physical connector; a dial pad; a volume control; a screen brightness control; a silent mode control; a power on / off button; a drive eject button; a camera; a microphone; or any other component of a computing device that can be physically manipulated by a human. The target computing device may infer that a human is interacting with the target computing device when a change in the state or manipulation of any of these manipulable components is detected. For example, the connection of an external device to a port of the target computing device, a swipe on a track pad or touch screen, a volume adjustment, and other such changes in the state of a manipulable component may indicate that a human is interacting with the target computing device. Thus, a change in the state or manipulation of one or more components of the target computing device may indicate that the target computing device is operated, utilized, held, and / or carried by an individual on a vehicle.

[0042] In embodiments, one or more components on which self-organized stimuli may be detected at a target computing device may not require explicit physical action to be performed by a human being, but may detect the presence of a human being in other ways. For example, a biometric sensor may sense, measure, or detect a fingerprint, an eye scan, a temperature of a touch consistent with human body temperature, or some other biological parameter that may indicate that a human being is interacting with the target computing device. Thus, a positive detection at a biometric sensor may indicate that the target computing device is operated, utilized, held, and / or carried by an individual on board a vehicle.

[0043] In an embodiment, one or more user interfaces may capture data indicating that the target computing device is operated, utilized, held, and / or carried by an individual on a vehicle. For example, while the target computing device is on a vehicle, a camera or another appropriate optical interface of the target computing device may capture an image of the surroundings and / or environment of the device. If the captured image includes physical features of the vehicle (e.g., seat backs, tray tables, windows, etc.), the target computing device may be determined to be operated, utilized, held, and / or carried by an individual on the vehicle. In addition or alternatively, if the captured image includes facial or body features of an individual, the target computing device may be determined to be operated, utilized, held, and / or carried by an individual on the vehicle. In addition or alternatively, if the content of the captured image changes over time, the target computing device may be determined to be operated, utilized, held, and / or carried by an individual on the vehicle because it is likely that the target computing device is moved. The timestamp of the captured image may be compared with the time period during which the vehicle is en route, for example, to ensure the time validity of the captured image.

[0044] In some embodiments, the signal generated by the device may be measured and / or monitored over time, for example by a monitoring device, sensor, and / or system on a vehicle, to determine whether the device is being held or otherwise operated by a person. For example, the pattern of payload generated and / or received by the device (e.g., the amount of payload generated and / or received over time) may be measured and / or monitored to determine whether the detected payload pattern indicates that a human is operating the device. In another example, the detected signal strength of a transmission generated by the device may be measured and / or monitored over time to determine whether the signal strength amplitude and variance of the device indicates that a human is operating and / or holding the device.

[0045] For illustration, Figure 3C An example comparison over time between detected signal strengths of a device on a vehicle and held, utilized, or operated by an individual within a cabin of the vehicle (reference numeral 120) and detected signal strengths of a device on the vehicle but stowed, for example, in a cargo hold of the vehicle and thus not held, utilized, or operated by an individual on the vehicle (reference numeral 122) is shown. The respective signal strengths may be detected, for example, by one or more transceivers located within the cabin of the vehicle and typically fixedly connected to the vehicle (e.g., by a Wi-Fi access point or other type of wireless transceiver and / or its corresponding system). Figure 3C As shown, as the person holding device 120 moves around the cabin over time, the detected strength of the wireless signal generated by the device changes as the person moves closer to and farther away from the transceiver(s) and / or sensor(s) disposed within the cabin. On the other hand, the detected strength of the wireless signal generated by the stowed device 122 has a smaller variance over time than the held device 120 because the stowed device 122 is substantially stationary over time. As another example Figure 3C As shown, the magnitude of the detected signal strength generated by the stowed device 122 is typically smaller than that of the retained device 120 because the detected signal strength of the stowed device 122 suffers from greater inherent path loss than the retained device 120 due to the greater distance from the transceiver(s) or sensor(s) and / or due to materials in the transmission path of the signal (e.g., floor and seat materials). Accordingly, in some embodiments, a signal strength threshold 125 may be defined (e.g., in advance). In these embodiments, a signal strength greater than the threshold 125 may indicate a device (e.g., reference numeral 120) that is located within the cabin and / or is retained or otherwise operated by an individual, while a signal strength less than the threshold 125 may indicate a device (e.g., reference numeral 122) that is located at a location outside the cabin (e.g., a cargo hold).

[0046] Returning now to block 105, in some embodiments, determining whether externally generated stimuli and / or conditions indicate that an individual is operating, utilizing, holding, and / or carrying a target computing device may include determining a confidence score based on the externally generated stimuli / conditions. The confidence score may be determined based on one or more detected or obtained externally generated stimuli and / or conditions to determine a probability or confidence level that the target computing device is operated, utilized, held, and / or carried by an individual. For example, the confidence score may be based on a plurality of externally generated stimuli and / or conditions obtained and / or detected over a period of time. In an embodiment, the higher the rate of detected externally generated stimuli and / or conditions that indicate the presence of a human being alone, the higher the confidence score. The determined confidence score may be compared relative to a threshold to determine whether the target computing device is utilized, operated, held, and / or carried by an individual. In an embodiment, the threshold may be configurable.

[0047] In an embodiment, one or more of the detected and / or obtained externally generated stimuli and / or conditions may be weighted with corresponding values. Each corresponding weight value may indicate the strength or weakness of its corresponding stimulus / condition indicating that a human being actually interacts with a computing device. For example, a compass change may be considered to be more indicative of the actual presence of a user at a target computing device than a voice detected at a microphone, because the detected voice may be environmental rather than strongly indicative of a direct user of the target computing device. Accordingly, a detected compass change may be assigned a higher or stronger weight than a detection assigned to a voice. In an embodiment, the values ​​of one or more detected stimuli / conditions may be aggregated or totaled, for example, for a given time period or interval. When the aggregate value exceeds a threshold, the target computing device may then infer that a human being interacts with the target computing device (block 105), and access may be granted accordingly (block 108).

[0048] In an embodiment, the target computing device may monitor the occurrence and / or type of detected external stimuli and / or conditions over time. For example, the target computing device may set a timer, and as long as at least one subsequent external stimulus or condition is detected before the timer expires, the target computing device may infer that a human is still interacting with the target computing device (block 105). As a result, the target computing device may be granted access to the onboard communication network (block 108), and the timer may be reset. However, if the timer expires without detecting another stimulus / condition, access to the onboard communication network may be terminated, denied, or temporarily suspended (not shown). In an embodiment, after termination or denial of access, another detected stimulus / condition and / or a response to an explicit challenge may be required before resuming access.

[0049] In some embodiments, a combination of timing and weighting of stimuli and / or conditions may be considered and evaluated to generate a confidence score utilized in determining whether access to a target computing device is to be granted or denied. In an example, the confidence score may be compared relative to a threshold. A confidence score above the threshold may be considered to indicate that the target computing device is operated by a human, while a confidence score below the threshold may be considered to indicate that the target device is not operated by a human. The timers, weightings of stimuli / conditions, and / or thresholds may be modifiable as desired.

[0050] For example, in Figure 2 In the illustrated embodiment of method 100, at block 105, a combination of factors including the strength of a signal generated by a target computing device over time (e.g., Figure 3C ), a comparison of acceleration values ​​detected over time by a target computing device and an accelerometer fixedly connected to the vehicle (e.g., as shown in Figure 3A and Figure 3B A confidence score corresponding to the target computing device may be created by a user and / or by a user. The user may also be provided with a confidence score corresponding to the target computing device. The determined confidence score may be compared to a threshold value to determine whether the score indicates that the individual is operating and / or retaining the target computing device. If the determined confidence score indicates that the individual is operating and / or retaining the target computing device, the method 100 may proceed to box 108. If the determined confidence score indicates that the individual is not operating and is not retaining the target computing device, the method 100 may proceed to box 110 or to box 115. Of course, other factors in addition to or in lieu of signal strength, acceleration, and payload pattern may be used in generating a confidence score for the target computing device. In addition, various factors may be weighted separately as needed to determine a confidence score for the target computing device.

[0051] Figure 4 is an example of a block diagram of a system 200 for avoiding and / or preventing unauthorized access to an onboard communication network 208 by a target computing device 205 on a vehicle. The onboard communication network 208 may be a public or publicly accessible network, such as a network that any member of the public may access via their computing or electronic device, as long as certain criteria are met (e.g., providing an appropriate network key, agreeing to terms and conditions, paying for use of the network and / or services provided by the network, etc.), and the onboard communication network 208 may be secure or unsecure. The system 200 may operate in conjunction with a target computing device 205 to which access to the onboard network 208 is to be granted or denied. Indeed, in some embodiments, at least a portion of the system 200 is disposed at or on the target computing device 205. Furthermore, in embodiments, the system 200 may operate Figure 2In some embodiments, system 200 may execute one or more portions of method 100. In some embodiments, system 200 may execute all of method 100.

[0052] System 200 may include a detection engine or unit 210 that Figure 4 205. In an embodiment, the detection engine or unit 210 may include a set of computer-executable instructions stored on a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (e.g., memory 212) of the target computing device 205. The computer-executable instructions may be executable, for example, by a processor 215 of the target computing device 205. In some embodiments, at least a portion of the detection engine or unit 210 may include firmware and / or hardware. Regardless, whether implemented by software, firmware, and / or hardware, the detection engine or unit 210 may be configured to receive, detect, and / or otherwise obtain an indication of an externally generated stimulus and / or condition, and provide information related to the stimulus and / or condition to the determination engine or unit 218 for analysis.

[0053] In an embodiment, the determination engine or unit 218 may include a set of computer executable instructions stored on a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (e.g., memory 212 or another local memory) of the target computing device 205. The computer executable instructions 218 may be executable, for example, by a processor 215 of the target computing device 205. In some embodiments, at least a portion of the determination engine or unit 218 may include firmware and / or hardware. However, whether implemented by software, firmware, and / or hardware, the determination engine or unit 218 may be configured to determine whether the detected stimulus or condition indicates that the target computing device 205 is utilized, operated, held, and / or carried by a person or human being.

[0054] It should be noted that although the detection engine or unit 210 and the determination engine or unit 218 are Figure 4205, which is merely illustrative and thus a non-limiting embodiment. For example, at least one of the detection engine 210 or the determination engine 218 may not reside on the target computing device 205, but may reside on the memory (and may be executed by the processor) of another computing device (which is disposed in the vehicle and is in communication connection with the target computing device 205). In an embodiment, the other computing device (on which the detection engine 210 and / or the determination engine 218 resides) is accessible by the target computing device 205 via a network and / or communication channel 225 other than the public onboard communication network 208. For example, the target computing device 205 and the other computing device may communicate by utilizing a near field communication channel. In another embodiment, the other computing device (on which the detection engine 210 and / or the determination engine 218 resides) is accessible by the target computing device 205 via the onboard network 208, but this access may be limited access. For example, target computing device 205 may be granted access only to remote detection engine 210 and / or to remote determination engine 218 via onboard network 208 , and / or limited access by target computing device 205 to network 208 may be granted only during a certain time window.

[0055] Figure 4 In the present invention, an indication of an externally generated stimulus and / or condition may be provided to the detection engine 210 by one or more components 220 of the target computing device 205. Thus, the detection engine 210 may be communicatively coupled with one or more components or devices (generally represented herein by reference numeral 220) included in or as part of the target computing device 205.

[0056] The components or devices 220 included in the target computing device 205 (to which the detection engine 210 may be communicatively coupled) may include one or more user interfaces 220A-220G via which an individual may provide input to the target computing device 205. Examples of user interfaces 220A-220G may include a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a touch pad, a touch screen, a microphone, a track pad, a track ball, and / or other user interfaces. Additionally or alternatively, the components 220 of the target computing device 205 (to which the detection engine 210 may be communicatively coupled) may include one or more user-manipulable components 220H-220M and 220V. Typically (but not necessarily), such user-manipulable components 220H-220M and 220V may include mechanical components that are accessible from the exterior of the computing device 205 and via which a user may physically manipulate to operate or change an aspect or state of the target computing device 205. Examples of user-manipulable components may include: a power on / off switch; a control or switch to mute or silence the target computing device 205; one or more ports to receive data storage devices, such as memory cards, optical disks, portable memory storage devices, etc.; one or more ports or interfaces to receive one or more wired network connections 220V; a port to receive a power cord connector; and other user-manipulable components. For example, a self-assembled stimulus corresponding to a user utilizing the user interface 220A-220G and / or manipulating the components 220H-220N, 220V may generate a corresponding indication or signal indicating the stimulus sent from the components 220A-220N, 220V to the detection engine 210.

[0057] In embodiments, the detection engine 210 may be in communication with one or more components 220N-220T that provide an indication of the spatial orientation, movement, velocity, acceleration, position, etc. of the target computing device 205. For example, the detection engine 210 may be in communication with an accelerometer, a compass 220N, a GPS (global positioning system) receiver, an altimeter, and / or another type of component that is included in the target computing device 205 and that detects, senses, and / or measures the spatial orientation, movement, velocity, acceleration, position, etc. of the target computing device 205.

[0058] In some embodiments, the detection engine 210 may be communicatively connected to at least one component 220 of the computing device 205 via a corresponding component application 222 stored on the computing device 205. For example, Figure 4As shown, the detection engine 210 is communicatively coupled to the compass component 220N via a component application 222 (e.g., a compass application) (which is stored in the memory 212 or in another local memory of the target computing device 205 and executed by the processor 215 of the target computing device 205). The component application 222 can transmit an indication of a condition detected by the compass component 220N to the detection engine 210. In general, the detection engine 210 can be communicatively coupled to any component 220 of the target computing device 205 (on which externally generated stimuli and / or conditions can be detected or inferred) (and in some cases by communicating with the corresponding component application 222 of a particular component 220). In some embodiments, a single component application 222 can serve multiple components 220.

[0059] The target computing device 205 may include one or more communication interface components 220U-220Z. For example, the target computing device may include one or more wireless communication interfaces 220U (e.g., transceivers and antennas for Wi-Fi, cellular, short-range wireless, near field communications, etc.) via which the target computing device 205 is able to communicatively connect to one or more types of wireless networks, and / or the target computing device may include one or more wired communication interfaces 220V (e.g., Ethernet, HDMI, and / or other physical ports) via which the target computing device 205 is able to communicatively connect to one or more types of wired networks. The computing device 205 may utilize one or more of its wireless communication interfaces 220U (and optionally one or more of its wired communication interfaces 220V) to connect to the onboard network 208 (if access thereto is granted).

[0060] Furthermore, in addition to components 220A-220V, the target computing device may also include other components 220W-220Z, such as a bus, various memories or storage devices (such as random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM)), and other components. Figure 4 A limited number of components 220A-220Z are shown in the target computing device 205, but other numbers and types of components may be included in the target computing device 205. For example, the target computing device 205 may include fewer components, more components, and / or Figure 4 The different components are shown.

[0061] Returning now to the detection engine 210, upon receiving an indication of the detection of an externally generated stimulus or condition from one of the components 220 of the target computing device 205, the detection engine 210 may provide an indication or information related to the externally generated stimulus / condition to the determination engine 218. For example, the detection engine 210 may indicate the specific component on which the stimulus / condition was detected, the nature or content of the stimulus / condition, a timestamp, and / or other information related to the detected stimulus / condition. Based on the indication and / or information received from the detection engine 210, the determination engine 218 may determine whether the detected externally generated stimulus / condition indicates that the target computing device 205 was operated by an individual in accordance with, for example, a previously determined condition. Figure 2 For example, the determination engine 218 may evaluate whether the information transmitted by the beacon and received via the wireless interface 220U includes expected data (e.g., flight number, tail number, SSID, etc.), the determination engine 218 may process the image received via the optical interface to determine whether the image of the individual and / or vehicle environment is included in the image, the determination engine 218 may track the number and type of externally generated stimuli and / or conditions obtained over time, the determination engine 218 may weight various stimuli and / or conditions, the determination engine 218 may determine and / or maintain confidence scores and compare confidence scores relative to thresholds, etc., for example, as previously described for example Figure 2 The method 100 is described in the manner described.

[0062] In an embodiment where the determination engine 218 compares vehicle navigation or exploration data generated by a device fixedly connected to the vehicle (e.g., an onboard sensing and / or monitoring device) with data generated by the sensing and / or monitoring components 220N-220T of the target computing device 205 (e.g., as described above with respect to Figure 2 , Figure 3A and Figure 3B), the determination engine 218 may receive and / or obtain vehicle navigation or probing data from other devices (e.g., fixedly connected to the vehicle) and / or applications running thereon via one or more communication interfaces 220U, 220V. In these embodiments, limited access to the onboard communication network 208 may be provided to the target computing device 205, enabling the detection engine 210 to receive and / or obtain vehicle navigation or probing data from other devices and / or applications. For example, access to the onboard network 208 may be granted only to the detection engine 210, and / or the detection engine 210 may be granted permission to communicate only with specific onboard devices and / or applications (which provide vehicle navigation or probing data). In another embodiment, rather than utilizing the public onboard network 208 in a restricted manner to implement communication between the detection engine 210 and an onboard vehicle navigation data provider, the detection engine 210 may utilize a communication connection other than the public onboard network 208 to communicate with other devices and / or applications. For example, the detection engine 210 and the onboard device and / or application providing the vehicle navigation data may communicate via some other communication channel 225 that is separate or distinct from the common onboard communication network 208 .

[0063] Based on a determination as to whether the target computing device 205 is operated, held, and / or carried by an individual on board a vehicle, the determination engine 218 may cause general access to the onboard communication network 208 to be granted or denied to the target computing device 205. If access is granted, the target computing device 205 may be free to utilize one or more of its communication interfaces 220U, 220V to communicatively connect to the onboard network 208. For example, upon a determination as to whether general access to the network 208 is granted, the target computing device 205 may automatically join the Wi-Fi onboard network 208 using a network key or password (which was previously stored on the target computing device 205). If access is denied, the determination engine 218 may cause access to the onboard network 208 by the target computing device 205 to be blocked. For example, the determination engine 218 may cause the communication interfaces 220U, 220V to be disabled and / or turned off (e.g., logically and / or physically disabled and / or turned off), and / or may cause access to the communication interfaces 220U, 220V to be blocked by applications running on the target computing device 205. In some embodiments, an indication of granting or denying access may be provided on the user interfaces 220A-220G.

[0064] In some embodiments, partial access of the target computing device 205 to the onboard communication network 208 may be granted by the determination engine 218. For example, partial access may be granted only to certain applications and / or services provided via the onboard network 208 if the confidence score is within a certain range.

[0065] As previously described, in some embodiments of the system 200, the detection engine 210 and / or the determination engine 218 may be stored in the memory 212 of the target computing device 205. For example, the detection engine 210 and / or the determination engine 218 may be implemented as one or more applications that are stored and run on the target computing device 205. In an embodiment, the detection engine 210 and / or the determination engine 218 may be included in one or more applications (e.g., an onboard service application of the onboard service provider) provided by the onboard service provider for downloading to the passenger's device so that the device can access the onboard network and services provided by the onboard service provider. In these embodiments, the detection engine 210 and / or the determination engine 218 may be associated with a user and / or user account of the onboard service provider and may be downloaded to the target computing device 205 from a server (or a set of backend computing devices) of the onboard service provider. Typically, but not necessarily, one or more backend servers are located on the ground and are accessible via ground-based public and private networks (e.g., the Internet). However, in some cases, the detection engine 210 and / or the determination engine 218 may be downloaded from a server on the vehicle.

[0066] The detection engine 210 and / or determination engine 218 may be downloaded to the target computing device 205 prior to the user and / or target computing device 205 initially attempting to connect to the onboard communications network 208. Typically, the downloaded detection engine 210 and / or determination engine 218 may include data corresponding to a user and / or user account. Such user data or user account data may include an identification of the user, a photograph and / or image of the user, identification of the account, payments, billing, account balance, flight routes, onboard network keys, passwords and / or passcodes, and / or other data that may be used for onboard identification, authentication, authorization, and / or verification. At least a portion of the user data contained in the downloaded engines 210 and / or 218 may be used to determine whether the target computing device 205 is operated by a user associated with the account or by any user in that regard, for example, as previously described for example with respect to Figure 2 Utilized, operated, carried and / or maintained in the manner described.

[0067] In an embodiment, when the target computing device 205 detects the presence of the onboard network 208, the detection engine 210 may be automatically initialized and / or invoked to determine whether the subject target computing device 205 is currently operated, utilized, held, and / or carried by an individual. In an embodiment where the detection engine 210 is included in an application (e.g., an onboard service application) provided by an onboard service provider to be downloaded onto a passenger device to enable the device to access the onboard network and services, the detection engine 210 may be automatically initialized and / or invoked when the onboard service application is initialized. Other triggers may cause the detection engine 210 to be automatically invoked, such as initialization of the target computing device 205, a user launching any application on the target computing device 205, an explicit user request, receipt of a user input at any user interface of the target computing device, etc. Thus, through the system 200, the target computing device 205 may be automatically verified as being utilized, operated, held, and / or carried without requiring any explicit user action (e.g., launching a browser to respond to a CAPTCHA challenge). Thus, the user is provided with a seamless and intuitive user experience and faster access to the onboard network 208 and available services and applications compared to CAPTCHA authentication techniques alone.

[0068] In addition, although Figure 4 One embodiment of system 200 is shown, but other embodiments (not shown) may be possible. For example, detection engine 210 and determination engine 218 may be aggregated into a single overall engine, unit, and / or application at target computing device 205. In another example, at least a portion of component application 222 may be included in detection engine 210.

[0069] In yet another example, the detection engine 210 may reside on the target computing device 205, while the determination engine 218 may reside on another computing device (not shown) that is fixedly connected to the vehicle. In this example, limited access to the onboard communication network 208 may initially be provided to the target computing device 205, so that the detection engine 210, in an embodiment, can communicate with the onboard determination engine 218 to determine whether the target computing device 205 is operated, used, maintained and / or carried by an individual. In another embodiment, rather than utilizing the public onboard network 208 in a limited manner to achieve communication between the detection engine 210 and the onboard determination engine 218, the detection engine 210 and the onboard determination engine 218 may utilize a communication connection other than the public onboard communication network 208. For example, the detection engine 210 and the onboard determination engine 218 may communicate by utilizing near field communication or another communication channel 225 that is separate or distinct from the public onboard network 208.

[0070] Figure 5An embodiment of a vehicle 300 is shown having one or more onboard communication networks 302, at least a portion of which is public. That is, computing or electronic devices 305a, 305b, 305c carried by passengers, crew members, and other members of the public on the vehicle 300 may communicate with each other via, for example, Figure 2 Method 100 and / or Figure 4 The vehicle 300 is provided with a system 200 to grant access to at least one common portion of one or more onboard communication networks 302. Figure 5 30 is shown as an airplane in flight, but the techniques described herein may be readily applied to other vehicles that provide transportation for people, such as other types of aircraft, ships, trains, cars, buses, or any other type of vehicle that has the ability to move through the air, on the ground, through space, or on water. In addition, one or more onboard networks 302 may include, for example Figure 2 public onboard network 208 and / or other network 225, and in fact, for Figure 5 Any of the components, principles, methods, devices, apparatuses and / or techniques described may be applicable to Figure 2-4 Any of the components, principles, methods, devices, means and / or techniques described. In addition, the one or more onboard communication networks 302 may include one or more other public and / or private networks.

[0071] One or more onboard networks 302 may include multiple nodes. As generally referred to herein, a "node" may include one or more computing devices having one or more processors, a network interface, and one or more memories storing computer executable instructions. Instructions may be run by (one or more) processors to perform one or more actions. For example, computer executable instructions may be run to communicate through one or more networks via a network interface for various purposes, such as discovering other nodes, services, and / or applications, publishing or providing services to the network, consuming published or providing services, and / or performing other actions. In addition or alternatively, a node may run instructions stored thereon to host various services, and / or run various applications, which may make it at least partially available to other nodes. In some embodiments, in addition or alternatively, a node includes firmware and / or hardware that is operable to perform one or more actions. In some embodiments, a node may include one or more user interfaces and / or one or more network interfaces.

[0072] In some cases, a node may be a logical entity. For example, a node may include a virtual machine hosted or run on one or more computing devices, or a "node" may include an interpreted script or engine (e.g., determination engine 218) hosted or run on one or more computing devices. Thus, in some embodiments, multiple nodes may reside on a single physical computing device.

[0073] In some embodiments, a node may be located on or within a vehicle so that the node is transmitted along with the vehicle when the vehicle moves, such as a "transmission node". For example, a transmission node may be an end-user consumer computing device, such as a laptop, a handheld portable computing device, a phone, a tablet or a smart device, or other devices that are generally not fixed or rigidly attached to the vehicle by a tangible physical connection. In other examples, a transmission node may be a computing device that is fixed and / or rigidly connected to the vehicle using a tangible physical connection so that the node is prevented from moving back and forth in the vehicle in an uncontrolled manner when the vehicle moves. For example, a fixedly connected transmission node (such as a navigation device, a cooking electronics unit, a cabin electronics unit, or another device) may be contained in an onboard line replaceable unit (LRU) and fixedly connected to the vehicle. In fact, a vehicle may transmit multiple nodes, which are at least partially rigidly and fixedly connected to the vehicle, and which are at least partially not rigidly and fixedly connected to the vehicle. Typically, but not necessarily, a node including a sensor and / or a monitoring device (which generates vehicle navigation or exploration data) may be fixedly connected to the vehicle.

[0074] For ease of discussion, the one or more onboard communication networks 302 disposed within the vehicle 300 are generally referred to herein using the singular tense. However, it is to be understood that the onboard communication network 302 may include one or more wired networks, one or more wireless networks, or a combination of wired and wireless networks. The one or more networks 302 may include one or more private and / or public networks. For example, the network 302 may include Figure 2 The public airborne communication network 208 of the present invention. In some embodiments, the network 302 may include a plurality of different types of wired and wireless network links or data bearing channels that implement different link layer and network layer protocols. For example, one or more airborne networks 302 may include one or more wireless networks or interfaces 308a, such as a cellular communication network located in the cabin of the aircraft, a Wi-Fi network, a wireless Ethernet network, Bluetooth® or other short-range wireless communication system, a near field wireless communication (NFC) system, etc. For example, an airborne device or node with wireless communication capabilities may be connected to the network 302 via one or more wireless interfaces 308a. In an embodiment, at least one of the wireless interfaces 308a may provide access to the public airborne communication network 208.

[0075] In addition or in the alternative, the network 302 may include one or more wired networks or interfaces 308b, such as wired Ethernet, local call or another type of CSMA / CD (Carrier Sense Multiple Access / Collision Detection) network, token ring, FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data Interface), ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode), etc. Examples of nodes that can be connected to the network 302 via the wired interface 308b include: cabin entertainment / media nodes that store in-flight entertainment and other consumable content; and / or devices (reference numeral 310) used by the crew for service purposes (e.g., communications between crew members, passenger service and safety, etc.). In an embodiment, at least one of the wired interfaces 308b may provide access to the public onboard communication network 208.

[0076] Additionally, in some embodiments, the network 302 may include an aircraft data bus or another suitable interface 308c to an onboard aviation-specific network 312, via which connections may be established to, for example, a cooking pot electronic node, a flight instrument system, an onboard maintenance system, and the like. For example, the data used by the aviation node 312 may comply with RINC-429, MIL-STD-1553, IEEE802.3, or another suitable standard. Generally, the aviation-specific network 312 may be a private network that is not intended for public use or access. Still further, the network 302 may include other types of networks and interfaces 308d to other types of nodes (not shown). Examples of some (but not all possible) types of networks that may be included in one or more networks 302 are described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13 / 675,200 (filed on Nov. 13, 2012 and entitled “Vehicle Data Distribution System and Method”) and in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13 / 675,190 (titled “Ground System for Vehicle Data Distribution” and now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,088,613), the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

[0077] Another node of the airborne communication network 302 may be a data distribution node or device 315. The data distribution node or device 315 may be fixedly connected to the vehicle (e.g., via an LRU when the vehicle 300 is an aircraft), and may be a node or device via which data is received to and transferred from the vehicle 300 while the vehicle 300 is en route and / or stationary. For ease of reading, the data distribution node or device 315 is referred to herein using the singular tense, as the node / device 315 may have a singular logical appearance to other nodes of the network 302. However, the data distribution node or device 315 may be implemented using multiple physical computing devices or nodes if desired.

[0078] In general, the data distribution node or device 315 may be communicatively connected to one or more transceiver / antenna systems 318a, 318b, 318c, through which data is transmitted via corresponding wireless links or bearers that may be communicatively connected to antennas / transceivers (which are disposed on the ground or external to the vehicle 300). For example, the data distribution node 315 may send and / or receive data via a satellite transceiver / antenna system 318a, which uses a satellite wireless link or bearer 320a (e.g., via Ku-band, Ka-band, L-band, S-band, etc.) to pass data from the vehicle 300 and / or receive data to the vehicle 300. Additionally or alternatively, the data distribution node 315 may send and / or receive data via an air-to-ground (ATG) transceiver / antenna system 318b that uses a non-satellite ATG wireless link or bearer 320b (e.g., via an S-band, cellular / LTE band, or another designated band) to deliver data from and / or receive data onto the vehicle 300. Additionally or alternatively, the data distribution node 315 may send and / or receive data via a Wi-Fi, cellular, or another ground-based wireless transceiver / antenna system 318c and link / bearer 320c to deliver data from and / or receive data onto the vehicle 300. (Typically, ground-based wireless transceiver / antenna system 318c may have a shorter range than other systems 318a, 318b, and may be utilized only when the vehicle is not in flight and / or docked.) In some embodiments, vehicle 300 may include a transceiver / antenna system (not shown) by which data may be communicated via a corresponding air-to-air wireless link that communicatively connects vehicle 300 to another aircraft. Figure 5 The vehicle 300 is shown as including multiple types of transceiver / antenna systems 318a, 318b, 318c via which data can be transferred to and from the vehicle 300, but in some embodiments, the vehicle 300 may include only one of the transceiver / antenna systems 318a, 318b for data transfer, and / or may not include the transceiver / antenna system 318c. Examples of data transfer links for transmitting data to / from the onboard network 302 can be found in the aforementioned U.S. Patent Application No. 13 / 675,200 and U.S. Patent No. 9,088,613.

[0079] In general, the data distribution node or device 315 may aggregate or otherwise package data received from onboard nodes for delivery from the vehicle 300 via one or more of the transceiver / antenna systems 318a-318c and their corresponding wireless links 320a-320c. In addition, the data distribution node or device 315 may decompose or otherwise unpack data received onboard via one or more of the transceiver / antenna systems 318a-318c and their corresponding wireless links 320a-320c, and may route the various data packets contained therein to corresponding onboard target nodes via the network 302. Examples of embodiments of the data distribution node or device 315 may be found in the aforementioned U.S. Patent Application No. 13 / 675,200 and U.S. Patent No. 9,088,613.

[0080] The data distribution device 315 may enable a personal tablet 305a, computer 305b, phone / smart device 305c, and / or other computing or electronic device that is carried on board the vehicle 300 and is granted access to the public onboard network 208 (e.g., via the method 100 and / or system 200) to communicate with other devices that are not on board the vehicle 300 or are on the ground. For example, data may be transferred between one of the onboard devices 305a-305c and a ground computing device via the onboard public network 208, one or more other portions of the network 302, the data distribution node 315, and one or more of the transceivers / antennas 318a, 318b and their respective wireless links 320a, 320b. Additionally or alternatively, the data distribution device 315 may enable one or more of the onboard devices 305a-305c to communicate with other devices that are on board the vehicle via the onboard public network 208 and other portions of the network 302, as long as appropriate permission and / or authorization criteria are met. Examples of managing communications between onboard public devices 305a-305c (and / or applications running thereon) and other onboard and / or off-board nodes, devices, and / or applications can be found, for example, in commonly owned U.S. Patent No. 9,087,193, U.S. Patent Application No. 15 / 092,844 (filed on April 7, 2016, entitled “Systems and Methods for On-Board Access Control”), and U.S. Patent Application No. 15 / 092,884 (filed on April 7, 2016, entitled “Systems and Methods for Authenticating Applications to On-Board Services”), the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

[0081] Typically, but not necessarily, the aircraft node 312, the cabin media / service node 310, and the data distribution node 315 are implemented in a line replaceable unit (LRU) that is fixedly connected to the vehicle. The LRU can be an electronic assembly that performs a specific function in the aircraft 100 and can be removed or replaced as a unit and repaired at an aircraft maintenance center or maintenance work area.

[0082] In an embodiment, the aerial node 312, the data distribution node 315, and / or other nodes of the network 302 may include one or more devices and / or components that generate, sense, monitor, and / or detect vehicle navigation or sounding data. For example, the aerial node 312, the data distribution node 315, and / or other nodes of the network 302 may include one or more accelerometers, compasses, GPS receivers, altimeters, and / or other components that detect or sense spatial orientation, location, position, movement, speed, and other vehicle navigation or sounding data while the vehicle 300 is en route. In an embodiment, at least a portion of the detected and / or sensed vehicle navigation data may be transmitted from the aerial node 312, the data distribution node 315, and / or other nodes of the network 302 to one or more detection engines 210 corresponding to one or more target computing devices 205 (e.g., detection engines 210 corresponding to devices 305a, 305b, 305c) for use by components of the target computing device 205, for example, in accordance with the detection engine 210 corresponding to the target computing device 205. Figure 2 , Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 4 Comparison of data detected or sensed in a similar manner.

[0083] In an embodiment, data distribution node 315 may include one or more of component applications 222 that are associated with corresponding sensors, monitors, detectors, etc. (e.g., Figure 2 Component application 222 may collect various vehicle navigation or exploration data from one or more onboard sensors, monitors, and / or other devices or components, and may at least cause the content of the collected vehicle navigation or exploration data to be transmitted to one or more detection engines 210 (e.g., detection engines 210 corresponding to devices 305a, 305b, 305c) corresponding to one or more target computing devices 205 for communication with the components of the target computing device 205, for example, in accordance with the detection engine 210 corresponding to the target computing device 205. Figure 2 , Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 4 Comparison of data detected or sensed in a similar manner.

[0084] Although detailed descriptions of many different embodiments are presented above, it should be understood that the scope of this patent is defined by the words of the claims presented at the end of this patent. The detailed description is to be understood as exemplary only, and does not describe every possible embodiment, because it is impractical (if not impossible) to describe every possible embodiment. Many alternative embodiments can be implemented using current technology or technology developed after the filing date of this patent, which still falls within the scope of the claims and all equivalent aspects thereof. By way of example and not limitation, the present disclosure herein contemplates at least the following aspects:

[0085] 1. A method of preventing unauthorized access to a network on a vehicle, the network being an onboard network, and the method comprising detecting, at a computing device on the vehicle, one or more externally generated stimuli or conditions, the one or more externally generated stimuli or conditions not including a response to a challenge issued at a user interface of the computing device. Additionally, the method comprises determining that the one or more externally generated stimuli or conditions are contextual to the vehicle and indicate that the computing device is being utilized by one or more persons on the vehicle; and granting the computing device access to the onboard network via which the computing device is able to communicate with one or more other computing devices, the granting being based on the determination that the one or more externally generated stimuli or conditions are contextual to the vehicle and indicate that the computing device is being utilized by one or more persons on the vehicle.

[0086] 2. The method of the previous aspect, further comprising denying the computing device access to the onboard network based on a determination that the one or more externally generated stimuli or conditions are not indicative of the computing device being utilized by any person on the vehicle.

[0087] 3. The method of any of the previous aspects, further comprising (i) blocking a particular challenge at a user interface of the computing device based on a determination that one or more externally generated stimuli or conditions are not indicative of the computing device being utilized by any person on board the vehicle; and (ii) one of: granting the computing device access to the onboard network when an appropriate response to the particular challenge is received; or denying the computing device access to the onboard network when (a) an inappropriate response to the particular challenge is received or (b) no response to the particular challenge is received within a time interval.

[0088] 4. The method of any of the previous aspects, wherein determining whether one or more externally generated stimuli or conditions are contextual to a vehicle and indicate that the computing device is utilized by one or more persons on the vehicle includes determining a confidence score based on the one or more externally generated stimuli or conditions, and comparing the confidence score to a threshold.

[0089] 5. The method of the previous aspect, wherein determining the confidence score based on one or more externally generated stimuli or conditions comprises determining the confidence score based on a set of multiple externally generated stimuli or conditions detected by the computing device over a time interval.

[0090] 6. The method of any of the previous aspects, wherein determining whether one or more externally generated stimuli or conditions indicates that the computing device is utilized by one or more persons on board a vehicle comprises obtaining an indication of input received at a user interface of the computing device.

[0091] 7. The method of any of the previous aspects, wherein determining whether one or more externally generated stimuli or conditions are contextual to the vehicle and indicate that the computing device is utilized by one or more persons on the vehicle includes determining that data captured by an optical interface of the computing device while on the vehicle changes over time.

[0092] 8. The method of any of the previous aspects, wherein determining whether one or more externally generated stimuli or conditions are contextual to a vehicle and indicate that the computing device is utilized by one or more persons on the vehicle also includes images captured by an optical interface of the computing device while on the vehicle including images of at least a portion of the individuals.

[0093] 9. The method of any of the previous aspects, further comprising obtaining, on a computing device, corresponding indications of one or more signals generated by one or more devices fixedly connected to a vehicle; and wherein determining whether one or more externally generated stimuli or conditions are contextual to the vehicle and indicating that the computing device is utilized by one or more persons on the vehicle based on the corresponding indications of the one or more signals.

[0094] 10. A method of any of the previous aspects, wherein determining whether one or more externally generated stimuli or conditions are contextual to the vehicle and indicate that the computing device is utilized by one or more persons on the vehicle based on corresponding indications of one or more signals includes at least one of the steps of comparing corresponding values ​​of the one or more signals to a threshold or comparing corresponding values ​​of the one or more signals to data generated by the computing device.

[0095] 11. The method of any of the preceding aspects, wherein obtaining respective indications of one or more signals generated by one or more devices fixedly connected to a vehicle comprises obtaining an indication of a strength of a signal generated by a wireless access point on the vehicle.

[0096] 12. The method of any of the previous aspects, wherein obtaining a corresponding indication of one or more signals generated by one or more devices fixedly connected to the vehicle comprises obtaining a corresponding indication of a corresponding signal generated by each of a plurality of wireless transmitters fixedly connected to the vehicle detected by the computing device.

[0097] 13. A method according to any of the preceding aspects, wherein obtaining a corresponding indication of one or more signals generated by one or more devices fixedly connected to a vehicle comprises at least one of the steps of obtaining a service set identifier (SSID) or another identifier of an onboard network or obtaining an indication of a service provided by another device via the onboard network.

[0098] 14. A method of any of the previous aspects, wherein: obtaining a corresponding indication of one or more signals generated by one or more devices fixedly connected to a vehicle includes obtaining an indication of an output generated by a spatial orientation detector fixedly connected to the vehicle; and determining whether one or more externally generated stimuli or conditions are contextual to the vehicle and indicate that the computing device is utilized by one or more people on the vehicle includes comparing the output generated by the fixedly connected spatial orientation detector with the output generated by the spatial orientation detector of the computing device.

[0099] 15. A method according to any of the preceding aspects, wherein obtaining a corresponding indication of one or more signals generated by one or more devices fixedly connected to a vehicle comprises obtaining an indication of an output generated by one or more devices fixedly connected to a vehicle and comprising an indication of at least one of the vehicle, a specific trip of the vehicle, or one or more conditions detected by monitoring equipment on the vehicle while the vehicle is en route.

[0100] 16. The method of any of the previous aspects, wherein the computing device is a mobile computing device.

[0101] 17. The method of any of the previous aspects, wherein granting the computing device access to an onboard network (via which the computing device can communicate with one or more other computing devices) includes granting the computing device access to an onboard network (via which the computing device can communicate with another computing device that is not on the vehicle).

[0102] 18. The method of any of the previous aspects, wherein at least a portion of the method is performed by an application comprising machine-readable instructions stored on one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of a computing device and executed by a processor of the computing device.

[0103] 19. The method of any of the previous aspects, wherein at least part of the method is performed by the application upon initialization of the application.

[0104] 20. Means for performing any of the preceding aspects.

[0105] 21. The method according to any one of claims 1-19 performed by a system.

[0106] 22. The system of aspect 21, wherein the system comprises computer executable instructions stored on one or more memories and executable by one or more processors.

[0107] 23. The system of any of aspects 21-22, wherein the system comprises firmware.

[0108] 24. The system of any one of aspects 21-23, wherein the system comprises hardware.

[0109] 25. The system of any of aspects 21-24, wherein at least a portion of the system is disposed on a computing device.

[0110] 26. The system of any of aspects 21-25, wherein at least a portion of the system is disposed on another computing device on board a vehicle.

[0111] 27. A system for preventing unauthorized access to a network on a vehicle, the network being an onboard network, and the system comprising: components for detecting one or more stimuli or conditions external to a computing device (which is on the vehicle), the one or more externally generated stimuli or conditions not including a response to a query issued at a user interface of the computing device; components for determining whether the one or more externally generated stimuli or conditions are contextual to the vehicle and indicate that the computing device is being utilized by one or more persons on the vehicle; and components for granting the computing device access to the onboard network, granting based on a determination that the one or more externally generated stimuli or conditions are contextual to the vehicle and indicate that the computing device is being utilized by one or more persons on the vehicle.

[0112] 28. The system of the previous aspect, further comprising any one of aspects 1-26.

[0113] 29. The system of any of aspects 27-28, further comprising means for denying access to the onboard network by the computing device based on a determination that one or more externally generated stimuli or conditions are not indicative of the computing device being utilized by an individual on board a vehicle.

[0114] 30. The system of any of aspects 27-29, further comprising a component for providing a specific challenge at a user interface of the computing device based on a determination that one or more externally generated stimuli or conditions do not indicate that the computing device is being utilized by any person on the vehicle; and one of: a component for granting the computing device access to an onboard network upon receiving an appropriate response to the specific challenge; or a component for denying the computing device access to the onboard network upon (i) receiving an inappropriate response to the specific challenge or (ii) failing to receive any response to the specific challenge within a certain time interval.

[0115] 31. The system of any of aspects 27-30, wherein the components for determining whether one or more externally generated stimuli or conditions are contextual to a vehicle and indicating that the computing device is utilized by one or more persons on the vehicle include components for determining a confidence score based on more than one externally generated stimulus or condition detected over a time interval and components for comparing the confidence score to a threshold.

[0116] 32. The system of any of aspects 27-31, wherein the component for determining whether one or more externally generated stimuli or conditions are contextual to a vehicle and indicate that the computing device is being utilized by one or more persons on the vehicle comprises at least one of: a component for obtaining an indication of ad hoc input received at a user interface or manipulable component of the computing device; or a component for determining that data captured by an optical interface of the computing device while on the vehicle is at least one of: changes over time, includes an image of at least a portion of a person, or includes an image of at least a portion of a vehicle.

[0117] 33. The system of any of Aspects 27-32, further comprising a component for obtaining a corresponding indication of one or more signals generated by one or more devices fixedly connected to the vehicle; and wherein one or more externally generated stimuli or conditions correspond to a corresponding indication of one or more signals generated by one or more devices fixedly connected to the vehicle.

[0118] 34. A system of any of aspects 27-33, wherein the determination as to whether one or more externally generated stimuli or conditions are contextual to a vehicle and indicate that a computing device is being utilized by one or more persons on the vehicle is based on at least one of: a comparison of corresponding values ​​of one or more signals generated by one or more devices fixedly connected to the vehicle with a threshold; a comparison of corresponding values ​​of one or more signals generated by one or more devices fixedly connected to the vehicle with user account data stored on a target computing device; or a comparison of corresponding values ​​of one or more signals generated by one or more devices fixedly connected to the vehicle with data generated by a sensor or detector in the computing device.

[0119] 35. A system for preventing unauthorized access to a network on a vehicle, the network being an onboard network, and the system comprising: a detection engine communicatively coupled to one or more components of a computing device on the vehicle and configured to detect one or more stimuli or conditions external to the computing device via coupling to the one or more components; a determination engine coupled to the detection engine and configured to determine whether the computing device is being utilized by one or more persons on the vehicle based on the one or more stimuli or conditions detected by the detection engine, wherein access to the onboard network by the computing device is granted or denied based on the determination of the determination engine.

[0120] 36. The system of the previous aspect, further comprising any one of aspects 1-34.

[0121] 37. A system of any of aspects 35-36, wherein one or more components of the computing device include one or more wireless interfaces communicatively coupled to one or more other devices fixedly connected to a vehicle, and a determination as to whether the computing device is utilized by one or more persons is based on at least one of the content or strength of wireless signals generated by the one or more other devices and received at the computing device via the one or more wireless interfaces.

[0122] 38. The system of any of aspects 35-37, wherein one or more components of the computing device include sensors or monitors, and the determination of whether the computing device is utilized by one or more persons is based on a comparison over time of: (i) data generated by the sensors or monitors of the computing device, and (ii) vehicle navigation or exploration data generated by sensors or monitors of another device fixedly connected to the vehicle.

[0123] 39. The system of any of aspects 35-38, wherein one or more components of the computing device include at least one of a user interface or an optical interface via which the self-organized data is received, and wherein the one or more stimuli or conditions are based on the received self-organized data.

[0124] 40. The system of any of aspects 35-39, wherein the detection engine comprises a first set of computer executable instructions; the determination engine comprises a second set of computer executable instructions; and the computing device is a mobile computing device having (i) a memory storing thereon at least one of the first set of computer executable instructions or the second set of computer executable instructions, and (ii) a processor executing at least one of the first set of computer executable instructions or the second set of computer executable instructions.

[0125] 41. The system of the previous aspects, wherein the processor is triggered to execute the first set of computer executable instructions upon at least one of: initialization of the computing device; initialization of a World Wide Web browser on the computing device; initialization of a first application containing the first set of computer executable instructions; initialization of a second application on the computing device; or upon detection of a wireless signal transmitted by a device fixedly connected to a vehicle by the computing device.

[0126] Therefore, many modifications and variations may be made in the techniques and structures described and illustrated herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims. Accordingly, it should be understood that the methods and apparatus described herein are illustrative only and are not intended to limit the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method of preventing unauthorized access to a network on a vehicle, the network being an onboard network, and the method comprising: detecting, at the portable computing device, that the portable computing device is on a vehicle based on the presence of a wireless signal generated by a transceiver on the vehicle; detecting a plurality of conditions on the portable computing device when the portable computing device is detected to be on the vehicle, the plurality of conditions comprising at least one signal generated by another device on the vehicle; evaluating, by the portable computing device, at least one of a time or a weighting of the plurality of conditions detected to thereby determine a confidence score indicating a likelihood that the portable computing device is being operated, held, or carried by one or more persons; granting the portable computing device access to the onboard network when the confidence score is above a threshold; as well as When the confidence score is below a threshold, the portable computing device is denied access to the onboard network.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting a plurality of conditions comprises detecting at least one condition generated external to the portable computing device.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein detecting a plurality of conditions comprises detecting at least one condition associated with the vehicle. 4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein detecting the at least one condition associated with the vehicle comprises detecting at least one signal generated by the other device on the vehicle. 5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein detecting a plurality of conditions comprises detecting at least one condition via a sensor or a user interface of the portable computing device.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein detecting at least one condition via the sensor or a user interface of the portable computing device comprises detecting a condition other than a user response to a challenge issued by the portable computing device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein: Detecting the plurality of conditions includes detecting one or more corresponding occurrences of one or more of the plurality of conditions within a time interval; and Evaluating at least one of a time or a weighting of the detected plurality of conditions to determine a confidence score includes evaluating a time of the one or more respective occurrences of the one or more conditions detected within the time interval to determine a confidence score.

8. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein evaluating at least one of (i) time or (ii) weighting of the multiple detected conditions to determine a confidence score includes evaluating the weights of the multiple detected conditions, including aggregating the corresponding weighted values ​​of the multiple detected conditions to determine the confidence score.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein aggregating the respective weighted values ​​of the plurality of detected conditions to determine the confidence score comprises aggregating the respective weighted values ​​of the plurality of detected conditions within a time interval to determine the confidence score.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the confidence score is above the threshold and the portable computing device is granted access to the onboard network, and wherein the method further comprises: monitoring any occurrence of any one of the plurality of conditions within a time interval; maintaining access of the portable computing device to the onboard network when an occurrence of any one of the plurality of conditions is detected during the time interval; as well as When an occurrence of any one of a plurality of conditions is not detected during the time interval, the portable computing device is denied access to the onboard network.

11. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein execution of the method is automatically initiated upon at least one of: initialization of an application stored on one or more memories of the portable computing device, initialization of the portable computing device, a user request, or receiving user input at any user interface of the portable computing device.

12. A portable computing device configured to request access to a network on a vehicle, comprising: one or more processors; and one or more memories storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of the portable computing device, cause the portable computing device to: detecting that the portable computing device is located on the vehicle based on the presence of a wireless signal generated by a transceiver on the vehicle; detecting a plurality of conditions, the plurality of conditions including at least one signal generated by another device on the vehicle, when the portable computing device is detected to be on the vehicle; evaluating at least one of a time or a weighting of the plurality of detected conditions to determine a confidence score indicating a likelihood that the portable computing device is being operated, held, or carried by one or more persons; receiving access to the onboard network when the confidence score is above a threshold; as well as When the confidence score is below a threshold, a denial of access to the onboard network is received.

13. The portable computing device of claim 12, further comprising at least one of: a user interface component, a user-manipulable component, or a wireless communication interface component; and Wherein at least one of the user interface component, the user-manipulable component, or the wireless communication interface component detects one or more of a plurality of conditions.

14. The portable computing device of claim 12, wherein the computer executable instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the portable computing device to: The times and weights of the detected multiple conditions are evaluated to determine a confidence score.

15. The portable computing device of claim 12, wherein the one or more processors automatically execute the computer-executable instructions based on at least one of: This includes initialization of an application of computer-executable instructions, initialization of any other applications stored on one or more memories of the portable computing device, initialization of the portable computing device, a user request, or receiving user input at any user interface of the portable computing device.

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