Authentication Mediator System for Password Security
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Solution Overview
Problem
Managing diverse user identities and passwords across multiple authentication systems is challenging, as users often use weak, easily guessable passwords and are vulnerable to phishing attacks, compromising multiple systems if one password is compromised.
Innovation Solution
Introducing a mediator that processes and secures user authentication credentials by encrypting and transforming them using secret keys and cryptographic hash functions, allowing users to employ simpler passwords while enforcing strong policies across different systems, and managing session parameters to enhance security.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If users use simple, easy-to-remember passwords for multiple authentication systems, then ease of operation is improved, but security reliability deteriorates because passwords become vulnerable to guessing and phishing attacks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a mediator system that sits between the user and multiple authentication systems. This mediator stores the user's simple password locally and transforms it into different processed credentials for each authentication system. The mediator acts as an intermediary that enables users to use simple passwords while maintaining security through transformation and local storage, preventing direct exposure of simple passwords to external systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the authentication process into multiple components: the user's simple password stored locally in the mediator, and multiple transformed password versions stored separately for different authentication systems. This segmentation ensures that compromise of one transformed password does not expose the original simple password or other transformed versions, as each is stored independently and requires the mediator for transformation.
2Reliability
If authentication systems enforce strong password policies requiring complex passwords with multiple character groups, then security reliability is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates because passwords become difficult to remember
Solution Approach 1:
The mediator system allows users to interact with strong password policies indirectly. Users provide simple passwords to the mediator, which then transforms them into complex passwords that satisfy authentication system requirements. The mediator handles the complexity requirements, shielding users from the burden of creating and remembering complex passwords while still enforcing security through transformation and validation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameters of the password through transformation processes. The mediator takes a simple password with basic complexity and transforms it into a processed password with enhanced complexity characteristics (length, character diversity, randomness) that meets authentication system requirements. This parameter transformation allows users to work with simple passwords while the system receives appropriately complex credentials.
3Ease of operation
If users use the same password across multiple authentication systems, then ease of operation is improved through consistency, but security reliability deteriorates because a single compromise exposes all systems
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the password storage by creating separate stored transformed password versions for each authentication system in the mediator's local storage. While users experience consistency by entering the same simple password everywhere, the mediator stores multiple distinct transformed versions (one per authentication system). This segmentation ensures that if one authentication system's transformed password is compromised, it cannot be used to access other systems, as each transformed version is independently stored and system-specific.
Solution Approach 2:
The mediator acts as an intermediary that manages the relationship between the user's single simple password and multiple authentication systems. It stores the simple password locally and generates system-specific transformed versions, creating a buffer that allows password consistency for the user while preventing system-wide compromise. The mediator controls the transformation and distribution process, ensuring security isolation between systems.
4Ease of operation
If authentication systems store passwords in plain text or reversible encryption, then ease of operation is improved for password recovery, but security reliability deteriorates because stored passwords become vulnerable to theft
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies irreversible cryptographic transformations (such as hashing) to change the parameters of stored passwords. Instead of storing reversible encrypted passwords or plain text, the mediator transforms passwords into irreversible forms that cannot be decrypted back to the original. This parameter change ensures that even if stored transformed passwords are stolen, they cannot be used to recover the original simple password or access other systems.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for protecting access to authentication systems. A mediator may accept original authentication credentials from a client, may process the authentication credentials to provide processed authentication credentials and may forward the processed authentication credentials to an authentication system. Processing original authentication credentials may include encrypting at least one portion of original authentication credentials.