Backend System Enrolling Mobile Merchant Devices for Secure Payments
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electronic payment systems using mobile merchant communication devices lack secure transaction processes, as they rely on customer-entered PINs and do not adequately assess the trustworthiness of the merchant device, potentially leading to insecure transactions.
Innovation Solution
A backend system that enrolls mobile merchant communication devices by generating and managing electronic secrets and cryptographic keys based on the device's security level, ensuring secure transactions through enrollment, personalization, and periodic attestation, using a combination of human-readable secrets, digest values, and challenge-response procedures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If mobile merchant communication devices are used to replace POS terminals for payment transactions, then ease of operation and device portability are improved, but security reliability deteriorates because the trustworthiness of these devices cannot be adequately assessed
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary security assessment during device enrollment before allowing transactions. The backend system evaluates security-relevant data (bootloader status, software blacklist, security score) and generates personalization data including electronic secrets and cryptographic keys in advance, ensuring security verification occurs before the device is used for payments
Solution Approach 2:
The backend system acts as an intermediary between mobile merchant devices and the payment network. It enrolls devices by verifying their security attributes, generates cryptographic credentials, and performs periodic attestation to validate device integrity, thereby mediating trust between customers and untrusted mobile devices
2Reliability
If security assessment of merchant devices is implemented through enrollment and periodic attestation, then security reliability is improved, but device complexity and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system assesses device security by evaluating specific parameters such as bootloader lock status, software blacklist presence, and security score thresholds. These parameter-based assessments provide a structured way to evaluate device trustworthiness without requiring complex security architectures in the mobile devices themselves
Solution Approach 2:
Mobile merchant devices perform self-attestation by providing their own security-relevant data (bootloader status, software information, security score) to the backend system. The devices generate their own cryptographic keys and secrets, reducing the need for complex security hardware or manual security configuration
3Reliability
If cryptographic keys and electronic secrets are generated and managed by the backend system during enrollment, then security reliability is improved, but loss of time increases due to the enrollment process
Solution Approach 1:
The backend system generates cryptographic keys and electronic secrets during the enrollment phase before transactions begin. This preliminary generation of security credentials ensures they are available and properly configured before needed, avoiding delays during actual payment transactions
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses cryptographic copying mechanisms where the backend generates master keys and derives subordinate keys for specific devices. Electronic secrets are generated once during enrollment and then reused for multiple transactions, avoiding repeated generation overhead
Data Source
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AI summary
A backend system (160) configured to enroll a mobile merchant communication device (120) for performing a payment transaction with a mobile consumer communication device (110) is disclosed. The mobile merchant communication device (120) is associated with a security level. The backend system (160) comprises a processing circuitry (141; 151) configured to generate a first electronic secret for the mobile merchant communication device (120). Moreover, the backend system (160) comprises a communication interface (143; 153) configured to receive an enrollment request from the mobile merchant communication device (120), wherein the enrollment request comprises the first electronic secret for authorizing the enrollment request, a second electronic secret generated by the mobile merchant communication device (120), and a digest value of a set of security-relevant data of the mobile merchant communication device (120), wherein the set of security-relevant data depends on the security level of the mobile merchant communication device (120). The processing circuitry (141; 151) is further configured, if the enrollment request is successful, to generate personalization data for the mobile merchant communication device (120). The communication interface (143; 153) is further configured to transmit the personalization data to the mobile merchant communication device (120) for enabling the mobile merchant communication device (120) to perform the payment transaction with the mobile consumer communication device (110).