Boundary Server Challenge Timing for Verifiable Client Geolocation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing geolocation techniques for computer systems are susceptible to falsification and lack accuracy, particularly when relying on self-reported locations or IP addresses, especially in scenarios involving virtual private networks (VPNs).
Innovation Solution
A client-server response time-based geolocation method involving a boundary server that sends computational challenges to the client, measures the response time, and generates certificates encoding elapsed times to verify the client's location using multiple boundary servers with known physical locations, ensuring accuracy through trilateration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If self-reported location or IP address-based geolocation is used, then the geolocation process is simple and easy to implement, but the reliability and accuracy of the location data deteriorates due to easy falsification
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces boundary servers as intermediaries between the client system and the geolocation verification process. These boundary servers are positioned at known geographic locations and act as trusted mediators that measure response times to the client system. This intermediary mechanism transforms the geolocation from a simple self-reported or IP-based system into a verified system where multiple independent boundary servers corroborate the client's location, thereby resolving the contradiction between ease of implementation and reliability of location data
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where boundary servers send challenges to the client system and measure the response times. The client system's responses provide feedback about its actual location based on network latency measurements. This feedback loop allows the system to continuously verify location accuracy and detect falsification attempts, improving reliability while maintaining operational simplicity through automated verification
2Adaptability or versatility
If IP address substitution is used to defeat geolocation, then the client system can appear to be in different locations, but this undermines the accuracy and verifiability of location data
Solution Approach 1:
The patent establishes boundary servers at known geographic locations before the geolocation verification process begins. These boundary servers pre-position themselves and maintain records of their locations and response time measurements. This preliminary setup creates a trusted framework that exists before any client system attempts to verify its location, preventing IP substitution attacks because the verification is based on physical network latency measurements rather than trusting client-provided or IP-based location data
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of IP address-based location identification with a physics-based measurement system using network response time. Instead of relying on the mechanical assignment of IP addresses that can be easily changed or spoofed, the system uses the physical property of signal propagation time through networks, which is difficult to falsify. This substitution of measurement methodology maintains adaptability for legitimate location changes while dramatically improving measurement precision for verification purposes
Data Source
AI summary
An embodiment sends, at a first time, from a boundary server to a client system in response to a challenge request, a challenge specifying a computational problem to be solved by the client system, the boundary server specified in a challenge list sent to the client system. An embodiment receives, at a second time, at the boundary server, a challenge response from the client system, the challenge response comprising a solution to the computational problem. An embodiment generates, at the boundary server, a certificate encoding an elapsed time between the first time and the second time, the certificate usable by the client system to prove a location of the client system. An embodiment sends, from the boundary server to the client system, the certificate.