Contextual Device Authentication via Blockchain
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Solution Overview
Problem
The rise of electronic wallets has made it challenging to prevent unauthorized transactions when both the payment instrument and authentication device are stolen, as the theft of a smartphone can compromise both, allowing fraudsters to conduct transactions freely.
Innovation Solution
A system that uses a centralized processing server to track the geographic locations of multiple user devices, such as smartphones and smartwatches, and compares these locations with the location of a transaction to determine an authentication score, requiring all devices to be present for a transaction to be authorized, with the option to store this information on a blockchain for enhanced security.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If geolocation authentication is used to prevent fraud, then transaction security is improved, but user convenience deteriorates because the system may decline legitimate transactions when devices are temporarily apart
Solution Approach 1:
The system requires only a threshold number of devices (e.g., at least one device) to be present at the transaction location rather than requiring all registered devices to be present. This partial action approach maintains security by verifying device presence while avoiding unnecessary transaction declines when devices are temporarily separated, thus balancing security with user convenience.
2Reliability
If the system requires all registered devices to be present for authentication, then fraud prevention is improved, but false positives increase causing legitimate transactions to be declined
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses a threshold-based approach where at least a minimum number of devices (e.g., one device) must be present for authentication to succeed. This partial verification approach prevents fraud while reducing false positives by not requiring all devices to be present, thereby improving authentication accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the authentication threshold parameter based on risk assessment. For low-risk transactions, fewer devices need to be present, while high-risk transactions require more devices. This parameter change approach optimizes both fraud prevention and authentication accuracy across different transaction scenarios.
3Reliability
If device location data is stored traditionally, then system complexity is low, but data security and immutability are insufficient allowing location spoofing
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates and maintains multiple copies of device location data across different storage layers (blockchain distributed ledger and traditional database). This copying approach enhances data security and immutability through redundancy and distribution, while the modular architecture manages the increased complexity through structured organization of data across multiple systems.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for contextual authentication based on computing devices includes: storing an account profile related to a transaction account including an account identifier and a timestamp and a device geolocation for at least two computing devices; receiving an authorization request for a payment transaction including the account identifier, a transaction geographic location, and a transaction time; identifying an authentication score for the payment transaction based on a comparison of the transaction time and transaction geographic location to the timestamp and device geographic location for each of the at least two computing devices; and transmitting the identified authentication score and received authorization request to a financial institution associated with the transaction account.