Decoupling Handset Location Data via Encryption Mediator
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wireless service providers face challenges in deploying location-based services due to issues with consumer privacy, revenue generation, and infrastructure costs, as well as inefficiencies in accessing and sharing location information with third-party content providers.
Innovation Solution
A secure and scalable system that intercepts HTTP requests from remote users, scrambles location information, and inserts it into the request header for transmission to content providers, allowing for secure and efficient sharing of location data without requiring significant infrastructure changes or certification processes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If location information is shared with third-party content providers, then location-based services can be provided, but consumer privacy is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary encryption service that sits between the location platform and content providers. This service encrypts location information before transmission, acting as a mediator that enables service functionality while protecting user privacy through cryptographic transformation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms location information by applying encryption algorithms, changing its state from plaintext to ciphertext. This parameter change (from readable to encrypted form) allows the same data to serve dual purposes: enabling location-based services while protecting consumer privacy.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If location information is encrypted and transmitted to content providers, then privacy is protected, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the encryption functionality from the core location platform into a separate encryption service. This extraction reduces the complexity burden on the main system by isolating the cryptographic operations into a dedicated component that handles encryption/decryption independently.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements decryption capabilities at multiple points (content provider side and user device side), creating copies of the decryption function. This allows the encrypted location data to be processed in multiple ways without increasing central system complexity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If third parties integrate with carrier location platforms, then location services can be accessed, but infrastructure costs and certification time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables content providers to independently decrypt location information using encryption keys provided by the carrier. This self-service approach eliminates the need for complex certification processes and extensive integration infrastructure, allowing third parties to access location services quickly and autonomously.
Solution Approach 2:
The encryption service provides a universal interface that multiple content providers can use simultaneously. By creating a standardized encryption/decryption mechanism that works across different providers, the system eliminates the need for custom integration infrastructure for each third party.
4Adaptability or versatility
If location information is transmitted transactionally, then content providers can request location data, but latency increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent encrypts location information at the source (location platform) before transmission to content providers. This preliminary encryption action enables faster processing at the content provider end, as decryption can occur immediately upon receipt without requiring complex verification or additional authentication steps.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method is provided to determine location information of a portable computing device and, in particular, to a secure and scalable system and method of decoupling and exposing handset originated location information to third parties. The system includes a location platform to determine location information of a remote user, and an encryption service configured to secure the location information of the remote user and send the secure location information to a content provider.