Dynamic Challenge-Response Authentication System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current security protocols for authenticating access to secured resources, such as personal information and physical locations, are vulnerable to interception and spoofing, and often rely on weak password-based systems that can compromise multiple secured resources if breached.
Innovation Solution
A method that involves generating and communicating a challenge string to the user, receiving a response string, and evaluating it to authenticate identity, while determining the specific secured resource access and conducting transactions securely, without exposing sensitive information to the service client.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If password-based authentication is used, then authentication can be conducted, but it is vulnerable to interception and spoofing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms static password authentication into dynamic challenge-response authentication. Instead of using fixed passwords that can be intercepted, the system generates dynamic challenge strings that change with each authentication attempt, making interception and spoofing ineffective. The authentication credential is generated dynamically based on the challenge string and secret key, ensuring that each authentication session is unique and cannot be replayed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fundamental parameter of authentication from static passwords to dynamic cryptographic credentials. The authentication process uses cryptographic functions to transform secret keys and challenge strings into authentication credentials, changing the state and properties of the authentication data throughout the process. This parameter transformation ensures that the original secret key never leaves the user's device in plaintext form.
2Ease of operation
If the same password is used for multiple secured resources, then access to multiple resources is convenient, but a single breach compromises all resources
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the authentication process into separate challenge-response interactions for each secured resource. Instead of using a single password across multiple resources, the system generates unique authentication credentials for each resource access request. The service provider acts as an intermediary that can authenticate the user to multiple resources without the user needing to share the same secret key or password with all resources.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a service provider as an intermediary between the user and multiple secured resources. The service provider receives authentication credentials from the user, verifies them against the challenge string, and then grants access to the appropriate resource. This intermediary architecture allows the user to maintain a single secret key while accessing multiple resources, as the service provider handles the resource-specific authentication logic without exposing the user's secret key.
3Reliability
If challenge-response authentication is implemented, then security against interception is improved, but implementation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service authentication where the user's mobile device automatically generates authentication credentials in response to challenge strings without requiring complex user configuration. The device stores the secret key and automatically performs the cryptographic operations needed to generate authentication credentials. This self-service approach reduces implementation complexity by automating the challenge-response process and eliminating the need for manual setup of complex authentication protocols.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal authentication framework that can work across multiple platforms and resources. The challenge-response mechanism is implemented in a way that is compatible with various communication channels (SMS, email, push notifications) and can authenticate users to different types of resources. This universal design reduces implementation complexity by providing a single authentication solution that works across multiple contexts rather than requiring separate implementations for each resource.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method whereby the identity of a person, entity, device or the like attempting to gain access to a secured resource may be securely authenticated includes a means for receiving from a requester purporting to be an authorized user of a secured resource a request for access by an unauthorized user (such as, for example, a retail store, a service station, an on-line service provider or merchandiser, a healthcare provider, a medical insurer, an information consumer or the like) to the secured resource; a means for generating and communicating to the purported authorized user a challenge string adapted to provide a basis for authenticating the identity of the requester; a means for receiving a response string corresponding to the challenge string; and a means for evaluating the response string to authenticate the identity of the requester.