Personal GPS Security Token for Asset Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing GPS tracking systems for computing devices and assets are vulnerable to spoofing and tampering, making it difficult to determine if a device or asset has been stolen, cloned, or lost, and there is a need for enhanced security measures to protect valuable assets.
Innovation Solution
A system that uses GPS-enabled or non-GPS enabled devices to store location information and generate alerts based on user-defined rules, employing a personal security token to compare current locations with approved geographical locations, thereby detecting rule violations and alerting users of potential misuse or theft.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If GPS tracking is used to monitor asset location, then location tracking capability is improved, but vulnerability to spoofing and tampering increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a security token as an intermediary device that mediates between the GPS tracking system and the asset. The token receives GPS location data, compares it against pre-stored approved locations, and independently determines whether the asset is in an authorized position. This intermediary layer prevents direct manipulation of the tracking system by attackers, as the security token validates locations against a trusted reference set stored locally, thereby maintaining reliability while enabling precise tracking.
2Reliability
If a security token with pre-stored approved locations is used, then security verification capability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the security system into distinct functional components: a security token that stores approved locations and performs verification, and a separate system that manages asset tracking. By dividing the security function into this dedicated token component, the system achieves improved security verification without proportionally increasing overall system complexity, as each segment performs a specific, well-defined function.
Solution Approach 2:
The security token operates autonomously by self-comparing received GPS location data against its pre-stored approved locations without requiring continuous external verification. This self-service capability simplifies the overall system architecture, as the token independently makes security determinations, reducing the need for complex centralized verification systems while maintaining high reliability.
3Productivity
If real-time location comparison with approved locations is performed, then detection speed of rule violations is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The security token performs location comparisons at periodic intervals rather than continuously, receiving GPS location data at scheduled times and comparing against approved locations. This periodic operation maintains effective detection speed for rule violations while significantly reducing energy consumption compared to continuous real-time comparison, as the token remains in low-power states between comparison cycles.
Data Source
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AI summary
An improved system 200 for increasing computer security generates a list of computing devices or assets 205-209, and a set of rules having approved locations corresponding to each of the computing devices or assets 601. An alert is generated if a computing device or asset that is in a rule violation 605 of the set of rules. A separate personal security token 275 configured to retrieve the list of assets and the set of rules having approved geographical location information from the storage device, receive a current location of an asset, and compare the retrieved information with the current location of the asset to determine if a rule violation has occurred is also disclosed herein. The security token may be configured to generate an alert signal when a rule violation has occurred.