IoT Secure Pairing via UWB Confidence Zones
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Solution Overview
Problem
In IoT environments, existing pairing methods are vulnerable to security threats, allowing illegitimate devices to establish connections and compromise user data, leading to privacy and security disruptions.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that utilize ultrawideband (UWB) sensors to monitor IoT devices, generate confidence zones based on presence and transaction context information, and determine secure pairing actions to establish or deny connections, ensuring only legitimate devices within a confidence zone can pair with host devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional pairing methods are used in IoT environments, then device connectivity is simplified and establishment is fast, but security is compromised allowing illegitimate devices to connect
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by generating confidence zones and evaluating device legitimacy before pairing occurs. The host device assesses the target device's presence, positional information, and transaction context in advance, determining a confidence level that precedes the pairing decision, thereby preventing illegitimate connections before they can compromise security
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces confidence zones as an intermediary mechanism between traditional pairing methods and security verification. This intermediary layer evaluates multiple parameters (presence information, positional data, transaction context) to mediate the pairing decision, adding security without requiring complete redesign of the pairing process
2Reliability
If confidence zones and multiple evaluation parameters are implemented, then security against illegitimate devices is improved, but system complexity and computational requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the security evaluation into distinct components: presence information detection, positional information assessment, transaction context analysis, and confidence level calculation. Each segment handles a specific aspect of security verification, making the overall complex system manageable through modular organization of evaluation functions
Solution Approach 2:
The confidence zone mechanism serves multiple functions simultaneously: it evaluates device legitimacy, determines pairing suitability, provides security verification, and guides pairing decisions. This multi-functional approach consolidates several security-related operations into a single unified mechanism, reducing overall system complexity despite the enhanced security capabilities
Data Source
AI summary
A method for providing secure pairing across devices in an Internet of Thing (IoT) environment, includes identifying presence information of one or more second IoT devices in a vicinity of a first IoT device and positional information of the one or more second IoT devices relative to the first IoT device, identifying transaction context information for one or more pairing transactions between the first IoT device and the one or more second IoT devices, generating a confidence zone based on at least one of the presence information, the positional information or the transaction context information, determining a pairing action between a target IoT device and the first IoT device based on the confidence zone and information for the target IoT device, and executing at least one action to establish or deny a secure pairing between the target IoT device and the first IoT device based on the pairing action.