Location-Binding Authentication With Device-Location Fingerprints
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing authentication systems are vulnerable to fraud due to the ease with which authentication credentials can be spoofed, particularly in remote access scenarios, necessitating additional security measures to verify user identity.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a location-based authentication method that utilizes a digital fingerprint of the user's device, combining device identifier and location information to authenticate users, ensuring that the device is present at an approved location before granting access or approving transactions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional authentication methods (passwords, PINs, tokens) are used, then users can access systems remotely, but the system becomes vulnerable to fraud due to easily spoofed credentials
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adds a spatial dimension to authentication by verifying the physical location of the user device. Instead of relying solely on credentials that exist in the digital realm, the system now requires proof that the device is physically present at an approved geographic location, creating a new dimension of security that is difficult to spoof remotely
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces location information as an intermediary verification layer between the user and the system. Rather than directly authenticating credentials, the system uses location data from GPS, cellular towers, or Wi-Fi networks as a mediator to confirm the user's physical presence, adding a trusted intermediate check that prevents remote fraud
2Object-affected harmful factors
If location-based authentication is implemented, then fraud resistance improves, but device complexity and authentication process complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system leverages the device's own built-in location capabilities (GPS, cellular positioning, Wi-Fi location services) to provide the authentication data. The device serves itself by generating location information without requiring external hardware or manual user input, thereby adding security functionality while minimizing additional complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses existing multi-functional components already present in modern devices - the same GPS receiver used for navigation, the same cellular modem used for communication, and the same Wi-Fi interface used for networking - and repurposes them for authentication. This approach adds fraud resistance without requiring dedicated new hardware, thus limiting the increase in device complexity
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, methods, and apparatuses for authenticating a user based at least in part on a location of the user or a location of a user device are described. A method includes: receiving a login request including a user identifier associated with a user; transmitting a request for location information of a user device associated with the user; causing computer-executable code deployed to the user device to generate a location-based modifiable digital fingerprint comprising a first encoded value based on a unique identifier of the user device and a second encoded value based on a first location information of the user device; receiving the location-based modifiable digital fingerprint from the user device; verifying that the location information from the location-based modifiable digital fingerprint corresponds to a second location; and providing the user access to the computing device.