Collaborative Mobile Device Authentication via Short-Range Wireless Signals
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing user authentication methods for collaborative mobile devices, such as those used in public safety radios, face challenges due to limited user interfaces and susceptibility to spoofing, necessitating a strong authentication method that does not require password input.
Innovation Solution
A method and system for authenticating collaborative mobile devices using a short-range wireless signal, where devices are paired and authenticate through a shared pre-key and public-key infrastructure, eliminating the need for user input by leveraging near-field communication and public-key cryptography.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional password-based authentication is used, then user login capability is provided, but security is compromised due to spoofing susceptibility and user interface limitations
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile device performs authentication automatically using pre-configured credentials and automated credential provisioning, eliminating the need for manual user input. The device self-manages the authentication process by automatically providing credentials to the network element.
Solution Approach 2:
Credentials are provisioned to the mobile device in advance before the authentication event occurs. The network element pre-configures the device with necessary authentication credentials, so that when authentication is needed, the device can immediately use these pre-prepared credentials without requiring user input or real-time credential generation.
2Ease of operation
If automated authentication without user input is implemented, then ease of operation is improved, but device complexity increases due to automated credential provisioning
Solution Approach 1:
A network element acts as an intermediary between the mobile device and the authentication system. This network element handles the complex credential provisioning and management tasks, while the mobile device itself remains relatively simple. The intermediary absorbs the complexity of automated authentication mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The network element serves multiple functions: it provisions credentials to devices, verifies authentication credentials, and manages the authentication process. By consolidating these multiple functions in a single network element, the overall system complexity is managed more effectively than distributing complex authentication logic across multiple components.
Data Source
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Figure 3
Figure 4A
AI summary
A method, apparatus, and system are provided for authentication of collaborative mobile devices. A first mobile device receives a challenge message, derives a first mobile device authentication result based on the challenge message, and conveys, to a second mobile device of a user of the first mobile device, a first short-range wireless signal comprising the challenge message. The second mobile device receives the challenge message from the first mobile device, derives a second mobile device authentication result based on the challenge message, and conveys, to the first mobile device, a first short-range wireless signal comprising the second mobile device authentication result. The first mobile device receives the second mobile device authentication result and authenticates one or more of the first mobile device, the second mobile device, and the user by conveying, to an authenticator device, the first mobile device authentication result and the second mobile device authentication result.