Mobile Device Authentication via Geographic Area Validation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Remote access to file servers via mobile devices poses a security risk due to the use of weak authentication methods, such as basic user IDs and passwords, leading to potential data breaches by unauthorized users.
Innovation Solution
Implementing an additional layer of security through an 'authorized area of authentication' (AAA) system, where access is granted only if the mobile device is verified to be within a designated geographic area, using a stationary computing device with an AAA generator, validator, and access controller, and a mobile device with a location identifier and connection controller, which dynamically identifies and submits its location for validation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If basic user ID and password authentication is used for remote access, then ease of operation is improved, but security reliability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The authentication process is segmented into multiple independent verification stages: first verifying user credentials (user ID and password), then separately verifying the mobile device's geographic location within the authorized area, and finally granting access only if both verifications succeed. This segmentation allows each authentication layer to operate independently, maintaining ease of use while significantly improving security reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a spatial dimension to the traditional authentication process by introducing geographic location verification. Instead of relying solely on credential verification, the system now operates in two dimensions: credential space and geographic space. The mobile device must be physically located within the authorized geographic area to access the file server, creating a new security dimension that does not complicate the user experience.
2Reliability
If geographic location verification is added to authentication, then security reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile device automatically performs location verification without requiring user intervention. The device's operating system and communication modules self-manage the geographic verification process by continuously monitoring GPS coordinates and communicating with the file server's authentication system. This self-service approach maintains security reliability while minimizing the perceived complexity for users.
Solution Approach 2:
The file server is designed with multi-functionality, serving both as a data storage system and an authentication system. The server integrates credential verification and geographic location verification into a single unified authentication process, eliminating the need for separate authentication devices or systems. This universality reduces overall system complexity while maintaining high security reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
A mobile device including a biometric or passcode scanner, scanning a biometric or passcode of a user of the mobile device, a biometric or passcode validator, validating the biometric data or passcode, a connection controller logging in to a secure network, and an access requestor, submitting to a server computer via a connection over the secure network, an access request for secure data, access to which is controlled by the server, and prompting the user to enter a biometric or to enter a passcode, wherein the biometric or passcode scanner scans the biometric or passcode entered by the user, the biometric or passcode validator validates the scanned biometric or passcode, and contingent upon the validating being affirmative, the access requestor submits to the server over the secure network, a request that the server generate an authentication for the mobile device to access the secure data.