Mobile-Assisted Secure Credential Transfer for Shared Terminals
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Solution Overview
Problem
Publicly accessible computing devices, such as kiosks or POS devices, are vulnerable to malicious actors intercepting user login credentials, allowing unauthorized access due to the visibility of credential entry.
Innovation Solution
A terminal device generates a public/private key pair, outputs a detectable code, and uses the session server to encrypt and transfer access credentials securely to a mobile device, which decrypts and logs the user in, ensuring only the terminal device can access the credentials.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If login credentials are entered manually at a publicly accessible terminal device, then the user can authenticate, but the credentials become visible to malicious actors who can intercept and reuse them
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the credential entry process from the public terminal device and relocates it to the user's mobile device. The terminal device only displays a detectable code, while the mobile device handles the secure credential input and transmission, eliminating the security vulnerability of public credential entry.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediate detectable code as a mediator between the user and the terminal device. Instead of directly entering credentials at the terminal, the user scans the code with their mobile device, which then securely transmits credentials through an automated process, preventing visual interception.
2Ease of operation
If access tokens are transferred in plaintext form, then the transfer process is simple, but the credentials can be intercepted and misused by malicious actors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary encryption to the access tokens before transmission. The mobile device encrypts credentials with a public key before sending them to the terminal device, ensuring that even if intercepted, the credentials cannot be used without the corresponding private key.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the state parameter of the credentials from plaintext to encrypted form during transmission. By transforming the credential data through cryptographic encryption, the system maintains transfer simplicity while eliminating the security risk of plaintext interception.
3Productivity
If a user logs in to a mobile device and then scans a terminal code, then automated login is achieved, but replay attacks become possible if the code is static
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic refreshment of the detectable code displayed at the terminal device. The code changes at regular intervals or after specific events, ensuring that each scanning operation is time-bound and cannot be replayed using a previously captured code.
4Reliability
If the private key is stored on the terminal device for decryption, then only the terminal can decrypt credentials, but the device becomes a single point of failure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the cryptographic key management by separating the private key storage from the public key distribution. The terminal device securely stores the private key locally without transmitting it, while the public key is made available for encryption. This segmentation maintains security while distributing functional responsibilities.
Data Source
AI summary
In some implementations, a system is provided for securely transferring access credentials from a mobile device that is exclusively operated by a single user, to a terminal device that is shared among multiple different users, via a session server. A session is established between the session server and the terminal device over a secure communication channel. The terminal device generates a key pair, transmits the public key to the session server, and stores the private key. The terminal device outputs a detectable code corresponding to the session. In response to detecting the detectable code, the mobile device transmits an access token payload to the session server. The session server transmits, to the terminal device, an encrypted access token that has been encrypted using the public key. The terminal device decrypts the encrypted access token using the stored private key, and provides operator access to the terminal device.