Mobile Terminal Data Erasure via Authentication Failure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mobile terminal devices, such as cellular phones and PDAs, are vulnerable to data breaches when lost or stolen, as existing authentication methods are not sufficiently effective in protecting personal information, and require external infrastructure like location registration centers and base stations for data protection.
Innovation Solution
A mobile terminal apparatus with storage, communication, and authentication means that allows users to securely transmit and erase sensitive data to a server upon unauthorized access attempts, using email or tone signal instructions, without relying on external processing, ensuring immediate data protection and availability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional authentication methods are used to protect data in mobile terminal apparatus, then data security is improved, but the system requires external infrastructure (location registration center and base station) to perform special processing
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile terminal apparatus performs data protection autonomously using its own authentication means and control means. When authentication fails, the terminal itself transmits data to a server and erases local data without requiring external processing from location registration centers or base stations, making the system self-sufficient for security operations
Solution Approach 2:
The data protection function is extracted from the network infrastructure (location registration center and base station) and relocated to the mobile terminal apparatus itself. The terminal now contains the complete security mechanism including authentication means, control means for transmitting data to server, and data erasure capability, removing the dependency on external special processing
2Reliability
If conventional data protection methods are used, then data security is improved, but the user must notify the location registration center and wait for processing, causing time delay
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile terminal apparatus is pre-configured with authentication means and control means for immediate data protection. When authentication fails, the terminal instantly transmits data to a server and erases local data without requiring user notification or external processing, enabling immediate automated response to security threats
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs automated immediate data protection without requiring user intervention or external processing. The control means automatically triggers data transmission and erasure upon authentication failure, eliminating the time delay associated with notifying location registration centers and waiting for external processing
3Reliability
If data is erased from the terminal when lost, then data security is improved, but data becomes unavailable for legitimate use
Solution Approach 1:
A server acts as an intermediary to store data that is transmitted from the mobile terminal apparatus when authentication fails. The server preserves the data for future legitimate access while the terminal erases local copies for security, separating the security function (terminal erasure) from the data preservation function (server storage)
Solution Approach 2:
The data storage function is segmented between the mobile terminal apparatus and a remote server. When security threats are detected, the terminal erases its local data copies while the server maintains secure backups, allowing data to be simultaneously protected in the terminal and preserved for legitimate access elsewhere
Data Source
AI summary
A mobile terminal apparatus checks if a user is a proper user based on the operation of the user and, if the result of authentication is negative, uploads predetermined data, which is part of data stored in a memory, to a predetermined server. After the transmission is completed, the mobile terminal apparatus erases the uploaded data from the memory. It is also possible to instruct the mobile terminal apparatus to upload and erase data from an external source using an electronic mail or a telephone tone signal sequence. This may protect data contained in mobile terminal apparatus that has been lost, from a person who improperly attempts to access the data.