Multi-Level Authentication in Edge Computing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wireless user equipment (UE) systems face challenges in securely authenticating users across multiple levels, including user-level, device-level, and application-level authentication, especially in multi-access edge computing (MEC) environments.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a multi-level authentication system that utilizes UE-implemented security mechanisms such as PINs, biometrics, and public/private key pairs, in conjunction with MEC devices to perform computations and provide secure content streaming.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multi-level authentication is implemented, then security is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The authentication system is segmented into three distinct levels: user-level authentication (biometrics/PIN), device-level authentication (device identifiers and cryptographic keys), and application-level authentication (application-specific credentials). Each level operates independently with its own authentication mechanisms, allowing the system to provide comprehensive security while maintaining manageable complexity through modular design.
2Reliability
If multiple authentication mechanisms are used, then security is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The authentication system dynamically adapts its requirements based on the context. Different authentication mechanisms are applied at different levels: biometrics for user-level, cryptographic keys for device-level, and application-specific credentials for application-level. The system flexibly manages these varying requirements through automated credential verification and token generation, reducing the perceived complexity for users while maintaining strong security.
Solution Approach 2:
The MEC server acts as an intermediary that coordinates the multi-level authentication process. It receives authentication requests, manages the verification of credentials across different levels, and generates appropriate authentication tokens. This intermediary simplifies the user experience by handling the complex authentication logic in the background while providing a unified interface for authentication.
3Reliability
If authentication computations are performed locally, then security is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts computationally intensive authentication operations from the user equipment and relocates them to the MEC server. The UE performs only lightweight operations such as presenting biometric data or displaying authentication tokens, while the MEC server handles complex cryptographic verification, credential validation, and token generation. This extraction significantly reduces energy consumption at the UE while maintaining security through server-side computation.
Data Source
AI summary
A system described herein may provide for multiple levels of authentication, such that a User Equipment (“UE”) may receive secure content from an application server, which may include or may be implemented by a multi-access edge computing (“MEC”) system. As described herein, a user associated with a UE may register the UE and/or a particular application with an authentication system and/or the application server. The registration of the UE and/or the application may establish a “trust” relationship between the authentication system and the UE, such that a user-level authentication performed by the UE, such as biometric authentication, may be accepted by the authentication system and/or the application system as an authentication of the user.