Personal Identifier Authentication via PI-IP Mapping

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Solution Overview

Problem

Users, especially seasonal and deskless workers, often struggle to remember their credentials, leading to difficulties in accessing accounts, which can result in customer dissatisfaction, productivity loss, and revenue loss due to the traditional username and password authentication method.

Innovation Solution

A method and system that uses personal identifiers like phone numbers, managed by a Personal Identifier Identity Provider (PI-IP) system, which allows users to authenticate without traditional credentials by mapping personal identifiers to tenants and generating security tokens for account access.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If traditional username and password authentication is used, then security is maintained, but user accessibility and ease of operation deteriorate due to credential management difficulties

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveuser authentication accessibilityVSAvoidauthentication security
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a personal identifier (such as phone number) as an intermediary between the user and the authentication system. This intermediary simplifies the user's interaction by replacing complex credentials with a familiar, easy-to-remember identifier, while the system maintains security through backend verification processes and mapping mechanisms that link the personal identifier to the user's account and tenant information.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system creates a mapping copy that associates the personal identifier with the user's existing account credentials and tenant information. This mapping allows the authentication system to verify the user's identity through the personal identifier without requiring the user to directly manage or remember traditional credentials, thus improving ease of operation while maintaining security through the underlying credential verification.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

2Adaptability or versatility

If separate accounts are created for each tenant, then tenant-specific authentication is achieved, but device complexity and credential management burden increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemulti-tenant authentication capabilityVSAvoidcredential management complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements a universal personal identifier that can be used across multiple tenants. The system maintains a mapping structure that allows a single personal identifier to be associated with multiple tenants and their respective user accounts. This enables users to access multiple tenant systems using the same personal identifier, eliminating the need to manage separate credentials for each tenant while maintaining tenant-specific authentication requirements.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

3Reliability

If verification codes are sent via messaging services, then authentication verification is improved, but loss of time increases due to dependency on external services

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveverification accuracyVSAvoidauthentication time
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by pre-establishing the mapping between personal identifiers and user accounts before authentication is needed. The mapping structure is prepared in advance, allowing the system to quickly resolve the user's identity and tenant association when verification is required, reducing the time needed during the actual authentication process while maintaining verification accuracy through the pre-configured mapping relationships.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP3613188B1Personal identifier sign-in for organizational users
Publication Date: 2021.12.01 MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC
  • EP3613188B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3613188B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3613188B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A method and system performed by a computing system for signing in using personal identifiers input via a sign-in portal that supports multiple tenants is provided. The system receives a sign-in request for a user that includes a personal identifier. The personal identifier uniquely identifies a person but does not include an identification of a tenant. The system performs a verification based on the personal identifier to authenticate the user. The system identifies, from a mapping, a tenant to which the personal identifier is mapped. The mapping maps personal identifiers of users to tenants. The system retrieves, from a user store for the tenant, user information relating to the user. The system then creates a security token based on the user information. If verification of the user was successful, the system sends the security token to the sign-in portal as evidence that the user has been authenticated.