Proximity Credential Sharing via Location Beacon
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users often resort to using short or reused passwords for convenience, which compromises security across multiple accounts, and existing authentication methods lack efficient credential management between devices.
Innovation Solution
A system where a second computing device sends a request to nearby devices for credential sharing, with the user's mobile device presenting a prompt to select stored credentials for authentication, using a location beacon to determine proximity and reduce unnecessary prompts, allowing secure credential transfer between devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If users store passwords in a browser or device, then convenience of authentication is improved, but security risk increases due to potential compromise of stored credentials
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a remote device as an intermediary for credential authentication. Instead of directly storing or transmitting credentials, the system uses a remote device to relay authentication information through secure channels, eliminating the need for local credential storage while maintaining convenience.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical password storage and manual entry with an automated electronic system. The remote device automatically transmits authentication credentials through encrypted channels, substituting the manual mechanical process of password management with an electronic automated system that enhances both convenience and security.
2Speed
If a device broadcasts credential requests to all nearby devices, then authentication speed is improved, but user inconvenience increases due to unnecessary prompts on distant devices
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making the credential request response behavior device-specific based on location. Each device evaluates its own proximity to the requesting device and independently decides whether to respond, rather than all devices uniformly responding. This localized decision-making eliminates unnecessary prompts on distant devices while maintaining fast authentication for nearby devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of device responsiveness based on spatial parameters. Devices use location information to determine whether to respond to credential requests, dynamically adjusting their response behavior according to their physical distance from the requesting device. This parameter-based filtering ensures that only locally relevant devices are prompted, reducing user inconvenience.
3Reliability
If users manually enter passwords for each authentication, then security is improved by avoiding stored credentials, but time consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses copying by transmitting a copy of the credential information from the remote device to the requesting device through secure channels. Instead of storing or manually re-entering credentials, the system creates and transmits an authenticated copy of the credential data, eliminating manual entry while maintaining security through encrypted transmission and verification.
Data Source
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AI summary
Techniques are disclosed relating to user authentication. In some embodiments, a first computing device receives, from a second computing device, a request for a user credential to be input into an authentication prompt associated with the second device. The first computing device determines a proximity associated with the second computing device based on a received wireless location beacon and, based on the request and the determined proximity, presents a selection prompt asking a user of the first computing device to select a user credential stored in the first computing device. The first computing device then provides the selected user credential to the second computing device to input into the authentication prompt. In some embodiments, the first computing device receives the wireless location beacon from a remote controller of the second computing device and determines a proximity based on a signal strength associated with the received location beacon.