Revocable Device Identifier Generation for Privacy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Device identifiers are permanent and irrevocable, leading to exposure and privacy concerns, especially when devices are re-furbished, reconditioned, or re-manufactured, as service providers can associate users with these identifiers, compromising privacy controls.
Innovation Solution
A method for generating a revocable identifier by combining a cryptographic representation of the unique device identifier with a counter value, ensuring the new identifier has not been previously generated, allowing the device to appear new to service providers while enabling compliance with privacy initiatives.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a unique identifier is permanently assigned to a device, then the device can be reliably identified by service providers, but the identifier cannot be revoked or changed, leading to privacy exposure when devices are re-furbished or re-manufactured
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by transforming the static, permanent device identifier into a dynamic, revocable identifier that can be reset and changed. The system generates new identifiers periodically or upon reset requests, allowing the identifier to adapt over time rather than remaining fixed throughout the device lifecycle.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of identifier permanence by introducing a time-based or event-based reset mechanism. The identifier's lifecycle is parameterized with expiration or reset conditions, allowing it to transition from permanent to temporary, thereby resolving the contradiction between reliable identification and privacy protection.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a device identifier is reset for re-furbished or re-manufactured devices, then privacy is protected and devices appear fresh to service providers, but there is a risk that the same identifier may have been previously generated, causing conflicts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by checking whether a generated identifier has been previously used before finalizing it. The system performs a pre-check in the identifier generation process to ensure uniqueness, preventing conflicts before they occur rather than resolving them after generation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary verification mechanism that mediates between the need for identifier reuse (for privacy) and the need for uniqueness (for reliability). This intermediary check ensures that randomly generated identifiers do not conflict with existing ones, bridging the contradiction between privacy protection and identifier reliability.
3Ease of operation
If service providers track device identifiers to provide services, then service delivery is enabled, but user privacy controls are compromised through associations between users and device identifiers
Solution Approach 1:
The dynamic identifier system allows service providers to continue providing services through identifier-based tracking while periodically resetting identifiers to break long-term associations between users and devices. Services remain operational through the identifier, but privacy is protected through periodic identifier changes.
Data Source
AI summary
A method includes receiving a request for a device to replace a unique identifier associated with the device with a revocable identifier, generating a revocable identifier for the device, wherein the revocable identifier comprises at least a cryptographic representation of the unique identifier associated with the device and a counter value, checking the generated revocable identifier to determine that the generated revocable identifier has not previously been generated for the device and associating the generated revocable identifier with the device.