Secure Token Authentication for Man-in-the-Middle Attack Mitigation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Identity theft through 'man in the middle' attacks compromises the security of systems accessing resources protected by authentication, as malicious software intercepts and steals sensitive personal data during the authentication process.
Innovation Solution
A method that stores personal authentication data in a limited validity structure, dissociating the input and processing operations in time or space, using distinct devices, and verifies the validity of these data before authorizing access to resources, preventing malicious use of stolen data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If personal authentication data is transmitted through a processing device during authentication, then the function execution can be authorized, but the data becomes vulnerable to interception by malicious software
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the authentication process into two distinct phases: (1) inputting personal data on a trusted input device, and (2) processing the data on a separate processing device. By storing the personal data only on the trusted input device and transmitting only a processed result or token to the processing device, the patent eliminates the vulnerability of transmitting sensitive personal authentication data through potentially compromised channels.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism (such as a secure token, hash value, or encrypted representation) that mediates between the personal data stored on the input device and the authentication verification on the processing device. This intermediary allows the processing device to verify authentication without ever receiving or storing the actual personal authentication data, thus preventing interception risks.
2Ease of operation
If personal authentication data is stored indefinitely for future access, then convenient re-access is enabled, but stolen data can be used maliciously over extended periods
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic validity periods for authentication data by associating each authentication token or credential with a time-based expiration mechanism. The authentication data remains valid only for a predetermined period or until a specific condition is met, after which it automatically becomes invalid. This dynamic approach balances convenience (data remains accessible during the validity period) with security (stolen data cannot be used indefinitely).
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of data validity from static (indefinite storage) to dynamic (time-limited or condition-based validity). By incorporating validity period parameters into the authentication data structure, the system enables re-access convenience within a controlled timeframe while automatically preventing long-term malicious exploitation of stolen credentials.
3Device complexity
If the same device handles both data input and processing, then the system is simpler, but it cannot prevent malicious software on the processing device from stealing data
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the authentication system into two functionally separate devices: an input device responsible for secure data entry and local storage, and a processing device responsible for verification and command execution. This segmentation creates a trust boundary where the input device (assumed to be more secure, such as a user's personal device) holds the sensitive data, while the processing device (potentially less secure, such as a public terminal) never obtains the actual personal authentication data, thus preventing theft while maintaining reasonable system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system for controlling the execution of a function protected by authentication of a user and which is provided for example for the access to a resource. The method includes inputting, by the user, of personal data using an input device, authenticating the user with the input personal data for authorizing or not authorizing the execution of the function; in a secure card connected to the input device, storing limited validity authentication data dependant on the input data; when the card is connected to a processing device by which the user generates a message whose processing implements the function, using the stored data, taking into account the limited validity, to authorize or not authorize the execution of that function.