Smart Home Device Sharing via Offline Key Exchange
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing smart home technologies cannot facilitate offline sharing of home devices, as public key exchange requires all devices involved to be online, limiting control and management when devices are offline.
Innovation Solution
A method for device sharing that involves encrypting public keys and message leaving keys using specific message leaving keys, allowing for offline communication and control between devices, even when one or more devices are offline, through a server-mediated process that ensures user information security.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If public key exchange is performed through online communication between devices, then security verification can be completed, but offline sharing of home devices cannot be achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-exchanging public keys between the first device and the second device before offline operation is needed. The first device obtains the second device's public key in advance through online communication, and stores it for later use during offline sharing operations. This allows the system to maintain security verification capabilities even when devices are offline.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses the first device as an intermediary to enable communication between the second device and the home device during offline operations. The first device holds both the second device's public key and the home device's public key, allowing it to mediate security verification and message encryption/decryption operations when the second device and home device are not directly connected online.
2Reliability
If devices remain online for public key exchange, then sharing can be completed, but user information security may be compromised during prolonged online exposure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs public key exchange in advance before offline operations begin, eliminating the need for devices to remain online during sharing operations. The public keys are obtained and stored beforehand, allowing secure offline communication without prolonged online exposure that would increase security risks.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the public key exchange process from the ongoing online communication requirement. By separating the public key acquisition phase from the actual sharing operations, the system allows sharing to proceed offline without requiring continuous online connection, thus reducing information security risks associated with prolonged online exposure.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple devices are involved in public key exchange simultaneously, then comprehensive control is achieved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the key management process by having each device maintain only its own public key and the public keys of devices it needs to communicate with, rather than requiring all devices to exchange and manage all other devices' keys. The first device acts as a key repository for the second device, simplifying the overall key management architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The first device serves as an intermediary that holds and manages the second device's public key, reducing the complexity for the second device. Instead of the second device needing to directly manage public key exchange with multiple devices, it relies on the first device as a trusted intermediary that already possesses the necessary cryptographic materials.
Data Source
AI summary
A first device obtains a public key of a first home device and a first message leaving key that is used to encrypt an offline message between the first device and the first home device; obtains a public key of a second device and a second message leaving key that is used to encrypt an offline message between the first device and the second device; obtains a third message leaving key used to encrypt an offline message between the second device and the first home device; encrypts the public key of the second device and the third message leaving key by using the first message leaving key, to obtain first encrypted information, and requests a server to push the first encrypted information to the first home device; and encrypts the public key of the first home device and the third message leaving key by using the second message leaving key.