Symmetric Key-Wrapped Secure Pairing for Bluetooth Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing manual pairing process for wireless peripheral devices with information handling systems is insecure and cumbersome, as it requires user input and can be vulnerable to third-party control and man-in-the-middle attacks, lacking automatic and secure verification mechanisms.
Innovation Solution
An automatic peripheral device pairing management system that uses symmetric keys to securely pair wireless peripheral devices with information handling systems through a touchless query, verification, and pairing process, involving a symmetric key-wrapped secure pairing key data package and out-of-band temporary keys for secure Bluetooth pairing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual pairing process is used, then user control is maintained, but security is compromised and operation becomes cumbersome
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-provisioning symmetric keys in the peripheral device and storing corresponding key identifiers in the information handling system before the actual pairing occurs. This preliminary key establishment enables automatic verification during pairing, eliminating the need for manual user input while maintaining security through pre-configured cryptographic credentials.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces symmetric keys as an intermediary element that mediates the pairing process between the peripheral device and information handling system. Instead of direct manual interaction, the symmetric keys serve as a trusted intermediary that automatically verifies device identity and establishes secure connections, resolving the contradiction between user control and automated security.
2Ease of operation
If automatic pairing is implemented, then operation becomes convenient, but security verification is weakened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical manual pairing process (user input, button presses) with an automated cryptographic verification system. The symmetric key-based verification mechanism substitutes human-operated mechanical actions with automated cryptographic operations, achieving both convenience through automation and security through cryptographic verification of device identity.
3Reliability
If symmetric key verification is used, then security is enhanced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex cryptographic verification logic from the user interaction layer and places it in the background system operations. The symmetric key verification mechanism is implemented as a separate, automated subsystem that operates independently from user-facing functions, reducing the perceived complexity for users while maintaining robust security verification in the background.
Data Source
AI summary
An information handling system includes a hardware processor and a memory device to execute code instructions of an automatic peripheral device pairing management system pairing agent to receive, via a wireless interface adapter, a symmetric key to receive a symmetric key-wrapped secure pairing key data package from a wireless peripheral device as part of a pairing query. The hardware processor to, with the symmetric key, unwrap the symmetric key-wrapped secure pairing key data package to obtain pairing key data used to automatically Bluetooth® (BT) pair the backend coupled information handling system to the wireless peripheral device when the pairing key data matches peripheral device pairing key data at the wireless peripheral device including a received or generated out-of-band temporary key at the information handling system with a copy generated at the wireless peripheral device.