Vehicle Function Authorization via Secondary User Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle information handling devices lack robust security measures to protect personal information from unauthorized access, especially when multiple users operate the vehicle.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that require an authorization request to be sent to a secondary device designated as an authorization authority before initiating a function, ensuring that only authorized users can access or perform functions with personal information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If authorization request is sent to secondary device before initiating function, then security is improved, but operation time is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs authorization verification in advance by sending authorization requests to secondary devices before the actual function is initiated. This preliminary security check ensures that only authorized users can access vehicle functions, while the authorization result is cached for subsequent operations to minimize time loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The authorization verification process is extracted as a separate preliminary step from the main function execution. By isolating the security check into a distinct authorization request and response mechanism, the system can validate user credentials without blocking the main operational flow once authorization is granted.
2Reliability
If multiple authorization checks are performed, then security is improved, but device complexity is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces secondary devices as intermediary authorization authorities that handle the complex verification logic externally. The vehicle's information handling device acts as a client that sends authorization requests to these secondary devices, which then perform the actual security validation and return authorization results, thereby reducing the complexity burden on the vehicle system.
Solution Approach 2:
The authorization system is designed to work with multiple types of secondary devices (smartphones, wearables, tablets) that can all serve as authorization authorities. This universal approach allows the same authorization mechanism to handle different user devices and authentication methods without requiring separate specialized systems for each device type.
Data Source
AI summary
One embodiment provides a method, including: receiving, at an information handling device positioned within a vehicle, a command from a vehicle occupant to initiate a function; transmitting, responsive to the receiving and prior to initiation of the function, an authorization request to a secondary device designated as an authorization authority; determining, using a processor, whether confirmation of the authorization request is received from the secondary device; and initiating, responsive to determining that confirmation of the authorization request is received from the secondary device, the function. Other aspects are described and claimed.