Visual Code Authentication System for Secure Account Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional password-based authentication methods are inadequate for secure account access in the modern internet era, as they are cumbersome and prone to security breaches.
Innovation Solution
A communication system that replaces passwords with a visual code, allowing users to pair their devices with websites using a visual code that includes information for secure operations, which can be scanned and decoded for authentication and transaction signing, utilizing Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) for identity validation and geo-location-based processing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional password-based authentication is used, then account access is provided, but security is compromised and user burden increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical/password-based authentication system with a visual code system. Users scan visual codes displayed on the website with their mobile device cameras, and the system automatically processes authentication through cryptographic verification. This substitution eliminates the need for users to manually create, remember, and type complex passwords, thereby improving both security (through cryptographic methods) and ease of operation (through automatic scanning and processing).
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces visual codes as an intermediary element between the user and the authentication system. The visual code contains encoded authentication information that mediates the interaction between the user's mobile device and the website's authentication server. This intermediary enables secure authentication without requiring direct password transmission, enhancing security while simplifying the user experience through visual scanning.
2Reliability
If complex passwords are required for security, then account security improves, but ease of use deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the manual password entry mechanism with automated visual code scanning. The mobile device's camera and processing capabilities substitute for human memory and manual typing, automatically capturing and decoding the visual code to initiate authentication. This eliminates the burden of creating and remembering complex passwords while maintaining strong security through cryptographic verification of the visual code.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses visual codes as a copyable representation of authentication credentials. Instead of requiring users to remember and type passwords, the system generates visual codes that encode authentication information, which users simply scan with their devices. This copying mechanism transfers the authentication burden from human cognitive effort to automated optical recognition, improving ease of use while preserving security through the encoded information.
3Ease of operation
If visual code authentication is implemented, then security is enhanced and ease of use improves, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent leverages the multi-functionality of mobile devices, which already possess cameras, processors, and network connectivity. The visual code authentication system reuses these existing components for their intended purposes while adding authentication functionality. The camera captures the visual code, the processor decodes and verifies it cryptographically, and the network transmits authentication data. This universal use of existing device capabilities avoids adding significant physical complexity while achieving enhanced security and ease of use.
Solution Approach 2:
The visual code serves as a compact intermediary that encapsulates complex authentication information in a visually simple form. The code contains encoded cryptographic data that can be generated and verified by the system but appears as a simple visual pattern to the user. This intermediary structure allows the system to maintain complex security protocols internally while presenting a simple scanning interface to users, thereby managing system complexity without compromising security or usability.
Data Source
AI summary
A method, system and program product comprises establishing a communication with a computing system using a first device for communicating with the computing system over a first communication channel. The computing system is in communication with a second device configured for communicating with the computing system over a second communication channel separate from the first communication channel. The first device is paired with the computer system in which the first device and the computer system are mutually authenticated. A code presented by the second device is captured using the first device. The code is communicated to the computing system over the first communication channel in which the computer system uses the code in authorizing the second device to perform a function. The computer system communicates an authorization to the second device using the second communication channel.