# US 10,455,418 B2 · Securely providing a password using an internet of things (IOT) system > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,455,418 B2 - Document ID: US10455418B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/498,913 - Filed: 2017-04-27 - Published: 2018-11-01 - Granted: 2019-10-22 - Earliest claimed: 2017-04-27 - Assignees: Afero, Inc. - Applicants: Afero, Inc. - Inventors: Scott Bartlett; Scott Zimmerman; Joe Britt - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10455418B2 ## CPC - H04W 4/38: for collecting sensor information - H04W 4/70: Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC] - H04W 12/03: Protecting confidentiality, e.g. by encryption - H04W 12/041: Key generation or derivation - H04W 12/0431: Key distribution or pre-distribution; Key agreement - H04W 12/0471: Key exchange - H04W 12/065: Continuous authentication - H04W 12/068: {using credential vaults, e.g. password manager applications or one time password [OTP] applications} - H04W 12/069: using certificates or pre-shared keys - H04W 4/80: Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication - H04W 84/12: WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks] - H04W 88/04: adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user - H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72) ## Abstract An apparatus and method are described for securely providing a User ID and/or password to an IoT device. For example, one embodiment of a method comprises: establishing a first communication channel between a user's mobile device and an Internet of Things (IoT) service; establishing a second communication channel between the IoT service and an IoT device, the IoT device having been previously registered with the IoT service; establishing a third communication channel between the IoT device and a computer on which the user is connecting to the online service; receiving at the IoT service a request from the mobile device to transmit a User ID and/or password for a particular online service to the IoT device; responsively encrypting the User ID and/or password to generate an encrypted User ID and/or password and transmitting the encrypted User ID and/or password to the IoT device; decrypting the encrypted User ID and/or password at the IoT device; and providing the User ID and/or password by the IoT device to the computer over the third communication channel, the computer causing the User ID and/or password to be provided to the online service to authenticate the user. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method comprising: establishing a first communication channel between a user's mobile device and an Internet of Things (IoT) service; establishing a second communication channel between the IoT service and an IoT device, the IoT device having been previously registered with the IoT service; establishing a third communication channel between the IoT device and a computer on which the user is connecting to an online service; receiving at the IoT service a request from the mobile device to transmit a User ID and/or password for a particular online service to the IoT device; responsively encrypting the User ID and/or password to generate an encrypted User ID and/or password and transmitting the encrypted User ID and/or password to the IoT device; decrypting the encrypted User ID and/or password at the IoT device; and providing the User ID and/or password by the IoT device to the computer over the third communication channel, the computer causing the User ID and/or password to be provided to the online service to authenticate the user. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method as in claim 1 wherein the IoT device comprises a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface to be coupled to a USB port on the computer to form the third communication channel between the IoT device and the computer. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The method as in claim 2 wherein the mobile device comprises an app to connect to a password management service on the IoT service, therein the app transmits the request to the password management service to send the User ID and/or password to the IoT device. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The method as in claim 3 wherein the user identifies the online service via a graphical user interface of the app. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The method as in claim 4 wherein the password management service stores a plurality of different User ID/password combinations for a variety of different online services. ### Claim 6 (depends on 2) The method as in claim 2 wherein the IoT device is configured to identify itself as a keyboard to the computer, the IoT device to transmit the User ID and/or password over the USB interface as alphanumeric characters representative of input from a keyboard. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The method as in claim 1 wherein the IoT device establishes the second communication channel through an IoT hub, the user's mobile device, the computer, or via an independent Internet connection formed by the IoT device. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The method as in claim 1 wherein the computer executes a browser to connect to a web page of the online service, wherein a plugin or app executed with the browser causes the User ID and/or password to be entered in one or more fields of the web page. ### Claim 9 An apparatus comprising: an Internet of Things (IoT) service to establish a first communication channel with a user's mobile device; an IoT device usable for providing a User ID and password to a computer, the IoT device to establish a second communication channel with the IoT service, the IoT device having been previously registered with the IoT service; the IoT device to establish a third communication channel with the computer; the IoT service receiving a request from the mobile device to transmit a User ID and/or password for a particular online service to the IoT device; the IoT service responsively encrypting the User ID and/or password to generate an encrypted User ID and/or password and transmitting the encrypted User ID and/or password to the IoT device; the IoT device decrypting the encrypted User ID and/or password; and the IoT device to provide the User ID and/or password to the computer over the third communication channel, the computer causing the User ID and/or password to be provided to the online service to authenticate the user. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The apparatus as in claim 9 wherein the IoT device comprises a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface to be coupled to a USB port on the computer to form the third communication channel between the IoT device and the computer. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The apparatus as in claim 10 wherein the mobile device comprises an app to connect to a password management service on the IoT service, therein the app transmits the request to the password management service to send the User ID and/or password to the IoT device. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The apparatus as in claim 11 wherein the user identifies the online service via a graphical user interface of the app. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The apparatus as in claim 12 wherein the password management service stores a plurality of different User ID/password combinations for a variety of different online services. ### Claim 14 (depends on 10) The apparatus as in claim 10 wherein the IoT device is configured to identify itself as a keyboard to the computer, the IoT device to transmit the User ID and/or password over the USB interface as alphanumeric characters representative of input from a keyboard. ### Claim 15 (depends on 9) The apparatus as in claim 9 wherein the IoT device establishes the second communication channel through an IoT hub, the user's mobile device, the computer, or via an independent Internet connection formed by the IoT device. ### Claim 16 (depends on 9) The apparatus as in claim 9 wherein the computer executes a browser to connect to a web page of the online service, wherein a plugin or app executed with the browser causes the User ID and/or password to be entered in one or more fields of the web page. ### Claim 17 A non-transitory machine-readable medium having program code stored thereon which, when executed by one or more machines, cause the machines to perform the operations of: establishing a first communication channel between a user's mobile device and an Internet of Things (IoT) service; establishing a second communication channel between the IoT service and an IoT device, the IoT device having been previously registered with the IoT service; establishing a third communication channel between the IoT device and a computer on which the user is connecting to an online service; receiving at the IoT service a request from the mobile device to transmit a User ID and/or password for a particular online service to the IoT device; responsively encrypting the User ID and/or password to generate an encrypted User ID and/or password and transmitting the encrypted User ID and/or password to the IoT device; decrypting the encrypted User ID and/or password at the IoT device; and providing the User ID and/or password by the IoT device to the computer over the third communication channel, the computer causing the User ID and/or password to be provided to the online service to authenticate the user. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The non-transitory machine-readable medium as in claim 17 wherein the IoT device comprises a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface to be coupled to a USB port on the computer to form the third communication channel between the IoT device and the computer. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The non-transitory machine-readable medium as in claim 18 wherein the mobile device comprises an app to connect to a password management service on the IoT service, therein the app transmits the request to the password management service to send the User ID and/or password to the IoT device. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The non-transitory machine-readable medium as in claim 19 wherein the user identifies the online service via a graphical user interface of the app. ### Claim 21 (depends on 20) The non-transitory machine-readable medium as in claim 20 wherein the password management service stores a plurality of different User ID/password combinations for a variety of different online services. ### Claim 22 (depends on 18) The non-transitory machine-readable medium as in claim 18 wherein the IoT device is configured to identify itself as a keyboard to the computer, the IoT device to transmit the User ID and/or password over the USB interface as alphanumeric characters representative of input from a keyboard. ### Claim 23 (depends on 17) The non-transitory machine-readable medium as in claim 17 wherein the IoT device establishes the second communication channel through an IoT hub, the user's mobile device, the computer, or via an independent Internet connection formed by the IoT device. ### Claim 24 (depends on 17) The non-transitory machine-readable medium as in claim 17 wherein the computer executes a browser to connect to a web page of the online service, wherein a plugin or app executed with the browser causes the User ID and/or password to be entered in one or more fields of the web page.