US 5,850,445 AGranted

Authentication key management system and method

AssigneeSynacom Technology, Inc.

InventorsYick Man Chan, Randall A. Snyder, Ming J. Lee

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Abstract

A system and method for automatically securely generating and programming an MS and SAMS with the sensitive authentication information while significantly reducing the risk of misappropriation of the sensitive authentication information. The risk of misappropriation is reduced since the sensitive authentication information (or other sensitive information) need not be pre-programmed into the MS, or if it is pre-programmed, the sensitive authentication information can be re-programmed, thereby reducing the potential access to the information by unauthorized people before the MS is sold. In addition, the risk of misappropriation is reduced since the generation and programming system and method is performed automatically using a secured communication technique.

Claims1

Dependent claims

A method for securely programming a mobile system with sensitive authentication information, comprising the steps of:

connecting the mobile system to a validator unit;
initiating a connection between said validation unit and a secure authentication-key management system (SAMS) via a wide area data network;
securely generating a encryption key in the validator unit and the SAMS;
generating the sensitive authentication information signal in the SAMS;
encrypting the sensitive authentication information signal using the encryption key to generate encrypted sensitive authentication information signal;
transmitting said encrypted sensitive authentication information signal from the SAMS to the validation unit via the wide area data network;
unencrypting the encrypted sensitive authentication information signal in the validation unit to generate said sensitive authentication information signal;
and
automatically programming said mobile system with said sensitive authentication information signal.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 08/792,513Filed 31 Jan 1997
Granted: 15 Dec 1998
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification5 codes

H04W 12/06
Security arrangements; Authentication; Protecting privacy or anonymity: authentication
H04W 12/35
Security of mobile devices; Security of mobile applications: protecting application or service provisioning, e.g. securing SIM application…
H04W 12/04
Security arrangements; Authentication; Protecting privacy or anonymity: key management, e.g. using generic bootstrapping architecture [GBA]
H04W 12/71
Identity-dependent: hardware identity