US 7,904,718 B2 · Personal digital key differentiation for secure transactions

Abstract

A system and method provide efficient, secure, and highly reliable authentication for transaction processing and/or access control applications. A Personal Digital Key is a portable device carried by an individual that stores one or more profiles (e.g., a biometric profile) in a tamper-proof memory. When multiple PDKs are present at the point of the transaction, the system automatically determines which PDK to associate with the authentication and transaction processes. The differentiation decision is based on one or more differentiation metrics including distance information, location information, and detection duration information associated with each of the PDKs within range. Profile samples comprising subsets of the profile information are received to provide a quick correlation between a PDK an input sample (e.g., a subset of a biometric input). After determining which PDK should be associated with the transaction, a full authentication process is executed.

Claims32

Dependent claims

A method for differentiating between a first personal digital key (PDK) and a second PDK within a proximity zone of an external device, comprising:

using a computer to execute method steps, the steps comprising:
obtaining a first differentiation metric associated with the first PDK after it enters the proximity zone, wherein the first differentiation metric is based on a distance metric that measures a distance greater than zero from the PDK to the external device or a detection duration metric that measures a time duration greater than zero once the PDK enters the proximity zone;
obtaining a second differentiation metric associated with the second PDK after it enters the proximity zone while the first PDK is present in the proximity zone, wherein the second differentiation metric is based on the distance metric or the detection duration metric;
comparing the first differentiation metric to the second differentiation metric;
determining that the first PDK is associated with a transaction based on the comparison of the first differentiation metric and the second differentiation metric;
responsive to determining that the first PDK is associated with the transaction, executing an authentication test for the first PDK;
and
authorizing the transaction responsive to the first PDK satisfying the authentication test.

5 more elements

A computer readable storage medium for differentiating between a plurality of personal digital keys (PDKs) within a proximity zone of an external device, structured to store instructions executable by a processing system, the instructions when executed cause the processing system to:

obtain a first differentiation metric associated with the first PDK after it enters the proximity zone, wherein the first differentiation metric is based on a distance metric that measures a distance greater than zero from the PDK to the external device or a detection duration metric that measures a time duration greater than zero once the PDK enters the proximity zone;
obtain a second differentiation metric associated with the second PDK after it enters the proximity zone while the first PDK is present in the proximity zone, wherein the second differentiation metric is based on the distance metric or the detection duration metric;
compare the first differentiation metric to the second differentiation metric;
determine that the first PDK is associated with a transaction based on the comparison of the first differentiation metric and the second differentiation metric;
responsive to the first PDK being associated with the transaction, execute an authentication test for the first PDK;
and
authorize the transaction responsive to the first PDK satisfying the authentication test.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Personal digital key differentiation for secure transactions

Life of this patent

Personal digital key differentiation for secure transactions

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims32