Systems and methods for utilizing authentication requests for on-demand provisioning of access-point accounts

A system for utilizing authentication requests for on-demand provisioning of access-point accounts, the system comprising:

• an authentication software engine, stored in memory, that:
• receives, from an unknown device of an unknown user at a wireless access point before the unknown user has an account with the wireless access point that allows the unknown user to access a secured network via the wireless access point, an authentication request from the unknown user to authenticate and connect to the secured network via the wireless access point, wherein:
• the authentication request is the same type of authentication request used to authenticate and connect known users to the secured network via the wireless access point and comprises authentication information that was generated at the unknown device of the unknown user from at least one unknown credential provided by the unknown user;
• and
• the unknown credential is of a type required by the wireless access point to authenticate known users;
• and
• treats the authentication request from the unknown user as an account-provisioning request by transmitting, in response to the authentication request from the unknown user, a credential request to an administrator of the secured network for the unknown credential of the unknown user and permission to provision the account for the unknown user;
• a receiving software engine, stored in memory, that receives, from an administering device of the administrator after the credential request is transmitted to the administrator, a provisioning request from the administrator to provision the account for the unknown user using the unknown credential, wherein the provisioning request comprises the unknown credential;
• a provisioning software engine, stored in memory, that provisions, in response to the provisioning request, the account for the unknown user using the unknown credential received as part of the provisioning request;
• an access-enabling software engine, stored in memory, that enables the unknown user to access the secured network using the account for the unknown user;
• and
• at least one processor that executes the authentication software engine, the receiving software engine, the provisioning software engine, and the access-enabling software engine.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising one or more computer-executable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a computing device, cause the computing device to:

• receive, from an unknown device of an unknown user at a wireless access point before the unknown user has an account with the wireless access point that allows the unknown user to access a secured network via the wireless access point, an authentication request from the unknown user to authenticate and connect to the secured network via the wireless access point, wherein:
• the authentication request is the same type of authentication request used to authenticate and connect known users to the secured network via the wireless access point and comprises authentication information that was generated at the unknown device of the unknown user from at least one unknown credential provided by the unknown user;
• and
• the unknown credential is of a type required by the wireless access point to authenticate known users;
• and
• treat the authentication request from the unknown user as an account-provisioning request by:
• transmitting, in response to the authentication request from the unknown user, a credential request to an administrator of the secured network for the unknown credential of the unknown user and permission to provision the account for the unknown user;
• receiving, from an administering device of the administrator after the credential request is transmitted to the administrator, a provisioning request from the administrator to provision the account for the unknown user using the unknown credential, wherein the provisioning request comprises the unknown credential;
• provisioning, in response to receiving the provisioning request, the account for the unknown user using the unknown credential received as part of the provisioning request;
• and
• enabling the unknown user to access the secured network using the account for the unknown user.