Method for validating messages
AssigneeBlackBerry Limited and Certicom Corp.
InventorsMichael Eoin Buckley, Robert John Lambert, Nevine Maurice Nassif Ebeid
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
There is provided a method for secure communications. The method includes a computing device receiving a notification comprising a message, a counter value, a signature signed by a signer and based on the message and the counter value, and an indication of the signer. The device obtains a current counter value based on an identity of the signer, checks the signature and compares the counter value with the current counter value; and, if the counter comparison and the signature checking is successful, accepting the message.
Claims20
A method of accepting, at a communication device, a notification broadcast by a source server, the method comprising:
- receiving, at the communication device, the notification, the notification containing a message, a counter value, a signature, and an indication of a signer;
- processing, by the communication device, the indication to obtain a signer identity corresponding to the signer;
- determining by the communication device, based on the signer identity, that there is no current counter value associated with the signer stored on the communication device;
- in response to determining that there is no current counter value associated with the signer stored on the communication device, initializing, by the communication device, a new stored current counter value for the signer;
- and
- using the new stored current counter value in determining whether to accept subsequently received notifications.
A computing device, comprising:
- a memory;
- and
- a processor coupled to the memory, the processor being configured to:
- receive a notification, the notification containing a message, a counter value, a signature, and an indication of a signer;
- process the indication to obtain a signer identity corresponding to the signer;
- determine, based on the signer identity, that there is no current counter value associated with the signer stored on the communication device;
- in response to determining that there is no current counter value associated with the signer stored on the communication device, initialize a new stored current counter value for the signer;
- and
- use the new stored current counter value in determining whether to accept subsequently received notifications.
A non-transitory machine readable medium comprising instructions that when executed on a processor of a computing device enable the computing device to:
- receive the notification, the notification containing a message, a counter value, a signature, and an indication of a signer;
- process the indication to obtain a signer identity corresponding to the signer;
- determine, based on the signer identity, that there is no current counter value associated with the signer stored on the communication device;
- in response to determining that there is no current counter value associated with the signer stored on the communication device, initialize a new stored current counter value for the signer;
- and
- use the new stored current counter value in determining whether to accept subsequently received notifications.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.