The invention relates to mobile security and access authentication generally and, more particularly, to a method and/or apparatus for implementing a novel biometric approach to track the credentials of an anonymous user of a mobile device.
Conventional approaches for tracking credentials of mobile device users employ a subscriber identity module (SIM) number or international mobile station equipment identity (IMEI) number. However the conventional methods are inefficient in the case of loss or theft of mobile devices. Most of the time the mobile devices are switched off. In the case of theft, the SIM is changed immediately by the culprits. Even when the mobile devices are ON and the SIM number can be found using the IMEI number, it can still be difficult to locate the person having the mobile device if the cell size is large and/or the number of users within a cell is large.
A few alternative methods have been proposed using biometrics and tracking using the GPS data transmitted from the mobile device. However, the alternative methods also fail in the cases where the mobile device is (i) immediately switched OFF, (ii) used in locations where the cell size is large, or (iii) used in densely populated areas.
It would be desirable to have a method and/or apparatus for implementing a biometric approach to track credentials of an anonymous user of a mobile device.
The invention concerns a system including one or more mobile devices and a shared server. Each of the one or more mobile devices is associated with a unique identification tag and configured to send biometric information about anonymous users to a shared server space. The shared server provides the shared server space. The shared server is generally configured to store biometric information about a plurality of anonymous users associated with the unique identification tag of each of the one or more mobile devices. In response to a query about a lost or stolen mobile device, the shared server is enabled to track credentials of anonymous users associated with the unique identification tag of the lost or stolen mobile device.
Embodiments of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description and the appended claims and drawings in which:
Embodiments of the invention include providing a biometric approach to track credentials of an anonymous user of a mobile device that may (i) record biometric information about mobile device users in a shared server space, (ii) use the biometric information stored in the shared server space to track anonymous users, (iii) use the biometric information stored the shared server space to identify anonymous users, and/or (iv) use the biometric information stored in the shared server space to track movement of a mobile device within a group of people after loss or theft of the mobile device.
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Mobile device models are shipping with built-in cameras and/or fingerprint readers. The fingerprint readers can be used to restrict access to only authenticated users. In some embodiments, when an anonymous user tries to access the mobile device, after a number of trials (e.g., three), his/her recent fingerprint data is automatically sent over a network and stored in a shared server space maintained by the mobile service providers against the unique identification tag (e.g., the IMEI number, etc.) of the mobile device. In case of theft or loss, the recent anonymous users fingerprint database can be used in tracking the credentials of the anonymous users involved directly.
Referring to
In some embodiments, the process (or method) 200 comprises a step (or state) 202, a step (or state) 204, a step (or state) 206, a step (or state) 208, a step (or state) 210, a step (or state) 212, a step (or state) 214, a step (or state) 216. In the step 202, a fingerprint is input and features extracted. The process 200 then moves to the step 204. In the step 204, the process 200 performs feature matching using the features extracted in the step 202 and registered fingerprint features 206. When the feature matching is finished, the process 200 moves to the step 208. If there is a match between the features extracted in the step 202 and the registered fingerprint features 206, the process 200 moves to the step 210 and allows the access. If there is no match between the features extracted in the step 202 and the registered fingerprint features 206, the process 200 moves to the step 212, where the process 200 denies the access, then moves to the step 214. In the step 214, the process 200 determines whether access has been denied more than the predetermined number of times (e.g., three). If so, the fingerprint features extracted in the step 202 are sent to a shared server space for storage. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the process 200 can be applied equally well to other biometric measurements (e.g., eye iris patterns, facial features, etc.). In some embodiments, the number of times access is denied before sending the extracted feature data to the shared server space may be programmable (e.g., at activation, by the user, etc.).
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The invention may also be implemented by the preparation of ASICs (application specific integrated circuits), Platform ASICs, FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays), PLDs (programmable logic devices), CPLDs (complex programmable logic devices), sea-of-gates, RFICs (radio frequency integrated circuits), ASSPs (application specific standard products), one or more monolithic integrated circuits, one or more chips or die arranged as flip-chip modules and/or multi-chip modules or by interconnecting an appropriate network of conventional component circuits, as is described herein, modifications of which will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art(s).
The invention thus may also include a computer product which may be a storage medium or media and/or a transmission medium or media including instructions which may be used to program a machine to perform one or more processes or methods in accordance with the invention. Execution of instructions contained in the computer product by the machine, along with operations of surrounding circuitry, may transform input data into one or more files on the storage medium and/or one or more output signals representative of a physical object or substance, such as an audio and/or visual depiction. The storage medium may include, but is not limited to, any type of disk including floppy disk, hard drive, magnetic disk, optical disk, CD-ROM, DVD and magneto-optical disks and circuits such as ROMs (read-only memories), RAMs (random access memories), EPROMS (erasable programmable ROMs), EEPROMs (electrically erasable programmable ROMs), UVPROM (ultra-violet erasable programmable ROMs), Flash memory, magnetic cards, optical cards, and/or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions.
The elements of the invention may form part or all of one or more devices, units, components, systems, machines and/or apparatuses. The devices may include, but are not limited to, servers, workstations, storage array controllers, storage systems, personal computers, laptop computers, notebook computers, palm computers, personal digital assistants, portable electronic devices, battery powered devices, set-top boxes, encoders, decoders, transcoders, compressors, decompressors, pre-processors, post-processors, transmitters, receivers, transceivers, cipher circuits, cellular telephones, digital cameras, positioning and/or navigation systems, medical equipment, heads-up displays, wireless devices, audio recording, audio storage and/or audio playback devices, video recording, video storage and/or video playback devices, game platforms, peripherals and/or multi-chip modules. Those skilled in the relevant art(s) would understand that the elements of the invention may be implemented in other types of devices to meet the criteria of a particular application.
The terms “may” and “generally” when used herein in conjunction with “is(are)” and verbs are meant to communicate the intention that the description is exemplary and believed to be broad enough to encompass both the specific examples presented in the disclosure as well as alternative examples that could be derived based on the disclosure. The terms “may” and “generally” as used herein should not be construed to necessarily imply the desirability or possibility of omitting a corresponding element.
While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61769302 | Feb 2013 | US |