Abstract:
Provided in the present invention are a wireless network service provision method and system, which relate to the technical field of network security. The method includes the steps of: automatically authenticating an object entering into a first area; when the object authenticated in the first area enters into a second area, authorizing the object to acquire a network service. By dividing an area securely used in a wireless local area network (the first area), the method and system in the embodiments of the present invention enable the object device, after automatic authentication in the area, to be directly authorized to acquire the network service in a larger area (the second area), therefore taking into account both the security and the convenience of usage of the wireless local area network.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a U.S. National Stage filing under 35 U.S.C. §371 of international patent cooperation treaty (PCT) application No. PCT/CN2013/088927, filed Dec. 10, 2013, and entitled “WIRELESS NETWORK SERVICE PROVISION METHOD AND SYSTEM,” which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201310389042.4, filed with the Chinese Patent Office on Aug. 30, 2013 and entitled “WIRELESS NETWORK SERVICE PROVIDING METHOD AND SYSTEM”, which applications are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their respective entireties. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    The present application relates to the technical field of network security, and in particular, to provision of a wireless network service. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    The Wireless Local Area Network (Wireless Local Area Network, WLAN) is widely used at home, in small-scale office and business places. In the WLAN, a terminal accesses the WLAN through a routing device, and uses the wireless network service. However, research shows that a wireless routing device is easily attacked, and cannot protect security of a user network and digital properties. 
         [0004]    A typical process of a wireless terminal accessing the WLAN is: Firstly, on each possible WLAN broadcast channel, intercept beacon (Beacon) information sent by a WIFI access point ((Access Point, AP), including a WIFI wireless router), and if a proper AP is found, start an access process. The access process includes: authentication (Authentication) and association (Association). The authentication is performed so as to ensure that only an authorized user can access the network, and in an authentication process, usually a user access password needs to be input. The association is performed so as to determine a capability supported by a terminal, and agree on a parameter used when two parties communicate with each other. After the access process is completed, a process of establishing a connection between the terminal and the AP is completed. Due to openness of an air interface, theoretically, all information transmitted over the air can be thieved, and then decrypted in various manners to obtain a network access password, an information transmission encryption password, and the like. A typical security problem in the access process of the WLAN is that the access password in the authentication process may be thieved illegally. 
         [0005]    An existing location-based authentication technology can partially solve the problem that key information is thieved illegally. By using this technology, when a mobile terminal sends a wireless access request, a spatial location of the mobile terminal is determined, and if it is located within a preset wireless network range, the mobile terminal is allowed to access the network. Especially, the location-based authentication technology can protect, to some extent, important information transmitted over the air in the authentication stage. However, in the prior art, an area where authentication is allowed to be completed generally is an area where the network service can be obtained, which brings the following contradictions: 
         [0006]    from the perspective of network coverage (or use convenience of the network), a user hopes that it is convenient as much as possible when accessing the WLAN, that is, the user hopes that an area where the location-based authentication is allowed is large enough; and 
         [0007]    from the perspective of security, it is required that the authentication area is small enough, so as to ensure that the area is a secure area that can be controlled completely. 
         [0008]    Therefore, the objective of improving the security of the WLAN contradicts the objective of improving the use convenience of the WLAN. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0009]    Various embodiments described herein provide a wireless network service, which can consider both security and use convenience of a WLAN. 
         [0010]    In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a wireless network service providing method, including performing automatic authentication on an object entering a first area; and when the object passing the authentication in the first area enters a second area, authorizing the object to obtain a network service. 
         [0011]    In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a wireless network service providing system, where the system includes: an authentication module, configured to perform automatic authentication on an object entering a first area, and authorize the object passing the authentication in the first area to obtain a network service in a second area. 
         [0012]    In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, where the computer program product enables a wireless network service providing system to execute the method according to the first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect. 
         [0013]    In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer readable medium, where the computer readable medium includes a computer operation instruction, when a processor executes the computer operation instruction, the computer operation instruction is used to enable the processor to execute the method according to the first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect. 
         [0014]    In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a wireless network service providing system, where the system includes a processor, a memory, and a communication interface, where the memory stores a computer operation instruction, and the processor and the memory are connected with the communication interface through a communication bus; and when the system runs, the processor executes the computer operation instruction stored in the memory, so that the system executes the method according to the first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect. 
         [0015]    Through the method and the system of embodiments of the present application, an area (a first area) where a WLAN is used securely is divided, so that after an object device completes automatic authentication in this area, the object can be directly authorized in a larger area (a second area) to obtain the network service. In this case, both security and convenience of use of the WLAN are considered. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0016]    The present disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below for illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present disclosure, and wherein: 
           [0017]      FIG. 1  is a flowchart of a wireless network service providing method according to an embodiment of the present application; 
           [0018]      FIG. 2  is a structural block diagram of a wireless network service providing system according to an embodiment of the present application; 
           [0019]      FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram showing an application scenario of a wireless network service providing method and system according to an embodiment of the present application; and 
           [0020]      FIG. 4  is another structural block diagram of a wireless network service providing system according to an embodiment of the present application. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0021]    The following further describes specific implementation manners of the present application in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. The following embodiments are examples, rather than limiting the scope of the present application. 
         [0022]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , an embodiment of the present application provides a wireless network service providing method, and the method includes. 
         [0023]    S 101 : Perform automatic authentication on an object entering a first area. 
         [0024]    The object may be any terminal device, such as a mobile phone, a portable computer, a tablet, or a wearable device, that can wirelessly access a WLAN device (such as a WLAN AP), and the authentication is preferably password-free authentication, so that after entering the first area, the object automatically accesses the WLAN covering the first area, and a wireless transmission encryption protocol and encryption password are negotiated with the object, where an negotiated encryption algorithm includes but is not limited to: wired equivalent privacy (Wired Equivalent privacy, WEP), Wi-Fi protected access (WiFi Protected Access, WPA), and WPA2. 
         [0025]    S 102 : When the object passing the authentication in the first area enters a second area, authorize the object to obtain a network service. 
         [0026]    In the embodiment of the present application, the second area is a specific network coverage area excluding the first area. The first area may be very small, and does not have a high requirement for positioning accuracy, as long as the first area is determined to be within a controllable secure range, such as a specific area at home/in shopping malls or other business places, and a security checkpoint in the airport, where the specific area may be a living room, a service counter, a checkout counter, a security system, and the like. Correspondingly, the second area may be other areas than the living room in a family, other areas than the service counter/checkout counter/security system in the shopping mall or other business places, or other areas than the security checkpoint in the airport. The first area and the second area may be pre-divided physical spaces, or an actual coverage area of a specific WLAN, and the first area and the second area may be covered by the same or different WLANs. It should be noted that the first area has a smaller area than the second area, and the physical spaces may be areas where a specific device is located or physical spaces where a specific function/action (such as, a payment action, security inspection, and withdrawing money) occurs. 
         [0027]    Specifically, according to an access process of the WLAN, the method according to the embodiment of the present application further includes: 
         [0028]    S 001 : Receive an access request. 
         [0029]    An object entering the coverage area of the WLAN sends an access request to an access device of the WLAN, where the access request may be a wireless signal transmitted in a specific mode, or a request message obtained through demodulation or decryption on the basis of the wireless signal. In addition, the access request may be attached with a network service request, that is, correspond to a type of a required service, such as a telephone service. 
         [0030]    After the access request is received, the method according to the embodiment of the present application further includes: 
         [0031]    S 002 : Determine a location of an object corresponding to the access request. 
         [0032]    Any method known in the field can be adopted to determine the location of the object, for example: determine the location of the object according to positioning information fed back by the object, where the positioning information includes but is not limited to: global positioning system (Global Positioning System, GPS) positioning information, assisted GPS (Assisted GPS, A-GPS) positioning information, BeiDou navigation satellite system BDS positioning information, GALILEO positioning system positioning information, and Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) positioning information; determine the location of the object according to motion status information of the object (for example, a motion track of the object is determined according to information, such as a direction and acceleration, obtained from the object, and the location of the object is further analyzed according to the motion track of the object); determine the location of the object according to a transmission distance (an over-the-air transmission delay of the signal is determined by calculating a phase change of the signal in the transmission process, thereby determining the transmission distance) of a signal (including an audio signal) sent by the object; determine the location of the object according to a magnetic field of the location of the object or intensity of the wireless signal. It may also be determined, in a short distance communication manner, such as, Bluetooth, radio frequency identification (Radio Frequency Identification, RFID) and near field communication (Near Field Communication, NFC), that the object is near a device with which the object is in short-distance communication, thereby approximately determining the location of the object. 
         [0033]    It should be noted that, according to a specific division of the first area, a manner of determining that an object is located in the first area may be: when a main radio frequency signal of an object is input through a specific signal interface, determining that the object is located in the first area. Specifically, the first area is an area where a specific device is located or a physical space where a specific function/action (such as, a payment action, security inspection, and withdrawing money) occurs, and the signal interface may include but is not limited to an interface connected to any one of the following terminals: a point of sale (Point Of Sale, POS), a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant, a personal computer, a tablet, a handheld dedicated reader, a set top box, an electronic cash register, an automatic teller machine, a public phone booth, and a security system. 
         [0034]    After the determining whether an object is located in the first area or the second area in the foregoing manner, the method further includes: if the object is located in the first area, initiating a password-free authentication process for the object, completing automatic authentication, and negotiating a wireless transmission encryption protocol and encryption password with the object. It should be noted that, after automatic authentication, a corresponding object and authentication-related information may be recorded. 
         [0035]    For an object entering the second area, the method according to the embodiment of the present application further includes: 
         [0036]    S 003 : Determine whether an object entering the second area passes authentication in the first area. 
         [0037]    For an object that enters the second area but does not pass the authentication in the first area, or an object neither in the first area nor in the second area, a request from the object and for accessing a corresponding WLAN may be refused, or authentication may be performed on the object in a conventional authentication manner, such as an authentication manner through a password. 
         [0038]    For an object authorized to obtain a network service, the method according to the embodiment of the present application may further include: 
         [0039]    S 103 : Set an authority to obtain a network service for an object. 
         [0040]    S 104 : Provide a corresponding network service according to the authority. 
         [0041]    An object accessing a corresponding WLAN will send a network service request to an access device. In the method according to the embodiment of the present application, an authority of an object to obtain a network service is set, so that at least a part of the network service requests is accepted to provide a network service for a corresponding object, for example, some objects may access a local area network and a wide area network, and some objects can only access the wide area network, thereby ensuring security of the local area network. The network service request includes a request for obtaining an IP address through a dynamic host configuration protocol (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, DHCP), a Web authentication request, an HTTP service request, and the like. 
         [0042]    Correspondingly, the method according to the embodiment of the present application further includes canceling an authorization for an object. Because in the method according to the embodiment of the present application, the location of the object may be determined in real time or periodically, an authorization for an object can be canceled when the object leaves the second area. Or, the authorization for the object is canceled after a preset time period after the object is authorized. 
         [0043]    In conclusion, through the method according to the embodiment of the present application, an area (a first area) where a WLAN is used securely is divided, so that after an object device completes automatic authentication in this area, the object can be directly authorized in a larger area (a second area) to obtain the network service. In this case, both security and convenience of use of the WLAN are considered. 
         [0044]    A person skilled in the art may understand that, in the foregoing method of specific implementation manners of the present application, sequence numbers of the steps or operations do not imply an execution sequence, and the execution sequence of the steps or operations should be determined according to their functions and internal logic, rather than limiting an implementation process of the implementation manners of the present application. 
         [0045]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , an embodiment of the present application provides a wireless network service providing system  200 , and the system  200  includes: an authentication module  201 , configured to perform automatic authentication on an object entering a first area, and authorize the object passing the authentication in the first area to obtain a network service in a second area. 
         [0046]    The object may be any terminal device, such as a mobile phone, a portable computer, a tablet, or a wearable device, that can wirelessly access a WLAN device (such as a WLAN AP), and the authentication is preferably password-free authentication, so that after entering the first area, the object automatically accesses the WLAN covering the first area, and a wireless transmission encryption protocol and encryption password are negotiated with the object, where an negotiated encryption algorithm includes but is not limited to: wired equivalent privacy (Wired Equivalent privacy, WEP), Wi-Fi protected access (WiFi Protected Access, WPA), and WPA2. 
         [0047]    In the embodiment of the present application, the second area is a specific network coverage area excluding the first area. The first area may be very small, and does not have a high requirement for positioning accuracy, as long as the first area is determined to be within a controllable secure range, such as a specific area at home/in shopping malls or other business places, and a security checkpoint in the airport, where the specific area may be a living room, a service counter, a checkout counter, a security system, and the like. Correspondingly, the second area may be other areas than the living room in a family, other areas than the service counter/checkout counter/security system in the shopping mall or other business places, or other areas than the security checkpoint in the airport. The first area and the second area may be pre-divided physical spaces, or an actual coverage area of a specific WLAN, and the first area and the second area may be covered by the same or different WLANs. It should be noted that the physical spaces may be areas where a specific device is located or physical spaces where a specific function/action (such as, a payment action, security inspection, and withdrawing money) occurs. Correspondingly, when the first area and the second area are covered by a same WLAN, the authentication module  201  may be an access device of the covering wireless network, such as, a wireless router. 
         [0048]    The authentication module  201  may further include a first authentication unit and a second authentication unit. The first authentication unit is configured to perform automatic authentication on an object entering the first area; and the second authentication unit is configured to authorize the object passing the authentication in the first area to obtain the network service in the second area. When the first area and the second area are covered by different WLANs, the first authentication unit and the second authentication unit may be respectively located on access devices of different WLANs. Of course, no matter whether the first authentication unit and the second authentication unit are covered by the same WLAN or different WLANs, the access device of the covering WLAN may also be other devices than the authentication module  201 . 
         [0049]    Specifically, according to an access process of the WLAN, the system  200  according to the embodiment of the present application further includes: an access control module  202 , configured to receive an access request; and a positioning module  203 , configured to: after the access control module  202  receives the access request, determine a location of an object corresponding to the access request. 
         [0050]    An object entering the coverage area of the WLAN sends an access request to an access device of the WLAN, where the access request may be a wireless signal transmitted in a specific mode, or a request message obtained through demodulation or decryption on the basis of the wireless signal. In addition, the access request may be attached with a network service request, that is, correspond to a type of a required service, such as a telephone service. 
         [0051]    Any method known in the field can be adopted for the positioning module  203  to determine the location of the object, for example: determine the location of the object according to positioning information fed back by the object, where the positioning information includes but is not limited to: GPS positioning information, A-GPS positioning information, BDS positioning information, GALILEO positioning information, and GLONASS positioning information; determine the location of the object according to motion status information of the object (for example, a motion track of the object is determined according to information, such as a direction and acceleration, obtained from the object, and the location of the object is further analyzed according to the motion track of the object); determine the location of the object according to a transmission distance (an over-the-air transmission delay of the signal is determined by calculating a phase change of the signal in the transmission process, thereby determining the transmission distance) of a signal (including an audio signal) sent by the object; determine the location of the object according to a magnetic field of the location of the object or intensity of a wireless signal. it may also be determined, in a short distance communication manner, such as, Bluetooth, RFID, and NFC, that the object is near a device with which the object is in short-distance communication, thereby approximately determining the location of the object. 
         [0052]    It should be noted that, according to a specific division of the first area, a manner of determining that an object is located in the first area may be: when a main radio frequency signal of an object is input through a specific signal interface, determining that the object is located in the first area. Specifically, the first area is an area where a specific device is located or a physical space where a specific function/action (such as, a payment action, security inspection, and withdrawing money) occurs, and the signal interface may include but is not limited to an interface connected to any one of the following terminals: a POS, a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant, a personal computer, a tablet, a handheld dedicated reader, a set top box, an electronic cash register, an automatic teller machine, a public phone booth, and a security system. The signal interface may be a part of the system  200  according to the embodiment of the present application. 
         [0053]    After the determining whether an object is located in the first area or the second area: if the object is located in the first area, the authentication module  201  initiates a password-free authentication process for the object, completes automatic authentication, and negotiates a wireless transmission encryption protocol and encryption password with the object. It should be noted that, after automatic authentication, a corresponding object and authentication-related information may be recorded. 
         [0054]    The system  200  according to the embodiment of the present application further includes a determining module  204 , configured to determine whether an object entering the second area passes the authentication performed by the authentication module  201  in the first area. 
         [0055]    For an object that enters the second area but does not pass the authentication in the first area, or an object neither in the first area nor in the second area, the system  200  according to the embodiment of the present application may refuse a request from the object and for accessing a corresponding WLAN, or authenticate the object in a conventional authentication manner, such as, an authentication manner through a password. 
         [0056]    In addition, in the system  200  according to the embodiment of the present application, the authentication module  201  is further configured to set an authority to obtain a network service for an object that passes the authentication, and provide a corresponding network service according to the authority. When the first authentication module  201  includes the first authentication unit and the second authentication unit, and the first authentication unit and the second authentication unit are located in a different device, and the first authentication unit and/or the second authentication unit sets an authority to obtain a service provided by the WLAN for the object that passes the authentication. 
         [0057]    An object accessing a corresponding WLAN will send a network service request to an access device. The system  200  according to the embodiment of the present application accepts, by setting an authority to obtain a network service for an object, at least a part of the network service requests to provide a network service for a corresponding object, for example, some objects may access a local area network and a wide area network, while some objects can only access the wide area network, thereby ensuring security of the local area network. The network service request includes a request for obtaining an IP address through a DHCP, a Web authentication request, an HTTP service request, and the like. 
         [0058]    Correspondingly, the authentication module  201  is further configured to cancel an authorization for an object. Because, the system  200  according to the embodiment of the present application may determine the location of the object in real time or periodically, the authentication module  201  may cancel the authorization for the object when the object leaves the second area; or the authentication module  201  may cancel the authorization for the object after a preset time period after the object is authorized. 
         [0059]    In conclusion, through the system according to the embodiment of the present application, an area (a first area) where a WLAN is used securely is divided, so that after an object device completes automatic authentication in this area, the object can be directly authorized in a larger area (a second area) to obtain the network service. In this case, both security and convenience of use of the WLAN are considered. 
         [0060]    The following further describes the method and the system according to the embodiments of the present application with a specific example. 
         [0061]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , in a first example, a first area is a living room  301  (a small circle area) of a family, and a WLAN access device of the family, that is, a wireless router  302 , is set in the living room  301 ; a second area  303  is a big circle area (and may also be limited to a physical space limited by the house of the family) covered by the wireless router  302  and excluding the living room  301 . When the wireless router  302  detects that an object enters the living room  301 , the wireless router  302  automatically implements authentication on the object, so that the object can use a service provided by a corresponding WLAN in the second area  303 . An authorization for the object is released after the object leaves the second area  303 . In this way, even for a guest paying the first visit, a complex process of inputting a password is not needed. At the same time, continuity of data transmission can be ensured within a larger area. 
         [0062]    Of course, the wireless router  302  may record, in a trusty list and by maintaining the trusty list, an ID of an object that passes the authentication in the living room  301 , and in this way, after the object re-enters the second area  303 , it is authorized automatically to access the WLAN and use a service provided by the WLAN. 
         [0063]    In a second example, the first area is a checkout counter of a café, and the second area is a physical space covered by the restaurant. After an object has a successful consumption in the POS of the checkout counter of the café, it is determined that the object has obtained an authorization in the first area. Then, the object is authorized to obtain the network service in other areas of the physical space covered by the restaurant. 
         [0064]    As shown in  FIG. 4 , an embodiment of the present application further provides a wireless network service providing system  400 , and the embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit the implementation of the wireless network service providing system  400 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , the apparatus may include: a processor (processor)  410 , a communication interface (Communications interface)  420 , a memory (memory)  430 , and a communication bus  440 . 
         [0065]    The processor  410 , the communication interface  420 , and the memory  430  implement communication between each other through the communication bus  440 . 
         [0066]    The communication interface  420  is configured to communicate with a network element, such as, a client. 
         [0067]    The processor  410  is configured to execute a program  432 , and specifically execute the method embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         [0068]    Specifically, the program  432  may include a program code, and the program code includes a computer operation instruction. 
         [0069]    The processor  410  may be a central processing unit CPU, or an application specific integrated circuit ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or is configured as one or more integrated circuits for implementing the embodiments of the present application. 
         [0070]    The memory  430  is configured to store the program  432 . The memory  430  may include a high-speed Random Access Memory (RAM) memory, and may also include a non-volatile memory (non-volatile memory), such as, at least one disk memory. The program  432  may specifically enable the system  400  to execute: performing automatic authentication on an object entering a first area; and when the object passing the authentication in the first area enters a second area, authorizing the object to obtain a network service. 
         [0071]    For specific implementations of the units in the program  432 , reference may be made to corresponding steps, operations or units in the embodiments of the present application, and the details are not described herein again. 
         [0072]    A person of ordinary skill in the art may be aware that, units, operations and steps in the examples described in the embodiments disclosed in this specification may be implemented by electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether the functions are performed by hardware or software depends on particular applications and design constraint conditions of the technical solutions. A person skilled in the art may use different methods to implement the described functions for each particular application, but it should not be considered that the implementation goes beyond the scope of the present application. 
         [0073]    When the functions are implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, the functions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on such an understanding, the technical solutions of the present application essentially, or the part contributing to the prior art, or part of the technical solutions may be implemented in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium, and includes several instructions for instructing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, a network device, and the like) to perform all or a part of the steps or operations of the method described in the embodiment of the present application. The foregoing storage medium includes: any medium that can store program codes, such as a USB flash disk, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM, Read-Only Memory), a random access memory (RAM, Random Access Memory), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk. 
         [0074]    The foregoing implementation manners are merely used for describing the various embodiments, rather than limiting any scope of the present application. A person of ordinary skill in the art may make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application, and therefore, all equivalent technical solutions shall belong to the scope of the present invention, and the protection scope of the present application shall be represented by the claims.