Abstract:
In a network authentication method, a content-provider server redirects a user terminal to an identity verification server for acquiring therefrom an encrypted web address signed with an asymmetrical private key and downloaded from a downloading unit. The user terminal transmits hardware scan data associated therewith to the identity verification server upon determining, based on the encrypted web address and an asymmetrical public key from the downloading unit, that the identity verification server is currently valid to perform identity verification. The identity verification server verifies the identity of the user terminal based on relationship between the hardware scan data and pre-stored reference hardware scan data.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates to network identity authentication, and more particularly to a network authentication method for secure verification of identity of a user. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Currently, a variety of web services, such as cloud services, have become increasingly popular. In order to secure the web services, user identity verification is absolutely necessary. 
     However, due to increasing numbers of web users and web crimes, and continuous progress of criminal techniques, for example, an Internet content provider (ICP) needs to provide to each user an identity verification device, e.g., a USB device loaded with a public key infrastructure (PKI) certificate, an integrated circuit (IC) electronic card or a dynamic token. Thus, the cost of customer service for personalization, distribution and troubleshooting is considerable. Further, it is quite inconvenient that the user needs to remember the user ID and the password for each of different ICPs and to have different identity verification devices for the different ICPs. Moreover, for the different ICPs, duplication of investment in user identity authentication may occur. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a network authentication method for secure verification of the identity of a user that can overcome the aforesaid drawbacks of the prior art. 
     According to the present invention, there is provided a network authentication method to be implemented using a user terminal, a downloading unit, a content-provider server and a plurality of identity verification servers for secure verification of the identity of a user of the user terminal. The network authentication method of this invention comprises the following steps of: 
     a) the user terminal downloading a scan program and an asymmetrical public key from the downloading unit; 
     b) each of the identity verification server downloading from the downloading unit a respective set of encrypted information that is signed with an asymmetrical private key and that includes an encrypted web address of the identity verification server, and storing reference hardware scan data that is associated with the user terminal and that corresponds uniquely to a user identifier of the user; 
     c) in response to a user login request from the user terminal for accessing the content-provider server through a first communication link, the content-provider server transmitting to one of the identity verification servers a verification notification that the identity of the user needs to be verified, and redirecting the user terminal for connecting with said one of the identity verification servers through a second communication link; 
     d) said one of the identity verification servers transmitting to the user terminal the respective set of encrypted information downloaded in step b) through the second communication link; 
     e) the user terminal determining, based on the respective set of encrypted information transmitted in step d) and the asymmetrical public key downloaded in step a), whether said one of the identity verification servers is currently valid to perform identity verification; 
     f) upon determining that said one of the identity verification servers is currently valid to perform identity verification, the user terminal executing the scan program downloaded in step a) to obtain hardware scan data associated with the user terminal, and transmitting the hardware scan data thus obtained to said one of the identity verification servers through the second communication link; and 
     g) said one of the identity verification servers verifying the identity of the user based on relationship between the hardware scan data received from the user terminal in step f) and the reference hardware scan data stored in step b), and notifying the content-provider server of a verification result. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic block diagram illustrating a network authentication system that is configured for implementing a network authentication method according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a flowchart illustrating a registration procedure of the network authentication method of the preferred embodiment; 
         FIG. 3  is a flow chart illustrating a login procedure of the network authentication method of the preferred embodiment; 
         FIG. 4  is a flowchart of a procedure illustrating how one of identity verification servers is determined to perform identity verification in the preferred embodiment; and 
         FIG. 5  is a flowchart of a procedure illustrating how a user terminal determines whether said one of the identity verification servers is currently valid to perform identity verification in the preferred embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a network authentication system is used to implement a network authentication method for secure verification of the identity of a user  5  according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. The network authentication system includes a downloading unit  1 , a user terminal  2  owned by the user  5 , a content-provider server  3  (e.g., an internet content provider or ICP), and a plurality of identity verification servers  4 . For exemplary purposes, the user terminal  2  is owned by the user  5 , and may be an electronic device capable of Internet browsing or data communication, such as a notebook computer, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant, etc. The user terminal  2  includes a plurality of hardware components (not shown), such as a central processing unit, a basic input/output system (BIOS) unit, a storage device, a network interface, a motherboard, etc., each of which has a unique identification code. The content-provider server  3  may be, but is not limited to, a web bank server, an online game server, or any other server that provides a network service requiring identity verification, such as a portal website. The identity verification servers  4  are ideally authorized by the downloading unit  1  to perform third-party identity verification, and may be, but are not limited to, social networking websites, such as Google, Yahoo, Facebook, etc. The downloading unit  1  includes a database unit (not shown) for storing at least one scan program, at least one pair of asymmetrical public and private keys, and a plurality of sets of encrypted information corresponding respectively to the identity verification servers  4 . Each set of encrypted information is signed with the asymmetrical private key, and includes an encrypted web address of a respective one of the identity verification servers  4 . In particular, each set of encrypted information has been processed with the asymmetrical private key to create a digital signature, and the asymmetrical public key is used to verify the digital signature. The downloading unit  1 , the user terminal  2 , the content-provider server  3  and the identity verification servers  4  are connected to a communication network  100 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the downloading unit  1  cooperates with the user terminal  2  and the content-provider server  3  to implement a registration procedure of the network authentication method of the preferred embodiment according to the present invention. The registration procedure of the network authentication method of the preferred embodiment includes the following steps. It is noted that, prior to the registration procedure, each of the identity verification servers  4  is connected to the downloading unit  1  through the communication network  100  for downloading a respective set of encrypted information from the downloading unit  1 . 
     In step S 21 , the user  5  inputs a user identification (ID) serving as a user identifier, and a password using a user input interface (not shown) of the user terminal  2  at a website provided by the content-provider server  3 . The user ID and the password are then transmitted from the user terminal  2  to the content-provider server  3  via the communication network  100 . 
     In step S 22 , in response to receipt of the user ID and the password, the content-provider server  3  is operable to check whether the user ID and the password are correct. If the result is affirmative, the flow proceeds to step S 23 . Otherwise, the content-provider server  3  is operable to send an error message to the user terminal  2  for displaying on a display device (not shown) of the user terminal  2  (step S 20 ). 
     In step S 23 , the content-provider server  3  is operable to redirect the user terminal  2  for connection with the downloading unit  1 . 
     In step S 24 , the downloading unit  1  is operable to enable the user terminal  2  to download the scan program and the asymmetrical public key therefrom. 
     In step S 25 , after the user terminal  2  stores the scan program and the asymmetrical public key, the user terminal  2  is operable to execute the scan program for scanning the hardware components of the user terminal  2  to obtain the identification codes of the hardware components, and for establishing reference hardware scan data according to the identification codes of the hardware components thus obtained. The reference hardware scan data is associated with the user terminal  2 , and corresponds uniquely to the user identifier of the user  5 . 
     In step S 26 , the user terminal  2  is operable to transmit the reference hardware scan data to each of the identity verification servers  4  via the communication network  100 , so that each of the identity verification servers  4  stores the reference hardware scan data received from the user terminal  2 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 3 , the network authentication system implements a login procedure of the network authentication method of the preferred embodiment. The login procedure of the network authentication method of the preferred embodiment includes the following steps. 
     In step S 31 , the user  5  inputs the user ID and the password using the user input interface of the user terminal  2  at the service website provided by the content-provider server  3 , and the user terminal  2  is operable to transmit the user ID and the password to the content-provider server  3  through a first communication link over the communication network  100 . 
     In step S 32 , in response to receipt of the user ID and the password from the user terminal  2 , the content-provider server  3  is operable to check whether the user ID and the password are correct. If the result is affirmative, the flow proceeds to step S 33 . Otherwise, the content-provider server  3  is operable to send an error message to the user terminal  2  for displaying on the display device of the user terminal  2  (step S 30 ). 
     In step S 33 , the content-provider server  3  is operable to transmit to one of the identity verification servers  4  a verification notification that the identity of the user  5  needs to be verified. The content-provider server  3  is further operable to redirect the user terminal  2  for connecting with said one of the identity verification servers  4  through a second communication link that is separate from the first communication link. It is noted that, in one embodiment, said one of the identity verification servers  4  is determined by the content-provider server  3 . In another embodiment, said one of the identity verification servers  4  may be determined by the user  5 . Referring further to  FIG. 4 , a procedure is shown to illustrate how one of the identity verification servers  4  for performing identity verification is determined by the user  5 . In sub-step S 41 , the content-provider server  3  is operable to send to the user terminal  2  a selection request that includes a list of option items, which represent respectively the identity verification servers  4 . In response to the selection request from the content-provider server  3 , the user terminal  2  is operable to send to the content-provider server  3  a selection reply that indicates a desired one of the option items representing a corresponding one of the identity verification servers  4  (sub-step S 42 ). Therefore, the content-provider server  3  is operable to determine the corresponding one of the identity verification servers  4  for performing identity verification in accordance with the selection reply (sub-step S 43 ). 
     In step S 34 , in response to receipt of the verification notification from the content-provider server  3 , said one of the identity verification servers  4  is operable to transmit the respective set of encrypted information stored therein to the user terminal  2  through the second communication link. 
     In step S 35 , upon receipt of the respective set of encrypted information from said one of the identity verification servers  4 , the user terminal  2  is operable to determine, based on the respective set of encrypted information and the asymmetrical public key stored in step S 24  of the registration procedure, whether said one of the identity verification servers  4  is currently valid to perform identity verification. 
     In one embodiment, the user terminal  2  is operable to decrypt the encrypted web address of the respective set of encrypted information using the asymmetrical public key. Upon successful decryption of the encrypted web address, the user terminal  2  determines that said one of the identity verification servers  4  is currently valid to perform identity verification. Then, the flow proceeds to step S 36 . On the other hand, upon failed decryption of the encrypted web address of the encrypted information, it is determined by the user terminal  2  that said one of the identity verification servers  4  is currently invalid to perform identity verification. Then, the user terminal  2  is operable to send to the content-provider server  3  an invalid notification that said one of the identity verification servers  4  is invalid to perform identity verification (step S 40 ). 
     In another embodiment, each set of encrypted information, which is stored in the database unit of the downloading unit  1  and corresponds to one of the identity verification servers  4 , further includes an encrypted authorization period associated with the identity verification server  4 . Referring further to  FIG. 5 , a procedure is shown to illustrate how the user terminal  2  determines, in step S 35 , whether said one of the identity verification servers  4  is currently valid to perform identity verification. In sub-step S 51 , the user terminal  2  is operable to determine whether the encrypted web address and the encrypted authorization period (i.e., the set of encrypted information) of said one of the identity verification servers  4  are successfully decrypted using the asymmetrical public key. If the result is negative, the flow goes to step S 40  of  FIG. 3 . On the other hand, upon successful decryption of the encrypted web address and the encrypted authorization period associated with said one of the identity verification servers  4 , the user terminal  2  is operable to determine whether the current date is within the decrypted authorization period associated with said one of the identity verification servers  4  (sub-step S 52 ). If the result is affirmative, the user terminal  2  determines that said one of the identity verification servers  4  is currently valid to perform identity verification (step S 53 ). Then, the flow goes to step  36  of  FIG. 3 . On the other hand, when the user terminal  2  determines that the current date is not within the decrypted authorization period associated with said one of the identity verification servers  4 , the user terminal  2  is operable to send to the downloading unit  1  an expiration notification that the authorization period associated with said one of the identity verification servers  4  has expired (step S 54 ). Then, the flow goes to step S 40  of  FIG. 3 . 
     In step S 36 , the user terminal  2  is operable to execute the scan program for scanning the hardware components of the user terminal  2  to obtain the identification codes of the hardware components that serve as hardware scan data associated with the user terminal  2 , and to transmit the hardware scan data thus obtained to said one of the identity verification servers  4 . 
     In step S 37 , upon receipt of the hardware scan data from the user terminal  2 , said one of the identity verification servers  4  is operable to compare the hardware scan data with the reference hardware scan data stored therein during the registration procedure of the user  5  for verifying the identity of the user  5  associated with the user terminal  2 , and to send a verification result to the content-provider server  3 . When the hardware scan data obtained in step S 36  does not conform with the reference hardware scan data stored in said one of the identity verification servers  4 , the verification result indicates that the verification of the identity of the user  5  has failed. On the other hand, when the hardware scan data obtained in step S 36  conforms with the reference hardware scan data stored in said one of the identity verification servers  4 , the verification result indicates that the verification of the identity of the user  5  is successful. 
     In step S 38 , the content-provider server  3  is operable to determine, based on the verification result from said one of the identity verification servers  4 , whether the identity of the user  5  is authenticated. When the verification result indicates that the verification of the identity of the user  5  has failed, it is determined by the content-provider server  3  that the identity of the user  5  is not authenticated. Thus, the flow goes to step S 30 . In this case, the user terminal  2  is denied access to the service website provided by the content-provider server  3 . On the other hand, when the verification result indicates that the verification of the identity of the user  5  is successful, it is determined by the content-provider server  3  that the identity of the user  5  is authenticated. Then, the content-provider server  3  is operable to redirect the user terminal  2  for connecting with the service website provided by the content-provider server  3  (step S 39 ). Therefore, the user terminal  2  is authorized to access the service website. 
     In sum, the network authentication method according to this invention has the following advantages: 
     1. Since the user terminal  2  is dynamically directed to one of the identify verification servers  4  for further identity verification (i.e., the user terminal  2  may be directed to a different identify verification server  4  every time), and since the respective set of encrypted information stored in each identity verification server  4  and the asymmetrical public key stored in the user terminal  2  may be randomly updated in response to notification from the downloading unit  1  as required, multi-authentication for user identity can be achieved using the downloading unit  1  that provides the respective set of encrypted information to each identity verification server  4 , and the asymmetrical public key and the scan program to the user terminal  2 . 
     2. Every time the user terminal  2  implements step S 36  of the login procedure of the network authentication method, the user terminal  2  may execute the scan program for scanning the hardware components of the user terminal  2  to obtain the hardware scan data according to the identification codes of the hardware components, and the hardware scan data thus obtained for subsequent use in authenticating the identity of the user by said one of the identity verification servers  4  is dynamic data. Thus, a network content provider does not need to purchase additional equipment for identity authentication, and does not need to provide the user with a dynamic token, an IC electronic card, or a USB device with a PKI certificate. Also, the user  5  does not need to have additional authentication devices for different service websites. 
     3. Since the user terminal  2  is connected to the content-provider server  3  through the first communication link and is connected to said one of the identity verification servers  4  through the second communication link, it is relatively difficult to attack the first and second communication links simultaneously for stealing and/or tampering the data sent by the user terminal  2 . 
     While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.