Patent Abstract:
To facilitate an offeror making sensible offers to offerees based on locations visited by offerees, position data from a positioning device, such as a GPS or other positioning device, is digitally signed or encrypted, and provided to an offeror. The offeror may then validate the digitally signed or encrypted position data before extending an offer based thereon. To facilitate digital signing or encryption of position data, an encryption key may be embedded within a positioning device by a manufacture of the positioning device. Various trust models may be employed between the manufacturer, offeror and offerees.

Full Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The invention generally relates to authenticating positioning data, such as Global Positioning System (GPS) data, and more particularly to digitally signing positioning data to facilitate determining authenticity of the data.  
         BACKGROUND  
         [0002]    Availability of low-cost position determination devices, such as inexpensive GPS receivers, has brought such devices into the hand of general consumers. This has resulted in attempts to leverage the use of such receivers. For example, one such use is to provide offers of goods or services to people that can provide a “track log,” e.g., recorded output from a positioning device, that indicates that one has visited a certain location or otherwise qualified for an offer. Unfortunately, a significant limitation to making such offers based on a track log is that one may fraudulently alter a track log so as to inappropriately qualify for the offer. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0003]    The features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention in which:  
         [0004]    [0004]FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary positioning device.  
         [0005]    [0005]FIG. 2 illustrates a system-level data-flow diagram according to one embodiment of the invention utilizing the FIG. 1 positioning device.  
         [0006]    [0006]FIG. 3 illustrates a variation of the FIG. 2 embodiment according to one embodiment of the invention.  
         [0007]    [0007]FIG. 4 illustrates a suitable computing environment in which certain aspects of the invention may be implemented. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0008]    [0008]FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary positioning device  100 . In one embodiment, the positioning device comprises a global positioning system (GPS) detector  102  that operates to obtain geographic location information, hereafter simply “position data,” according to known methods of receiving and interpreting GPS signals. It will be appreciated by one skilled in the art that other position detection technology, e.g., long-range radio navigation (LORAN), Inertial Navigation Systems (INS), etc. may also be used to determine position data.  
         [0009]    As illustrated, the positioning device also comprises an encryption module  104 . The encryption module may be used to encrypt and/or sign position data determined by the GPS, e.g., to encrypt a GPS track log or other position related output from the GPS, using known public key or secret key cryptographic techniques, including block or stream ciphers, hash functions, RSA, Digital Signature Algorithm (DSA), Diffie-Hellman, Data Encryption Standard (DES), MD2, MD4, MD5, and public key cryptography techniques. The encryption module may be implement in software, firmware, or hardware. When the encryption module is implemented in software, the encryption module may be protected from tampering by using known tamper resistant software techniques. In one embodiment, tamper resistant memory  106  is used to store program instructions, processor directives, or the like, for the positioning device.  
         [0010]    In one embodiment, the encryption module  104  digitally signs position data determined by the GPS  102 . In another embodiment, the encryption module encrypts position data into unrecognizable cipher text. In one embodiment, the encryption module digitally signs or encrypts only a portion of position data determined by the GPS. In another embodiment, all position data output from the GPS is digitally signed or encrypted as it is determined by the GPS.  
         [0011]    In the illustrated embodiment, the positioning device  100  also comprises a key memory  108  communicatively coupled with the GPS  102  and encryption module  104 ; the key memory may be permanently affixed to the positioning device, or removably coupled, such as by way of an insertable identification card or the like. The memory may be used to store an encryption key, such as a private key from a pair of asymmetric keys used in a public key cryptosystem, and the memory may be tamper resistant. In one embodiment, the positioning device has an associated serial number  110  that corresponds to a public key which may be used to validate a signature applied with the private key, or to decode data encrypted with the private key. It will be appreciated that the serial number may be encoded in memory and/or affixed to a casing enclosing the positioning device  100 . In one embodiment, the tamper resistant memory  106  and the key memory  108  are a single memory.  
         [0012]    In one embodiment, the manufacturer of the positioning device  100  writes the encryption key, e.g., the private key, into the key memory  108 . The manufacturer then, in essence, acts as a certificate authority (CA) in this security system. A certificate authority issues certificates, which are cryptographically secured data files that identify an entity, such as the manufacturer, that often describe various attributes of the entity, and enable the identified entity to digitally sign or encrypt data such that a signature is traceable back to the entity. In another embodiment, a different entity (not illustrated) acts as a certificate authority in this security system, and the certificate authority provides the manufacturer with the encryption key, e.g., the private key, for storing in the key memory  108 .  
         [0013]    In the illustrated embodiment, the positioning device  100  also comprises an output  112  for providing data, including signed or encrypted position data, from the positioning device to a destination external to the positioning device. It will be appreciated that any form of wired or wireless carrier or network technology may be used to communicate data from the output to the destination.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 2 illustrates a system-level data-flow diagram according to one embodiment of the invention utilizing the FIG. 1 positioning device  100 . As illustrated, a certificate authority  200  sends a manufacturers certificate  202  to a manufacturer  204  of the positioning device.  
         [0015]    The manufacturer  204  may then in turn store the certificate  202  in the key memory  108  so that the positioning device  100  is enabled to digitally sign or encrypt position data. In another embodiment, rather storing a certificate  202  in the memory, instead the manufacturer derives a cryptographic key pairing comprising a public key and a private key based on the certificate, and the private key is stored in the memory. In this latter embodiment, a manufacturer is able to uniquely identify each manufactured device based on the cryptographic key(s) associated with the manufactured device. The key pairing may be derived with respect to the certificate. In one embodiment, the positioning device may be configured such that it operates without signing or encryption capabilities when no certificate or other cryptographic key is present in the key memory.  
         [0016]    Signed position data  206  may then be provided to a service provider  208 , which in turn may review the signed position data and make offers  210 , e.g., to an entity  212  such as a user (assumed for the purposes of this description) or business owning or otherwise responsible for the positioning device  100 . Typically, a service provider is interested in making an offer to users that have been to certain locations that meet offer requirements. For example, in one embodiment, the service provider may want to issue a discount coupon to users known to have frequented a competitor&#39;s store. In a further embodiment, the value or nature of the coupon or other offer may be partially or wholly dependent on various factors, such as the frequency of visits to the competitor&#39;s store, or the type of other destinations visited by the user. However, before committing to a particular offer, the service provider often wants to validate that a particular user has in fact visited locations meeting the terms of an offer.  
         [0017]    There are various ways to validate a user. For example, if received position data is unencrypted, and appears to satisfy the terms of an offer, the service provider validates the digital signature applied to the position data to ensure that the position data has not been tampered with to satisfy the offer. If the position data appears legitimate, then the service provider may comfortably extend an offer. It will be appreciated that if the position data is encrypted, if it can be successfully decrypted, then this can be viewed as validating the position data, allowing an offer to be extended.  
         [0018]    Once position data, e.g., a GPS track log or other data representing travels, can be verified, many uses of the invention are possible. One such use is defining private clubs based on members having visited certain places, or members having visited certain places within a particular time frame. Another use is, as discussed above, providing special offers for goods, services, coupons, etc., depending on where the position data indicates one has been, e.g., to a competitor&#39;s store.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 3 illustrates a variation of the FIG. 2 embodiment. As illustrated, an editor  300  is communicatively coupled between the positioning device and the service provider  208 . In this embodiment, the editor receives a certificate  302 , e.g., an editor&#39;s certificate, from the certificate authority and stores it in a key memory  304  in a manner analogous to that discussed above with respect to the FIG. 1 key memory  108 .  
         [0020]    The editor  300  may then be used to edit position data  206  signed by the positioning device  100 , and then sign the edited data to allow confirmation by the service provider  208  or other entity that the output from the editor was not tampered with or otherwise altered. One reason for such editing would be to remove portions from position data not related to satisfying an offer. That is, the editor could determine that the output from the positioning device had not been tampered with, remove unnecessary position data, resign the edited position data, and provide the edited position data to the service provider  206 . Another reason would be to afford privacy, or to comply with privacy policies or other policies or interests of the user  212 .  
         [0021]    By validating the data from the positioning device, the editor addresses the issue of where position data goes to an illicit third party that improperly modifies the position data and then sends it to the editor for signing. In one embodiment, chain of custody information is available to allow a service provider to determine and confirm what entity took what action on the position data.  
         [0022]    It will be appreciated that although both FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate the positioning device  100 , certificate authority  200 , manufacturer  204 , service provider  208 , user  212 , and editor  300  as separate entities, various other entity combinations may be utilized. For example, as illustrated by the dotted lines, the certificate authority and manufacturer may comprise a single entity  306 , or the certificate authority and the service provider may comprise a single entity  308 , or all three may comprise a single entity  310 .  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 4 and the following discussion are intended to provide a brief, general description of a suitable computing environment in which certain aspects of the illustrated invention may be implemented.  
         [0024]    An exemplary environment for embodying, for example, the positioning device  100  of FIG. 1 or the certificate authority  200  of FIG. 2, includes a machine  400  having system bus  402 . As used herein, the term “machine” includes a single machine or a system of communicatively coupled machines. Typically, attached to the bus are processors  404 , a memory  406  (e.g., RAM, ROM), storage devices  408 , a video interface  410 , and input/output interface ports  412 . The machine  400  may be controlled, at least in part, by input from conventional input devices, such as keyboards, mice, joysticks, as well as directives from another machine, biometric feedback, e.g., data incident to monitoring a person, plant, animal, organism, etc., or other input.  
         [0025]    The system may also include embedded controllers, such as Generic or Programmable Logic Devices or Arrays, Application Specific Integrated Circuits, single-chip computers, smart cards, or the like. The system is expected to operate in a networked environment using physical and/or logical connections to one or more remote machines  414 ,  416  through a network interface  418 , modem  420 , or other data pathway. Collectively, the input/output ports  412  and connections  418 ,  420  comprise exemplary embodiments for the output  112  of FIG. 12. The machines may be interconnected by way of a wired and/or wireless network  422 , such as an intranet, the Internet, local area networks, wide area networks, cellular, cable, laser, satellite, microwave, “Bluetooth” type networks, optical, infrared, or other short range or long range wired or wireless carrier.  
         [0026]    The invention may be described by reference to or in conjunction with program modules, including functions, procedures, data structures, application programs, etc. for performing tasks, or defining abstract data types or low-level hardware contexts. Program modules may be stored in memory  406  and/or storage devices  408  and associated storage media, e.g., hard-drives, floppy-disks, optical storage, magnetic cassettes, tapes, flash memory cards, memory sticks, digital video disks, biological storage. Program modules may be delivered over transmission environments, including network  422 , in the form of packets, serial data, parallel data, propagated signals, etc. Program modules may be used in a compressed or encrypted format, and may be used in a distributed environment and stored in local and/or remote memory, for access by single and multi-processor machines, portable computers, handheld devices, e.g., Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), cellular telephones, etc.  
         [0027]    Thus, for example, with respect to the illustrated embodiments, assuming machine  400  operates as the positioning device  100 , then remote machines  414 ,  416  may respectively be a FIG. 2 certificate authority  200  and a service provider  206 . It will be appreciated that remote machines  414 ,  416  may be configured like machine  400 , and therefore include many or all of the elements discussed for machine.  
         [0028]    Having described and illustrated the principles of the invention with reference to illustrated embodiments, it will be recognized that the illustrated embodiments can be modified in arrangement and detail without departing from such principles. And, though the foregoing discussion has focused on particular embodiments, other configurations are contemplated. In particular, even though expressions such as “in one embodiment,” “in another embodiment,” or the like are used herein, these phrases are meant to generally reference embodiment possibilities, and are not intended to limit the invention to particular embodiment configurations. As used herein, these terms may reference the same or different embodiments that are combinable into other embodiments.  
         [0029]    Consequently, in view of the wide variety of permutations to the embodiments described herein, this detailed description is intended to be illustrative only, and should not be taken as limiting the scope of the invention. What is claimed as the invention, therefore, is all such modifications as may come within the scope and spirit of the following claims and equivalents thereto.

Technology Classification (CPC): 7