Access point connection method and electronic device thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10009838-B2
Application number	US-201414559223-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 3, 2014
Priority date	Dec 5, 2013
Publication date	Jun 26, 2018
Grant date	Jun 26, 2018

Abstract

An Access Point (AP) connection method in an electronic device and the electronic device thereof are provided. The method includes transmitting a request message relating to AP information connected for wireless Local Area Network (LAN) connection and inquiring about a rogue AP, to an Internet server, when the AP is not the rogue AP according to a response message received from the Internet server, maintaining connection to the AP, and providing other AP information to the Internet server.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic device for connecting to a secure network with authorization from a local network administrator, the electronic device comprising:
a communication module configured to connect to an Access Point (AP); and
a processor, operatively coupled to the communication module, configured to:
control to scan access points (APs) around the electronic device; control to connect to the first AP among the scanned APs;
transmit, to another electronic device via the first AP, a first message for requesting whether the first AP is a rogue AP without authorization or a normal AP with authorization, wherein the first message comprises information regarding the first AP;
receive, from the other electronic device via the first AP, a second message indicating whether the first AP is determined to be a normal AP or a rogue AP by the other electronic device; and
if it is determined that the first AP is the normal AP based on the received second message, maintain connection with the first AP and transmit, to the other electronic device via the first AP, a third message comprising information regarding at least one other AP among the scanned APs,

wherein the other electronic device is configured to establish a rogue AP database (DB) by determining whether the at least one other AP is the rogue AP or the normal AP using the information regarding the at least one other AP, and
wherein the information of the third message comprises at least one of Internet Protocol (IP) address, Gateway, and Data Source Name (DSN).

2. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the first message comprises, as the AP information, Uniform Resource Locator (URL) information comprising one or more ClientVersion and MacAddress.

3. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the second message comprises at least one of a resultCode for notifying whether the connected AP is the rogue AP or the normal AP, a resultMessage, and a severity.

4. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
based on the received second message, if it is determined that the first AP is the rogue AP, control to disconnect from the first AP; and
control to connect to a second AP among the scanned APs.

5. The electronic device of claim 4 ,
wherein the second message further comprises at least one of a warning message for notifying that the electronic device is connected to the rogue AP and a command for disconnecting from the rogue AP, if it is determined that the first AP is the rogue AP by the other electronic device.

6. The electronic device of claim 4 , wherein, when disconnecting from the first AP, the processor is further configured to store the information regarding the first AP as rogue AP information and to exclude the first AP from a connection target.

7. The electronic device of claim 1 ,
wherein the other electronic device comprises a first server and a second server,
wherein the first server analyzes and stores rogue AP information in the rogue AP DataBase (DB), and
wherein the second server collects and stores AP information in a normal AP DB.

8. The electronic device of claim 7 , wherein the rogue AP DB stores at least one of a Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID), a SSID, a ClientVersion, a severity, and an updateTimeStamp of the rogue AP.

9. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the other electronic device is configured to:
determine, in response to receiving the third message, whether the at least one other AP is a rogue AP or a normal AP based on the information regarding the at least one other AP; and
store, in response to determining that the at least one other AP is a rogue AP, the information regarding the at least one other AP as rogue AP information for indicating that the at least one other AP is a rogue AP in at least one database included in the other electronic device.

10. An electronic device comprising:
at least one database; and
a processor, operatively coupled to the at least one database, configured to:
control to receive, from a first electronic device via a first Access Point (AP) connected to the first electronic device, a first message for requesting whether the first AP is a rogue AP without authorization or a normal AP with authorization, wherein the first message comprises information regarding the first AP;
determine whether the first AP is a rogue AP or a normal AP based on comparing the information regarding the first AP with rogue AP information stored in the at least one database;
control to transmit, if the first AP is determined to be a normal AP, a second message for requesting information regarding at least one other AP which is scanned by the electronic device, to the first electronic device;
control to receive, from the first electronic device, a third message comprising the information regarding the at least one other AP;
determine, based on the information regarding the at least one other AP, whether the at least one other AP is a rogue AP or a normal AP;
store, in response to the determination that the at least one other AP is a rogue AP, the information regarding the at least one other AP as rogue AP information in the at least one database; and
control to transmit, if the first AP or the at least one other AP is determined to be a rogue AP, a warning message for notifying a connection with the rogue AP to a second electronic device connected to the rogue AP, and disconnect the second electronic device from the rogue AP,

wherein the information of the third message comprises at least one of Internet Protocol (IP) address, Gateway, and Data Source Name (DSN).

11. The electronic device of claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
transmit, if the first AP is determined to be a rogue AP, a warning message for notifying of connection with rogue AP to the second electronic device connected to the second AP, and
disconnect the second electronic device from the second AP.

12. The electronic device of claim 10 , wherein the first message comprises, as the rogue AP information, Uniform Resource Locator (URL) information comprising one or more ClientVersion and MacAddress.

13. The electronic device of claim 10 , wherein the second message comprises at least one of:
a resultCode for notifying whether the connected AP is the rogue AP,
a resultMessage, or
a severity.

14. The electronic device of claim 10 , wherein the second message, in response to the determination that the first AP is a rogue AP, comprises at least one of:
a warning message for notifying that the electronic device is connected to the rogue AP, or
a command for disconnecting from the rogue AP.

15. The electronic device of claim 10 ,
wherein the electronic device comprises:
a first server, and
a second server,

wherein the first server is configured to analyze and store rogue AP information in a rogue AP DataBase (DB), and
wherein the second server is configured to collect and store AP information in an AP DB.

16. The electronic device of claim 15 , wherein the rogue AP DB stores at least one of a Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID), a SSID, a ClientVersion, a severity, and an updateTimeStamp of the rogue AP.

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Park Jae-Hyun
• Park Hey-Young
• Bae Jong-Kyu
• Ryu Je-Hyok

Classifications

• H04W48/20 Primary

  Selecting an access point · CPC title

• H04W12/12

  Detection or prevention of fraud · CPC title

• H04W48/14

  using user query {or user detection} · CPC title

• H04W48/02 Primary

  Access restriction performed under specific conditions · CPC title

• H04W12/122

  Counter-measures against attacks; Protection against rogue devices · CPC title