Authentication based on telephone number recycling

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10389706-B2
Application number	US-201615225608-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 1, 2016
Priority date	Aug 1, 2016
Publication date	Aug 20, 2019
Grant date	Aug 20, 2019

Abstract

A method and system for authenticating a user is provided. In some embodiments, a security system determines whether the time since the last authentication was successful is less than a recycle telephone number period (e.g., the minimum time before which a telephone number might be assigned to a new user). If the time is less than the recycle telephone number period, the security system performs a primary authentication of the user based on a telephone number received from the user. When the primary authentication is successful, the security system indicates that the user has been authenticated. When the time is not less than a recycle telephone number period, the security system performs a secondary authentication of the user. When the secondary authentication is successful, the security system indicates that the user has been authenticated.

First claim

We claim:

1. A method performed by a computing system for authenticating a user, the method comprising:
receiving a telephone number for authenticating the user to access an account of the user;
when a time since a last authentication was successful is less than a recycle telephone number period, where the recycle telephone number period is based on a recycle account identifier criterion a minimum time before which the telephone number will be assigned to a new user,
performing a primary authentication of the user based on the received telephone number received from the user, where the telephone number is an account identifier associated with the account of the user;

when the primary authentication is successful, indicating that the user has been authenticated;
when the time since the last authentication was successful is not less than the recycle telephone number period,
performing a secondary authentication of the user; and

when the secondary authentication is successful, indicating that the user has been authenticated and allowing the user the option to change their account identifier.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the performing of the primary authentication includes:
receiving the telephone number from the user;
sending an authentication code addressed to the telephone number;
receiving from the user an authentication code; and
when the received authentication code matches the sent authentication code, indicating that the primary authentication is successful.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the secondary authentication is an active authentication.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the performing of the secondary authentication includes presenting a challenge to the user, receiving a response from the user, and determining whether the response is correct.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the secondary authentication is a passive authentication.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the user uses a user device that communicates with the computing system and the secondary authentication collects information relating to the user device and determines whether the collected information is consistent with information previously collected from a user device that communicated with the computing system when the user accessed an account with the telephone number as the account identifier.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the collected information includes different categories of information, a score is generated for each category, the scores are combined into a combined score, and when the combined score satisfies an authentication threshold, indicating that the secondary authentication is successful.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising, when the primary authentication is not successful, performing the secondary authentication.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the secondary authentication is performed after a primary authentication that was not successful, allowing the user to change the telephone number that is the account identifier.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the recycle telephone number period varies based on local assignors of telephone numbers.

11. A computing system for authenticating a user, the computing system comprising:
a computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions that:
receive a telephone number for authenticating the user to access an account of the user;
when a time since a last authentication was successful is not less than a recycle telephone number period for the telephone number, perform a secondary authentication and allow the user the option to change their account identifier, where the recycle telephone number period is a minimum time before which the telephone number will be assigned to a new user;
when the time since the last authentication was successful is less than the recycle telephone number period a recycle account identifier criterion is not satisfied, perform a primary authentication; and
indicate that the user has been authenticated when an authentication that is performed is successful, where at least one of the first authentication and the second authentication is based on an account identifier comprising the telephone number associated with an account of the user, the account relying on the account identifier to be established and accessed by the user within a recycle telephone period; and

a processor that executes the computer-executable instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium.

12. The computing system of claim 11 wherein the account identifier further comprises an electronic mail address.

13. The computing system of claim 11 wherein the primary authentication is a communications account identifier authentication.

14. The computing system of claim 11 wherein the secondary authentication is an active authentication.

15. The computing system of claim 11 wherein the secondary authentication is a passive authentication.

16. The computing system of claim 11 wherein instructions that perform the secondary authentication perform a passive authentication, and when the passive authentication is not successful, perform an active authentication.

17. A method performed by a device of a user for authenticating the user, the method comprising:
sending to an authentication system a telephone number assigned to a telephone of the user, where the telephone number is an account identifier associated with an account of the user, the account relying on the account identifier to be established and accessed within a recycle telephone period comprising a minimum time before which the telephone number will be assigned to a new user;
receiving from the user an authentication code, the authentication code having been sent from the authentication system to the telephone;
sending to the authentication system the authentication code so that the authentication system can determine whether a primary authentication is successful; and
when a time since a last authentication was successful is not less than the recycle telephone number period for the telephone number, receiving from the authentication system a challenge;
presenting to the user the received challenge;
receiving from the user a response to the challenge; and
sending to the authentication system the response so that the authentication system can determine whether a secondary authentication is successful.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the authentication code is sent to the telephone as a Short Message Service (“SMS”) message.

Assignees

• Microsoft Technology Licensing Llc

Inventors

• Vincent Benjamin Richard
• Xia Li Qing

Classifications

• G06F21/313 Primary

  using a call-back technique via a telephone network · CPC title

• H04W12/06

  Authentication · CPC title

• H04L63/18

  using different networks or channels, e.g. using out of band channels (cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key distribution involving distinctive intermediate devices or communication paths H04L9/0827; cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for authentication using a plurality of channels H04L9/3215) · CPC title

• H04W4/14

  Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD] · CPC title

• H04L63/083 Primary

  using passwords (cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using a predetermined code H04L9/3226) · CPC title