Method and apparatus for restricting disclosure of network information during remote access service

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10404485-B2
Application number	US-71676510-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 3, 2010
Priority date	Mar 3, 2009
Publication date	Sep 3, 2019
Grant date	Sep 3, 2019

Abstract

A method and apparatus for restricting disclosure of information about a network device during a Remote Access (RA) service are provided, in which a virtual device is activated by an RA service device, a device or service for which information is to be disclosed to an external network is determined from among devices discovered by the RA service device and registered as an embedded device or service of the virtual device, a device description of the virtual device including the embedded device or service is dynamically generated, a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of the RA service device, from which the device description of the virtual device is acquired, is generated and opened to a device of the other party which has remotely accessed the RA service device, and the device description of the virtual device is provided, upon receipt of a request for the device description of the virtual device through the URL.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for restricting disclosure of information about a network device during a Remote Access (RA) service session in a home network, the method comprising:
activating, by an RA service device, a virtual device in the home network;
embedding, by the RA service device, devices discovered by the RA service device;
configuring, by the RA service device, a filter for determining whether to disclose or restrict disclosure of the embedded devices;
determining, by the RA service device, a device and service for which information is to be disclosed to an external network from among the embedded devices, based on the configured filter and registering the determined device and service as an embedded device and service of the virtual device;
dynamically generating, by the RA service device, a device description of the virtual device including the determined device and service;
changing, by the RA service device, a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of the determined device and service in the generated device description into a URL of the virtual device;
opening, by the RA service device, the changed URL to a device of a party that has remotely accessed the RA service device;
receiving, by the RA service device, a request for the device description of the virtual device through the changed URL; and
providing, by the RA service device, the device description of the virtual device, based on receiving the request.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising blocking a direct access to a device description of the registered embedded device and service of the virtual device.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the virtual device is autonomously activated when configuring the virtual device.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the virtual device includes a network device modified to include a service for which information is to be disclosed externally among devices of a network, or includes a network device and service for which information is to be disclosed externally as the embedded device and service of the virtual device.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the virtual device is a network device and service for which information is to be disclosed externally as the embedded device and service of the virtual device.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein changing the URL comprises representing the URL as a path relative to an address from which the device description is acquired.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein changing the URL comprises translating the URL as an absolute path including a physical address of the virtual device.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein opening the changed URL comprises:
receiving an advertisement message multicast over the home network;
extracting information about a transmitting device that transmitted the advertisement message from the received advertisement message; and
transmitting the changed URL of the device description of the virtual device to a remote network, if the transmitting device is a device for which information disclosure is restricted or a device including a service for which information disclosure is restricted.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein opening the changed URL comprises:
receiving a device update message or a network detachment message multicast over the home network;
extracting information about a transmitting device that transmitted the device update message or the network detachment message from the received device update or network detachment message; and
regenerating the device description of the virtual device and transmitting the regenerated device description to a remote network, if the transmitting device is a device for which information disclosure is restricted or a device including a service for which information disclosure is restricted.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the RA service device uses UPnP (Universal Plug and Play).

11. A Remote Access (RA) service device for restricting disclosure of information about a network device during an RA service session in a home network, the RA service device comprising:
at least one processor; and
a memory that stores instructions, which when executed, instruct the at least one processor to:
activate a virtual device in the home network,
embed devices discovered by the RA service device,
configure a filter for determining whether to disclose or restrict disclosure of the embedded virtual devices,
determine a device and service for which information is to be disclosed to an external network from among the embedded devices, based on the configured filter and register the determined device and service as an embedded device and service of the virtual device,
dynamically generate a device description of the virtual device including the determined device and service,
change a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of the determined device and service in the generated device description into a URL of the virtual device,
open the changed URL to a device of a party that has remotely accessed the RA service device,
receive a request for the device description of the virtual device through the changed URL, and
provide the device description of the RA virtual device, based on receiving the request.

12. The RA service device of claim 11 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to provide an interface through which the virtual device is activated or deactivated.

13. The RA service device of claim 11 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to block a direct access to a device description of the registered embedded device and service of the RA virtual device.

14. The RA service device of claim 11 , wherein the virtual device is autonomously activated when configuring the virtual device.

15. The RA service device of claim 11 , wherein the virtual device comprises a network device modified to include a service for which information is to be disclosed externally among devices of a network, or comprises a network device and service for which information is to be disclosed externally as the embedded device and service of the virtual device.

16. The RA service device of claim 11 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to change the URL by representing the URL as a path relative to an address from which the device description is acquired.

17. The RA service device of claim 11 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to change the URL by translating the URL to an absolute path including a physical address of the virtual device.

Assignees

• Han Se Hee
• Rahman Mahfuzur
• Messer Alan
• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Han Se-Hee
• Rahman Mahfuzur
• Messer Alan

Classifications

• H04L2012/2849

  Audio/video appliances · CPC title

• H04L63/0236

  Filtering by address, protocol, port number or service, e.g. IP-address or URL · CPC title

• H04L12/2818 Primary

  from a device located outside both the home and the home network (access arrangements H04L12/2856; for remote control or remote monitoring of applications H04L67/025; arrangements for transmitting signals characterised by the use of a wireless eletrical link G08C17/00; telephonic communication systems adapted for combination with remote control systems H04M11/007) · CPC title

• H04L12/281

  indicating a format for calling an appliance service function in a home automation network (for remote control or remote monitoring of applications H04L67/025) · CPC title

• H04L12/2809

  indicating that an appliance service is present in a home automation network (monitoring functionality H04L43/0817; discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services, H04L67/51) · CPC title