Data storage device with secure access based on tap inputs

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11087011-B2
Application number	US-201715649553-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 13, 2017
Priority date	Jul 13, 2017
Publication date	Aug 10, 2021
Grant date	Aug 10, 2021

Abstract

Systems and methods are disclosed for providing secure access to a data storage device. A user may provide tap inputs, such as taps or knocks, on an enclosure of the data storage device. The data storage device may determine whether the tap inputs are valid and may allow access to the data storage device (e.g., to non-volatile memory of the data storage device) when the tap inputs are valid.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A portable external hard drive configured to repurpose an accelerometer sensor or a shock sensor of the portable external hard drive for detecting falls to also validate user inputs without using any input hardware other than the accelerometer sensor or the shock sensor, the portable external hard drive comprising:
an enclosure;
a disk drive comprising a head and a media platter;
an interface configured to removably connect to and receive commands and power from a computing device;
a set of sensor devices including the accelerometer sensor or the shock sensor, the set of sensor devices located within the enclosure and configured to:
detect, as a first function, acceleration indicating that the portable external hard drive is falling; and
detect, as a second function, tap inputs on at least four quadrants of a top surface and a bottom surface of the enclosure without using a trackpad or a touch LCD screen;

a non-volatile memory located within the enclosure and configured to store data; and
a controller external to the computing device and coupled to the non-volatile memory and the set of sensor devices, wherein the controller is configured to:
move the head away from the media platter in response to a potential cause of falling damage detected by the set of sensor devices;

determine whether a set of tap inputs detected by the set of sensor devices is valid by at least:
identifying a set of quadrants of the top surface and the bottom surface selected by the set of tap inputs; and
determining that the set of quadrants matches a previously-stored pattern of quadrants; and

allow access to read from or write to the non-volatile memory by the removably connected computing device in response to determining that the set of tap inputs is valid.

2. The portable external hard drive of claim 1 , wherein determining whether the set of tap inputs is valid further comprises:
determining whether the set of tap inputs are located at a set of valid locations on the enclosure.

3. The portable external hard drive of claim 1 , wherein determining whether the set of tap inputs is valid further comprises:
determining whether a timing pattern of the set of tap inputs is valid.

4. The portable external hard drive of claim 1 , wherein determining whether the set of tap inputs is valid further comprises:
determining whether the set of tap inputs are located at a set of valid locations on the enclosure; and
determining whether a timing pattern of the set of tap inputs is valid.

5. The portable external hard drive of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
generate a one-time password;
determine whether a second set of tap inputs detected by the set of sensor devices is valid based on the one-time password; and
allow access to the non-volatile memory further in response to determining that the second set of tap inputs is valid.

6. The portable external hard drive of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
determine whether a second set of tap inputs detected by the computing device is valid; and
allow access to the non-volatile memory further in response to determining that the second set of tap inputs is valid.

7. The portable external hard drive of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
determine a set of differing pressures of the set of tap inputs;
identify a pattern of higher-pressure inputs and lower-pressure inputs in the set of differing pressures of the set of tap inputs; and
allow access to the non-volatile memory further based on matching the pattern of higher-pressure inputs and lower-pressure inputs with a previously-stored pressure pattern.

8. The portable external hard drive of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to allow access to read from or write to the non-volatile memory by:
decrypting at least a portion of the non-volatile memory.

9. The portable external hard drive of claim 1 , wherein:
the interface comprises a direct-access interface configured to connect to the computing device via a connection cable; and
the controller is further configured to allow access to read from or write to the non-volatile memory by allowing data to be communicated via the direct-access interface.

10. The portable external hard drive of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
prevent access to read from or write to the non-volatile memory in response to determining that the set of tap inputs is invalid.

11. The portable external hard drive of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
determine a number of access attempts in response to determining that the set of tap inputs is invalid; and
delete data stored on the non-volatile memory in response to determining that the number of access attempts exceeds a threshold.

12. The portable external hard drive of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
determine a number of access attempts in response to determining that the set of tap inputs is invalid; and
encrypt at least a portion of the non-volatile memory in response to determining that the number of access attempts exceeds a threshold.

13. The portable external hard drive of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
determine whether a second set of tap inputs detected by the set of sensor devices is valid; and
allow access to the non-volatile memory further in response to determining that the second set of tap inputs is valid.

14. The portable external hard drive of claim 13 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
allow access to read from or write to a first portion of the non-volatile memory in response to determining that the set of tap inputs is valid; and
allow access to read from or write to a second portion of the non-volatile memory in response to determining that the second set of tap inputs is valid.

15. The portable external hard drive of claim 1 , wherein the portable external hard drive lacks a touch-sensitive input device.

16. A method for validation using a portable external hard drive comprising a disk drive having a head and a media platter, and a set of sensor devices including an accelerometer sensor or a shock sensor, the portable external hard drive configured to repurpose the accelerometer sensor or the shock sensor to validate user inputs without using any input hardware other than the accelerometer sensor or the shock sensor, the method comprising:
detecting, as a first function of the set of sensor devices, acceleration indicating that the disk drive is falling;
causing the head to move away from the media platter in response to the detected acceleration;
detecting without using a trackpad or a touch LCD screen, as a second function of the set of sensor devices, a set of tap inputs on at least four quadrants of a top surface and a bottom surface of an enclosure of a portable external disk drive comprising the disk drive;
determining whether the set of tap inputs is valid by at least:
identifying a set of quadrants of the top surface and the bottom surface selected by the set of tap inputs; and
determining that the set of quadrants matches a previously-stored pattern of quadrants; and

allowing access to read from or write to a non-volatile memory of the portable external disk drive by a computing device in response to determining that the set of tap inputs is valid, the computing device removably coupled to the portable external disk drive by a connection cable;
wherein the first function and the second function are performed by the accelerometer sensor o

Assignees

• Western Digital Tech Inc

Inventors

• Xu Jun
• Zhang Lei
• Xi Wei
• Jenkins Dean Mitcham
• Chew David W
• Zhou Jianguo

Classifications

• G06F3/01

  Input arrangements or combined input and output arrangements for interaction between user and computer (G06F3/16 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H04L63/0838

  using one-time-passwords · CPC title

• G06F21/34

  involving the use of external additional devices, e.g. dongles or smart cards · CPC title

• G06F21/31

  User authentication · CPC title

• G06F21/6218 Primary

  to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database · CPC title