Devices and techniques to perform entropy-based randomness via a contactless card

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12293164-B2
Application number	US-202117464387-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 1, 2021
Priority date	Sep 1, 2021
Publication date	May 6, 2025
Grant date	May 6, 2025

Abstract

Embodiments are directed to systems and techniques to generate random numbers via contactless cards.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A contactless card, comprising:
one or more sensors;
processing circuitry coupled with the one or more sensors;
memory coupled with the processing circuitry and the one or more sensors, the memory to store instructions, that when executed by the processing circuitry, to cause the processing circuitry to:
receive data from at least one of the one or more sensors;
generate a random sample of the data by randomly sampling a portion of the data;
generate a random number with the random sample and a cryptographic algorithm; and
generate a pair of keys with a key generation algorithm using the random number, the pair of keys comprising a private key and a public key.

2. The contactless card of claim 1 , the processing circuitry to configured to communicate the public key of the pair of keys to a device via a wireless interface.

3. The contactless card of claim 2 , wherein the wireless interface is a near-field communication (NFC) interface, and the processing circuitry to communicate the public key to the device in response to an NFC read for the public key.

4. The contactless card of claim 1 , wherein the one or more sensors comprise an accelerometer, a thermometer, a magnetometer, a gyroscope, and a pressure sensor.

5. The contactless card of claim 1 , the processing circuitry configured to apply a mathematical operation to combine readings from multiple of the one or more sensors to generate the data.

6. The contactless card of claim 5 , the processing circuitry to apply a normalization operation to the data for readings from the multiple of the one or more sensors.

7. The contactless card of claim 1 , the processing circuitry to sign authentication information with the private key to authenticate the contactless card, a user of the contactless card, or both to another device having the public key.

8. The contactless card of claim 1 , the processing circuitry to apply a hash operation to the random number prior to generation of the pair of keys with the key generation algorithm.

9. A computer-implemented method, comprising:
collecting, by processing circuitry of a contactless card, data from a plurality of sensors of the contactless card;
randomly sampling, by the processing circuitry, the data from the plurality of sensors to generate a seed value;
utilizing, by the processing circuitry, the seed value with a cryptographic algorithm to generate a random number;
generating, by the processing circuitry, a pair of keys with a key generation algorithm using the seed value, the pair of keys comprising a private key and a public key; and
storing, by the processing circuitry, the pair of keys in memory of the contactless card.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9 , comprising sending, by the processing circuitry via a wireless interface of the contactless card, the public key to a computing device.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 10 , wherein the wireless interface is a near-field communication (NFC) interface, and the method includes sending the public key to the device in response to an NFC read for the public key.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 10 , comprising combining the data from the plurality of sensors by applying a mathematical operation to the data.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12 , comprising normalizing the data prior to combining the data.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 10 , comprising encrypting authentication information with the private key for use to authenticate the contactless card, a user of the contactless card, or both to another device having the public key.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 10 , comprising applying a hash operation to the random number sample prior to generation of the pair of keys with the cryptographic algorithm.

16. A contactless card, comprising:
one or more sensors;
processing circuitry coupled with the one or more sensors;
memory coupled with the processing circuitry and the one or more sensors, the memory to store instructions, that when executed by the processing circuitry, to cause the processing circuitry to:
receive data from at least one of the one or more sensors;
generate a random sample of the data by randomly sampling a portion of the data;
receive a request for a random number from a device;
apply a cryptographic algorithm to the random sample to generate the random number; and
send, in response to the request, the random number to the device.

17. The contactless card of claim 16 , comprising a near-field communication (NFC) interface, and the processing circuitry to receive the request and send the random number via the NFC interface.

18. The contactless card of claim 16 , wherein the one or more sensors comprise an accelerometer, a thermometer, a magnetometer, a gyroscope, and a pressure sensor.

19. The contactless card of claim 16 , the processing circuitry configured to apply a mathematical operation to combine readings from multiple of the one or more sensors prior to generation of the random number.

20. The contactless card of claim 19 , the processing circuitry to apply a normalization operation to the data for readings from the multiple of the one or more sensors.

Assignees

• Capital One Services Llc

Inventors

• Vargas Cruz
• Yee Bryant
• Olsen Sarah

Classifications

• G06K19/0723

  the record carrier comprising an arrangement for non-contact communication, e.g. wireless communication circuits on transponder cards, non-contact smart cards or RFIDs · CPC title

• G06K19/045

  the record carrier being of the non-contact type, e.g. RFID, and being specially adapted for attachment to a disc, e.g. a CD or DVD · CPC title

• H04L9/0869

  involving random numbers or seeds · CPC title

• G06F21/6209

  to a single file or object, e.g. in a secure envelope, encrypted and accessed using a key, or with access control rules appended to the object itself · CPC title

• H04L2209/805

  Lightweight hardware, e.g. radio-frequency identification [RFID] or sensor · CPC title