Content security for a mobile communication terminal

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9451209-B2
Application number	US-201214237620-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 26, 2012
Priority date	Apr 26, 2012
Publication date	Sep 20, 2016
Grant date	Sep 20, 2016

Abstract

A method for outputting sensitive data to a user includes a communication terminal checking to determine whether at least a portion of the sensitive data is to be outputted by determining whether the communication terminal is in one of a plurality of predefined communication configurations for outputting the sensitive data. If the communication terminal is found to be a first configuration, the communication terminal transmits the sensitive data so that at least one of the video data and the audio data is output to the user via at least one peripheral device connected to the communication terminal. If the communication terminal is in a second configuration, the communication terminal performs at least one security action to help further protect the sensitive data.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of a communication terminal outputting sensitive data comprising at least one of video data and audio data, the method comprising:
the communication terminal receiving at least one of (i) an indicator that sensitive data is to be communicated to the communication terminal in a communication session that is to be established with a communication device and (ii) the sensitive data via the communication session;
the communication terminal checking to determine whether at least a portion of the sensitive data is to be outputted by determining whether the communication terminal is in one of a plurality of predefined communication configurations for outputting at least one of audio and video based on or defined by the sensitive data, the predefined communication configurations comprising a first configuration for outputting data and a second configuration for outputting data, the first configuration being an arrangement wherein the sensitive data is outputable via at least one peripheral device connected to the communication terminal for outputting at least one of audio and video defined by or based on the sensitive data to only a user of the communication terminal, the second configuration being an arrangement wherein the at least one of the audio and video based on or defined by the sensitive data is outputted by the communication terminal such that that at least one of audio and video is at least one of viewable and audible to a non-user near the communication terminal;
if the communication terminal is in the first configuration, the communication terminal transmitting the sensitive data so that at least one of the video and the audio is output to the user via the at least one peripheral device; and
if the communication terminal is in the second configuration, the communication terminal performing at least one security action, the at least one security action comprising at least one of (a) transmitting a warning to the user that indicates the communication terminal is configured to output the sensitive data such that the non-user could hear or view at least one of the audio and the video and (b) withholding at least a portion of the sensitive data so that the at least one of the video and the audio is not output to the user via the communication terminal.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the sensitive data is encrypted data comprised of both video data and audio data and the communication terminal is a mobile communication terminal and wherein the at least one peripheral device is comprised of a video displaying device sized and configured to be worn on a head of the user and an audio outputting device that is to be worn adjacent to at least one ear of the user for outputting audio into the at least one ear.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the audio outputting device is at least one earphone and wherein the video displaying device is comprised of spectacles having at least one display for displaying the video.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the communication terminal is a mobile telephone, a cellular telephone, a laptop, a personal digital assistant, a tablet, or a mobile computer device and wherein the sensitive data is determined to be sensitive because at least one of: (a) the sensitive data comprises an identifier indicating the sensitive data is to not be shared with unauthorized people and (b) the communication terminal has a parameter set that indicates that any audio data, video data or both audio data and video data received by the communication terminal is to be considered sensitive data.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the communication terminal receives the sensitive data from the communication device after authorizing the communication device by exchanging security keys with the communication device and wherein the sensitive data is identified as being sensitive because the sensitive data is encrypted.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the sensitive data comprises both the video data and the audio data and wherein the predefined communication configurations also comprise a third configuration wherein the video is displayable via the at least one peripheral device and the audio is not outputable via one of the at least one peripheral device, and wherein the first configuration is defined so that both the video and the audio are outputable via the at least one peripheral device; and the method further comprises:
if the communication terminal determines that the communication terminal is in the third configuration, the communication terminal transmitting the video data so that the video is output to the user via the at least one peripheral device and also performing at least one security action, the at least one security action comprising at least one of (a) transmitting a warning to the user that indicates the communication terminal is configured to output the audio such that the non-user could hear the audio and (b) withholding the audio data so that the audio is not output to the user via the communication terminal.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the sensitive data comprises both the video data and the audio data and wherein the predefined communication configurations also comprise a third configuration wherein the audio is outputable via the at least one peripheral device and the video is not outputable via one of the at least one peripheral device, and wherein the first configuration is defined so that both the video and the audio are outputable via the at least one peripheral device; and the method further comprises:
if the communication terminal determines that the communication terminal is in the third configuration, the communication terminal transmitting the audio data so that the audio is output to the user via the at least one peripheral device and also performing at least one security action, the at least one security action comprising at least one of (a) transmitting a warning to the user that indicates the communication terminal is configured to output the video such that the non-user could view the video and (b) withholding the video data so that the video is not output to the user via the communication terminal.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the video data is comprised of at least one frame of prerecorded pictorial data wherein the method further comprises the communication terminal displaying a scrambled video based on the video data and a predefined default video when the at least one peripheral device is connected to the communication terminal and displays the video data.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the communication terminal performs the checking prior to the communication session being established and wherein if the communication terminal is in the second configuration the communication terminal withholds the sensitive data so that the sensitive data is not output to the user via the communication terminal by refusing to establish the communication session.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
after transmitting the warning the communication terminal detecting the at least one peripheral device being connected to the communication terminal; and
the communication terminal transmitting the sensitive data so that at least one of the video and the audio is output to the user via the at least one peripheral device after detecting the connection of the at least one peripheral device.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the warning informs the user that if at least one peripheral device is connected to the communication terminal at least a portion of the sensitive data will be transmittable to the user via the communication terminal.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
the communication

Assignees

• Karimi-Cherkandi Bizhan
• Kouchri Farrokh Mohammadzadeh
• Ali Schah Walli
• Unify Gmbh & Co Kg

Inventors

• Karimi-Cherkandi Bizhan
• Kouchri Farrokh Mohammadzadeh
• Ali Schah Walli

Classifications

• H04W12/02

  Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII] · CPC title

• H04N21/4405

  involving video stream decryption · CPC title

• H04N21/4542

  Blocking scenes or portions of the received content, e.g. censoring scenes · CPC title

• H04N21/6543

  for forcing some client operations, e.g. recording {(remote booting in general G06F9/4416)} · CPC title

• H04N21/4516

  involving client characteristics, e.g. Set-Top-Box type, software version or amount of memory available · CPC title