Abstract: Methods, apparatus, and systems for securing application interactions are disclosed.

Abstract: A handheld authentication device comprising a data processor and a display is adapted to: generate an input value; submit the input value to an asymmetric cryptographic operation; obtain the result of said asymmetric cryptographic operation; generate an authentication message substantially comprising the result of the asymmetric cryptographic operation; encode the authentication message into one or more images; and display these images on the display.

Abstract: An electronic device, which may be a USB device, includes a body part that is removably connected to a cap. The body part includes a connector for plugging the device into a host computing device. The cap includes a lever part and a main part. The lever part of the cap is attached to the main part and pivots at least partially around a pivot axis. The lever part includes an anchor part on one side of the pivot axis and an unlock part on the other side of the pivot axis. The anchor part includes a hook that engages a cavity in the body part when the cap is connected to the body part. Depressing the unlock part of the cap causes the lever to pivot around the pivot axis thereby disengaging the hook from the first cavity, and thereby releasing the cap from the body part.

Abstract: A secure smart card reader is disclosed that is enabled to make reader signatures on data representative of events and actions which may be security related and which may include data representative of reader commands received from a host or remote application, smart card commands exchanged with an inserted smart card, data presented to a user for approval, and/or configuration parameters applied when dealing with any of the foregoing. The smart card reader may be adapted to maintain logs of events and actions which may include exchanging reader commands, exchanging smart card commands, and/or interactions with a user. The logs may include data representative of the reader commands received, the smart card commands exchanged, data presented to the user for approval, and/or configuration parameters applied when dealing with any of the foregoing. The secure smart card reader may be adapted to generate a reader signature over the logs.

Abstract: The present invention relates to the field of strong authentication tokens and more specifically to methods and apparatus employing cryptographic key establishment protocols for such strong authentication tokens. An apparatus comprising storage for a secret key, said secret key for use in the generation of cryptographic values, and a cryptographic agent for generating said cryptographic values using said secret key, selects one of a predetermined set of key transformations in an unpredictable way and applies said selected key transformation to said secret key prior to generating one of said cryptographic values.

Abstract: Generation of an intense magnetic field to erase high coercivity magnetic media uses delivery of energy to a degaussing cavity. To conserve energy storage and delivery requirements and to obtain a desired magnetic strength generally uniformly within the cavity, strategic placement of supplemental turns at ends of the magnetic field generating coil wound around the cavity can promote uniformity. Construction of at least cavity ends from an adequate quantity of magnetically soft ferrous material can also promote uniformity. A combination of both approaches is possible.

Abstract: The invention defines a strong authentication token that remedies a vulnerability to a certain type of social engineering attacks, by authenticating the server or messages purporting to come from the server prior to generating a one-time password or transaction signature; and, in the case of the generation of a transaction signature, signing not only transaction values but also transaction context information and, prior to generating said transaction signature, presenting said transaction values and transaction context information to the user for the user to review and approve using trustworthy output and input means. It furthermore offers this authentication and review functionality without sacrificing user convenience or cost efficiency, by judiciously coding the transaction data to be signed, thus reducing the transmission size of information that has to be exchanged over the token's trustworthy interfaces.

Abstract: The present invention relates to the field of authentication of users of services over a computer network, more specifically within the paradigms of federated authentication or single sign-on. A known technique consists of associating different trust levels to different authentication mechanisms, wherein the respective trust levels give access to different information resources, notably to provide the possibility to protect more sensitive resources with a stronger form of authentication. The present invention provides a mechanism to allow the trust level to decrease without re-authenticating with the single sign on system, down to the level at which it is no longer sufficient to obtain access to a desired resource. Only then, the user needs to reauthenticate.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method and a device to convert a time varying optical pattern emitted by a display into a digital data signal. More specifically the invention allows a handheld security token to convert a time-varying light intensity pattern emitted by a source such as a computer screen into a digital signal including a sequence of coded data symbols. The invention is based on the insight that the intensity of light emitted by regions of said source can be easily sampled by a simple low-cost processor if appropriate A/D conversion hardware converts the incident light into an electrical signal which is time varying, whereby the base frequency of this electrical signal is a function of the light intensity. Intensity levels used for channel coding and symbol clock can be recovered from the signal by the receiver.

Abstract: The DigiPass for the Web provides security for internet communication greater than that achieved by the use of a static password without requiring the user to install any software or to possess or use dedicated hardware of any kind. The user merely access an appropriate website which downloads an applet to the user's browser. This is a conventional function which is handled by the browser and does not require any expertise on the part of the user. The browser relies on a password known only to the user for authenticating the user to the browser/applet. The browser/applet interacts with the server to create an authentication key which is then stored on the user's computer. The user can invoke the authentication key dependent on the user's presentation to the browser/applet of the password. Since the password is not used outside the user-browser/applet interaction it is not subject to attacks by hackers.

Abstract: An electronic power supply circuit for battery-powered hardware devices is disclosed which can be electronically switched to supply any of at least two predetermined voltages wherein the batteries are switched in parallel or in series depending on the desired voltage. Also disclosed is an electronic apparatus comprising the electronic power supply circuit, which in some modes of operation uses the highest of the two predetermined voltages and which in other modes of operation can function with the lower of two predetermined voltages, and includes control logic that switches the electronic power supply circuit to supply said higher voltage when the apparatus in a mode in which it uses this higher voltage and that switches said electronic power supply circuit to supply said lower voltage at least during some of the modes in which the apparatus can function with the lower voltage.

Abstract: Strong authentication tokens for generating dynamic security values having an acoustical input interface for acoustically receiving input data are disclosed. The tokens may also include an optical interface for receiving input data and may have a selection mechanism to select either the acoustical or the optical input interface to receive data. A communication interface may be provided to communicate with a removable security device such as a smart card and the token may be adapted to generate dynamic security values in cooperation with the removable security device. The acoustic signal received by the token may be modulated using a frequency shift keying modulation scheme using a plurality of coding frequencies to code the acoustical signal where each coding frequency may be an integer multiple of a common base frequency.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for encoding and decoding data transmitted acoustically and/or optically to strong authentication tokens to generate dynamic security values are disclosed. The tokens may also include a selection mechanism to select either an acoustical or an optical input interface to receive data. A communication interface may be provided to communicate with a removable security device such as a smart card and the token may be adapted to generate dynamic security values in cooperation with the removable security device.

Abstract: The present invention is directed towards authentication tokens that are completely embedded in a non-conductive enclosure. The invention is based on the insight that it would be advantageous to separate the electronic data personalization of such tokens from the visual device personalization. The present application concerns an authentication token that allows communication with an external unit after the production of the nonconductive enclosure, in order to transmit or receive device identification data. As this communication need only take place during the manufacturing process, a low-power close-range transmission technique such as inductive coupling, capacitive coupling, or RFID communication suffices for this purpose. Accordingly, the present application discloses a method for manufacturing authentication tokens, and a token manufactured according to said method.

Abstract: The present patent application discloses a USB token that advantageously mimics a human interface device such as a keyboard in interacting with a host computer, thus removing the need for pre-installation of a dedicated device driver. This is accomplished by requiring the host computer to direct the input of the attached human interface devices of the keyboard type, including the USB token, exclusively to the program interacting with the USB token, by using cryptographic algorithms based on a shared secret, which require less data to be transferred than PKI-based algorithms, and by employing an efficient encoding scheme that minimizes the time needed to exchange information with the USB token, and minimizes the probability of generating ambiguity with input that might legitimately be generated by other attached human interface devices.

Abstract: The present invention relates to the field of pocket-size electronic devices, including credit card sized devices such as authentication tokens. It consists of an improvement of the well-known “raised ridge” to protect individual buttons from false key presses, obtained by applying embossing. A known problem with applying embossing to cards containing electronic components, is the fact that the embossing process may damage the components or the wiring inside the card. In the process according to the invention, an embossed ridge of a judiciously designed shape is used to avoid such damage.

Abstract: The invention relates to modulation and demodulation circuits, such as envelope detectors used to demodulate amplitude-modulated (AM) signals. By coupling an analog circuit to a port of a digital component, a compact envelope detector can be obtained, which achieves demodulation of AM signals for direct coupling into a digital input port. Accordingly, a compact envelope detector may be used in the data receiving part of a sealed device requiring post-manufacturing data transfer, in combination with additional components that provide electromagnetic coupling, such as inductive, capacitive, or radiative. An example of such a device is a credit card sized authentication token.

Abstract: The device of the present invention, having at least one activation button, is further equipped with a sensor adapted to detect conditions under which unintentional triggering of the activation button is likely. The sensor is operatively coupled with the activation button to suspend its effect when the target conditions are being detected. The undesired side-effects of false button activations, including battery drain and activation counter drift, are thus avoided, increasing the device's lifespan and user convenience. In a particular embodiment, the sensor is a decoy button located near the activation button, which serves to de-activate the activation button.

Abstract: The invention relates to the field of modulation and demodulation circuits, such as envelope detectors used to demodulate amplitude-modulated (AM) signals. By coupling an analog circuit to a port of a digital component, an envelope detector can be obtained, which achieves demodulation of AM signals for direct coupling into a digital input port. Accordingly, an envelope detector may be used in the data receiving part of a sealed device requiring post-manufacturing data transfer, in combination with additional components that provide electromagnetic coupling, such as inductive coupling, capacitive coupling, or radiative coupling. An example of such a device is a credit card sized authentication token.

Abstract: Mass storage devices and methods for securely storing data are disclosed. The mass storage device includes a communication interface for communicating with a connected host computer, a mass-memory storage component for storing data, a secure key storage component adapted to securely store at least one master secret, and an encryption-decryption component different from the secure key storage component and connected to the secure key storage component and the mass-memory storage component. The encryption-decryption component may be adapted to encrypt data received from the host computer using an encryption algorithm and at least one encryption key and to write the encrypted data into the mass-memory storage component.