Patents by Inventor Thomas G. Willis

Thomas G. Willis has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20220207178
    Abstract: This disclosure is directed to privacy enforcement via localized personalization. An example device may comprise at least a user interface to present content. A message may be received into a trusted execution environment (TEE) situated within the device or remotely, the message including at least metadata and content. The TEE may determine relevance of the content to a user based on the metadata and user data. Based on the relevance, the TEE may cause the content to be presented to the user via the user interface. In one embodiment, the TEE may be able to personalize the content based on the user data prior to presentation. If the content includes an offer, the TEE may also be able to present counteroffers to the user based on user interaction with the content. The TEE may also be able to cause feedback data to be transmitted to at least the content provider.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 11, 2022
    Publication date: June 30, 2022
    Inventors: Ned M. Smith, Nathan Heldt-Sheller, Thomas G. Willis
  • Patent number: 11244068
    Abstract: This disclosure is directed to privacy enforcement via localized personalization. An example device may comprise at least a user interface to present content. A message may be received into a trusted execution environment (TEE) situated within the device or remotely, the message including at least metadata and content. The TEE may determine relevance of the content to a user based on the metadata and user data. Based on the relevance, the TEE may cause the content to be presented to the user via the user interface. In one embodiment, the TEE may be able to personalize the content based on the user data prior to presentation. If the content includes an offer, the TEE may also be able to present counteroffers to the user based on user interaction with the content. The TEE may also be able to cause feedback data to be transmitted to at least the content provider.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 24, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2022
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Ned M. Smith, Nathan Heldt-Sheller, Thomas G. Willis
  • Patent number: 10419438
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes: presenting, in a user interface of an authoring tool, a plurality of levels of abstraction for a network having a plurality of devices; receiving information from a user regarding a subset of the plurality of devices to be provisioned with one or more security keys and an access control policy; automatically provisioning a key schedule for the subset of the plurality of devices in the network based on the user input and a topological context of the network; and automatically provisioning the access control policy for the subset of the plurality of devices in the network based on the user input and the topological context of the network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2019
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Ned M. Smith, Shao-Wen Yang, Nathan Heldt-Sheller, Thomas G. Willis
  • Patent number: 10331906
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed toward publication and/or removal of attributes in a multi-user computing environment. In some embodiments, a consumer information manager (CIM) associated with a user of a multi-user computing system may receive a notification, from a dimension authority (DA), of a decrease in a population count of users of the computing system who have published an attribute within the computing system, and may determine whether the user has published the attribute. In response to receiving the notification of the decrease and determining that the user has published the attribute, the CIM may determine a likelihood that continued publication of the attribute will enable identification of the user, compare the likelihood to a threshold, and, when the likelihood exceeds the threshold, remove the attribute from publication. Other embodiments may be disclosed and/or claimed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2019
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Ned M. Smith, Nathan Heldt-Sheller, Thomas G. Willis
  • Publication number: 20180218548
    Abstract: The present disclosure is directed to secure vehicular data management with enhanced privacy. A vehicle may comprise at least a vehicular control architecture (VCA) for controlling operation of the vehicle and a device. The VCA may record operational data identifying at least one vehicle operator and vehicular operational data recorded during operation of the vehicle by the at least one vehicle operator. The device may include at least a communication module and a trusted execution environment (TEE) including a privacy enforcement module (PEM). The PEM may receive the operational data from the VCA via the communication module, may generate filtered data by filtering the operational data based on privacy settings and may cause the filtered data to be transmitted via the communication module. The filtered data may be transmitted to at least one data consumer. The privacy settings may be configured in the PEM by the at least one operator.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 22, 2018
    Publication date: August 2, 2018
    Applicant: INTEL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Ned M. Smith, Thomas G. Willis, Nathan Heldt-Sheller
  • Patent number: 9953467
    Abstract: The present disclosure is directed to secure vehicular data management with enhanced privacy. A vehicle may comprise at least a vehicular control architecture (VCA) for controlling operation of the vehicle and a device. The VCA may record operational data identifying at least one vehicle operator and vehicular operational data recorded during operation of the vehicle by the at least one vehicle operator. The device may include at least a communication module and a trusted execution environment (TEE) including a privacy enforcement module (PEM). The PEM may receive the operational data from the VCA via the communication module, may generate filtered data by filtering the operational data based on privacy settings and may cause the filtered data to be transmitted via the communication module. The filtered data may be transmitted to at least one data consumer. The privacy settings may be configured in the PEM by the at least one operator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2018
    Assignee: INTEL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Ned M. Smith, Thomas G. Willis, Nathan Heldt-Sheller
  • Patent number: 9860057
    Abstract: A data processing system (DPS) supports exchange of digital keys. The DPS comprises a communication module which, when executed by the DPS, is operable to receive, via multiple different network routes, multiple copies of a seed message from a second DPS, as part of a Diffie-Hellman key exchange process with the second DPS, wherein each copy of the seed message includes a seed value. The DPS also comprises a security module which, when executed by the DPS, is operable to perform operations comprising (a) determining a prevalent seed value, based on the multiple copies of the seed message; (b) computing a prevalence metric to indicate how many of the seed messages contained the prevalent seed value; and (c) determining whether a seed exchange portion of the Diffie-Hellman key exchange process has been successfully performed, based on the prevalence metric. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2018
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Ned M. Smith, William C. Deleeuw, Thomas G. Willis
  • Publication number: 20170316225
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed toward publication and/or removal of attributes in a multi-user computing environment. In some embodiments, a consumer information manager (CIM) associated with a user of a multi-user computing system may receive a notification, from a dimension authority (DA), of a decrease in a population count of users of the computing system who have published an attribute within the computing system, and may determine whether the user has published the attribute. In response to receiving the notification of the decrease and determining that the user has published the attribute, the CIM may determine a likelihood that continued publication of the attribute will enable identification of the user, compare the likelihood to a threshold, and, when the likelihood exceeds the threshold, remove the attribute from publication. Other embodiments may be disclosed and/or claimed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 14, 2017
    Publication date: November 2, 2017
    Inventors: Ned M. Smith, Nathan Heldt-Sheller, Thomas G. Willis
  • Patent number: 9710670
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed toward publication and/or removal of attributes in a multi-user computing environment. In some embodiments, a consumer information manager (CIM) associated with a user of a multi-user computing system may receive a notification, from a dimension authority (DA), of a decrease in a population count of users of the computing system who have published an attribute within the computing system, and may determine whether the user has published the attribute. In response to receiving the notification of the decrease and determining that the user has published the attribute, the CIM may determine a likelihood that continued publication of the attribute will enable identification of the user, compare the likelihood to a threshold, and, when the likelihood exceeds the threshold, remove the attribute from publication. Other embodiments may be disclosed and/or claimed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2017
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Ned M. Smith, Nathan Heldt-Sheller, Thomas G. Willis
  • Publication number: 20170039389
    Abstract: This disclosure is directed to privacy enforcement via localized personalization. An example device may comprise at least a user interface to present content. A message may be received into a trusted execution environment (TEE) situated within the device or remotely, the message including at least metadata and content. The TEE may determine relevance of the content to a user based on the metadata and user data. Based on the relevance, the TEE may cause the content to be presented to the user via the user interface. In one embodiment, the TEE may be able to personalize the content based on the user data prior to presentation. If the content includes an offer, the TEE may also be able to present counteroffers to the user based on user interaction with the content. The TEE may also be able to cause feedback data to be transmitted to at least the content provider.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 24, 2013
    Publication date: February 9, 2017
    Applicant: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: NED M. SMITH, NATHAN HELDT-SHELLER, THOMAS G. WILLIS
  • Publication number: 20160366141
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes: presenting, in a user interface of an authoring tool, a plurality of levels of abstraction for a network having a plurality of devices; receiving information from a user regarding a subset of the plurality of devices to be provisioned with one or more security keys and an access control policy; automatically provisioning a key schedule for the subset of the plurality of devices in the network based on the user input and a topological context of the network; and automatically provisioning the access control policy for the subset of the plurality of devices in the network based on the user input and the topological context of the network.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 26, 2015
    Publication date: December 15, 2016
    Inventors: NED M. SMITH, SHAO-WEN YANG, NATHAN HELDT-SHELLER, THOMAS G. WILLIS
  • Patent number: 9467296
    Abstract: Technologies for utilizing trusted messaging include a local computing device including a message client and a local trusted message module established in a trusted execution environment. The local trusted message module performs attestation of a remote computing device based on communication with a corresponding remote trusted message module established in a trusted execution environment of the remote computing device. The local trusted message module further exchanges, with the remote trusted message module, cryptographic keys in response to successful attestation of the remote computing device. The message client forwards outgoing messages to the local trusted message module and receives incoming messages from the local trusted message module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2016
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Ned M. Smith, William C. Deleeuw, Thomas G. Willis, Nathaniel J. Goss
  • Publication number: 20160182228
    Abstract: A data processing system (DPS) supports exchange of digital keys. The DPS comprises a communication module which, when executed by the DPS, is operable to receive, via multiple different network routes, multiple copies of a seed message from a second DPS, as part of a Diffie-Hellman key exchange process with the second DPS, wherein each copy of the seed message includes a seed value. The DPS also comprises a security module which, when executed by the DPS, is operable to perform operations comprising (a) determining a prevalent seed value, based on the multiple copies of the seed message; (b) computing a prevalence metric to indicate how many of the seed messages contained the prevalent seed value; and (c) determining whether a seed exchange portion of the Diffie-Hellman key exchange process has been successfully performed, based on the prevalence metric. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 23, 2014
    Publication date: June 23, 2016
    Applicant: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: NED M. SMITH, WILLIAM C. DELEEUW, THOMAS G. WILLIS
  • Publication number: 20160065376
    Abstract: Technologies for utilizing trusted messaging include a local computing device including a message client and a local trusted message module established in a trusted execution environment. The local trusted message module performs attestation of a remote computing device based on communication with a corresponding remote trusted message module established in a trusted execution environment of the remote computing device. The local trusted message module further exchanges, with the remote trusted message module, cryptographic keys in response to successful attestation of the remote computing device. The message client forwards outgoing messages to the local trusted message module and receives incoming messages from the local trusted message module.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 29, 2014
    Publication date: March 3, 2016
    Inventors: Ned M. Smith, William C. Deleeuw, Thomas G. Willis, Nathaniel J. Goss
  • Patent number: 9111100
    Abstract: Generally, this disclosure describes a system including a privacy aware DHCP service and a user device. The user device includes a trusted execution environment including a client privacy agent configured to request a first Internet Protocol (IP) address from a DHCP service and to determine a device privacy score based, at least in part, on a DHCP policy; memory comprising secure storage configured to store the first IP address; and communication circuitry configured to establish at least one connection between the user device and at least one entity over a network using the first IP address. The client privacy agent is configured to monitor communication activity over the connection(s), to update the device privacy score based, at least in part, on the communication activity, and to close the connection(s) if the device privacy score is outside an acceptable privacy score range, the acceptable privacy range bounded by a privacy threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2015
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Ned M. Smith, Thomas G. Willis
  • Publication number: 20150220927
    Abstract: Techniques and mechanisms to provide indemnification for a transaction involving communications between networked devices. In an embodiment, attestation logic of a first device sends to a second device attestation information to indicate a trustworthiness level of first device. Based on the attestation information, indemnification logic of the second device determines an indemnification value representing a cost of an indemnification for a first transaction. Indemnification logic of the first device receives the indemnification value and determines, based on the indemnification value, whether a participation in the transaction is to take place.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 25, 2013
    Publication date: August 6, 2015
    Inventors: Ned M. Smith, Thomas J. Sawicki, Rajiv Mathur, Tolga Acar, Yuriy Bulygin, Thomas G. Willis
  • Publication number: 20150178999
    Abstract: The present disclosure is directed to secure vehicular data management with enhanced privacy. A vehicle may comprise at least a vehicular control architecture (VCA) for controlling operation of the vehicle and a device. The VCA may record operational data identifying at least one vehicle operator and vehicular operational data recorded during operation of the vehicle by the at least one vehicle operator. The device may include at least a communication module and a trusted execution environment (TEE) including a privacy enforcement module (PEM). The PEM may receive the operational data from the VCA via the communication module, may generate filtered data by filtering the operational data based on privacy settings and may cause the filtered data to be transmitted via the communication module. The filtered data may be transmitted to at least one data consumer. The privacy settings may be configured in the PEM by the at least one operator.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 19, 2013
    Publication date: June 25, 2015
    Inventors: Ned M. Smith, Thomas G. Willis, Nathan Heldt-Sheller
  • Publication number: 20140283099
    Abstract: Generally, this disclosure describes a system including a privacy aware DHCP service and a user device. The user device includes a trusted execution environment including a client privacy agent configured to request a first Internet Protocol (IP) address from a DHCP service and to determine a device privacy score based, at least in part, on a DHCP policy; memory comprising secure storage configured to store the first IP address; and communication circuitry configured to establish at least one connection between the user device and at least one entity over a network using the first IP address. The client privacy agent is configured to monitor communication activity over the connection(s), to update the device privacy score based, at least in part, on the communication activity, and to close the connection(s) if the device privacy score is outside an acceptable privacy score range, the acceptable privacy range bounded by a privacy threshold.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 14, 2013
    Publication date: September 18, 2014
    Inventors: Ned M. Smith, Thomas G. Willis
  • Publication number: 20140181995
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed toward publication and/or removal of attributes in a multi-user computing environment. In some embodiments, a consumer information manager (CIM) associated with a user of a multi-user computing system may receive a notification, from a dimension authority (DA), of a decrease in a population count of users of the computing system who have published an attribute within the computing system, and may determine whether the user has published the attribute. In response to receiving the notification of the decrease and determining that the user has published the attribute, the CIM may determine a likelihood that continued publication of the attribute will enable identification of the user, compare the likelihood to a threshold, and, when the likelihood exceeds the threshold, remove the attribute from publication. Other embodiments may be disclosed and/or claimed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 24, 2013
    Publication date: June 26, 2014
    Inventors: Ned M. Smith, Nathan Heldt-Sheller, Thomas G. Willis
  • Patent number: 7371014
    Abstract: A monolithic cable assembly includes a communication cable and cable connectors coupled to either end of the communication cable. The communication cable includes at least one optical communication channel. The cable connectors include a physical end connector for electrically coupling to a data device connector, optoelectronic components for converting data signals between an electrical realm and an optical realm, and a passively aligned integrated lens cover. The integrated lens cover includes at least one optical pathway for coupling optical data signals between the at least one optical communication channel and the optoelectronic components.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2008
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Thomas G. Willis, Sylvia Downing, George Hayek, Jesse Chin, William H. Wang, Darren S. Crews, Brian H. Kim