KR20220160357A - Method and apparatus for user account authentication - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed are a method and an apparatus for user account authentication. The method for user account authentication according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is executed by a computing device having one or more processors and a memory storing one or more programs executed by the one or more processors, comprises: an operation of determining an account value for a user account based on one or more evaluation elements related to the user account; an operation of deciding a security level for the user account based on the account value; an operation of deciding an authentication method for the user account based on the security level; and an operation of authenticating the user account according to the authentication method. Therefore, the method and an apparatus for user account authentication can enhance the security of the user account.

Description

User account authentication method and device {METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR USER ACCOUNT AUTHENTICATION}

The disclosed embodiments relate to user account authentication techniques.

Thanks to the development of information technology, the importance of user accounts increases according to people's use time and cash investment for each online service provided by the server, so the need to ensure the confidentiality of user accounts is increasing.

Accordingly, in order to prevent people's information from being leaked to unwanted third parties, a procedure for authenticating whether a user account is requested by a user having legitimate authority is required.

However, conventional authentication means for security are applied in a uniform manner regardless of the value of user accounts, so there is a problem in that differential protection is not achieved for user accounts with high account values.

Disclosed embodiments are to provide a user account authentication method and apparatus.

A method of authenticating a user account according to an embodiment of the present invention is a method performed in a computing device having one or more processors and a memory storing one or more programs executed by the one or more processors, and includes one or more information related to a user account. Determining an account value for the user account based on an evaluation factor, determining a security level for the user account based on the account value, and determining an authentication method for the user account based on the security level. and performing authentication on the user account according to the authentication method.

The determining of the security level may include determining one of a plurality of preset security levels as a security level for the user account, and the determining of the authentication method may include an authentication method preset for each of the plurality of security levels. Among them, an authentication method for the security level of the user account may be determined as the authentication method for the user account.

In the authentication method preset for each of the plurality of security levels, at least one of the type and number of authentication means to be used for the authentication may be different.

The one or more evaluation factors may include at least one of an access history for the user account, an authentication history, and a service use history using the user account.

The user account may be a game account for playing an online game, and the service use history may include at least one of character information and item information for one or more user characters created in the game account.

When an additional event occurs, the method may further include changing the security level based on at least one of the additional event and whether authentication for the additional event is successful.

In the changing operation, the security level may be changed based on a decrease in the account value when a decrease in the account value is expected due to the additional event.

An apparatus for authenticating a user account according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a user account analyzer for determining an account value for a user account based on one or more evaluation factors related to the user account, and a value for the user account based on the account value. It may include a security level determining unit for determining a security level, an authentication method determining unit for determining an authentication method for the user account based on the security level, and an authentication unit for performing authentication for the user account according to the authentication method. have.

The security level determining unit determines one of a plurality of preset security levels as the security level for the user account, and the authentication method determining unit determines the authentication method for the user account among the authentication methods preset for each of the plurality of security levels. An authentication method for the security level may be determined as an authentication method for the user account.

In the authentication method preset for each of the plurality of security levels, at least one of the type and number of authentication means to be used for the authentication may be different.

The one or more evaluation factors may include at least one of an access history for the user account, an authentication history, and a service use history using the user account.

The user account may be a game account for playing an online game, and the service use history may include at least one of character information and item information for one or more user characters created in the game account.

When an additional event occurs, the security level determiner may change the security level based on at least one of the additional event and whether authentication for the additional event is successful.

The security level determining unit may change the security level based on a decrease in the account value when a decrease in the account value is expected due to the additional event.

According to the disclosed embodiments, a stronger security level may be automatically applied to a user account having a higher protection value by differentiating a security level based on an account value.

If a change in account value due to an additional event is expected, the security of the user account can be increased by changing the security level at the time of the additional event or after authentication for the additional event.

1 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary system environment to which a user account authentication method according to an embodiment is applied.
2 is a configuration diagram of a user account authentication device according to an embodiment.
3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a preset authentication method for a security level according to an embodiment.
4 is a diagram illustrating an example for explaining an additional user account authentication method according to an embodiment.
5 is a flowchart of a user account authentication method according to an embodiment.
6 is a block diagram illustrating and describing a computing environment 10 including a computing device according to an exemplary embodiment.

Hereinafter, specific embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. The detailed descriptions that follow are provided to provide a comprehensive understanding of the methods, devices and/or systems described herein. However, this is only an example and disclosed embodiments are not limited thereto.

In describing the embodiments, if it is determined that a detailed description of a related known technology may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the disclosed embodiments, the detailed description will be omitted. In addition, terms to be described later are terms defined in consideration of functions in the disclosed embodiments, which may vary according to intentions or customs of users or operators. Therefore, the definition should be made based on the contents throughout this specification. Terminology used in the detailed description is only for describing the embodiments and should in no way be limiting. Unless expressly used otherwise, singular forms of expression include plural forms. In this description, expressions such as "comprising" or "comprising" are intended to indicate any characteristic, number, step, operation, element, portion or combination thereof, one or more other than those described. It should not be construed to exclude the existence or possibility of any other feature, number, step, operation, element, part or combination thereof.

1 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary system environment for user account authentication according to one embodiment.

The user account may include an integrated account for using each online service provided by a plurality of servers through one login information.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a system environment 100 according to an embodiment includes a user account authentication device 110 and a user device 130 .

The user account authentication device 110 is a device that authenticates a user account and may perform authentication using information transmitted from the user device 130 .

Specifically, the user account authentication device 110 may determine a security level based on the user account and perform authentication on the user account according to an authentication method corresponding to the security level.

Meanwhile, the user account authentication device 110 communicates with the user device 130 through a network such as the Internet, and when a user acquires account information and requests account authentication, authentication is performed on the obtained user account information.

According to one embodiment, the user account authentication device 110 is implemented by including an authentication server that performs authentication using account information included in the account authentication request, or is included in a separate authentication server capable of communicating with the service server. Although it may be implemented as a configuration, the implementation form of the user account authentication device 110 is not necessarily limited to a specific embodiment.

The user device 130 is a device used by a user to access his or her user account, and can display a user account authentication screen and receive user account information based on user input.

For example, it may be in the form of a smart phone, a tablet PC, a smart watch, a smart band, or a personal computer.

2 is a configuration diagram of a user account authentication device according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 2 , the user account authentication device 110 according to an embodiment includes a user account analysis unit 111, a security level determination unit 113, an authentication method determination unit 115, and an authentication unit 117. do.

According to an embodiment, the user account analysis unit 111, the security level determination unit 113, the authentication method determination unit 115, and the authentication unit 117 are each implemented using one or more physically separated devices, or It may be implemented by one or more hardware processors or a combination of one or more hardware processors and software, and unlike the illustrated example, specific operations may not be clearly distinguished.

The user account analyzer 111 determines an account value for the user account based on one or more evaluation factors associated with the user account.

In addition, the user account analyzer 111 may comprehensively determine the account value by applying weights to two or more evaluation factors related to the user account.

The account value means the economic value of the user account created through the user's service use of the online service provided by the server through the user account.

The evaluation factor may include at least one of a user account access history, authentication history, and service use history using a user account. In this case, the access history may include, for example, the user's latest service access time, total access time, and number of accesses. In addition, the service use history using the user account may include, for example, bill payment, product purchase, etc., but is not limited to the above-described example.

Meanwhile, according to an embodiment, the user account may be a game account for online game play. In this case, the service use history may include at least one of character information and item information about one or more user characters created in the game account.

The character information may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the number of characters, goods possessed by the character, progress level of the character, and character level.

The item information may include at least one of the number of possessed items, possession of a specific item, and monetary value of the item, but is not limited thereto.

An item refers to a virtual object that is utilized in the game and is obtained in the process of playing the game or can be purchased in the game. For example, the items may include various items mounted on a user's game character or used by a user account, such as weapons, protective gear, recovery items, or virtual goods in games including cash/game money. Depending on this, the game character itself may be included. However, it is not limited to the above example and may include various items that are used in the game and may be subject to transaction between users, and may be variously changed according to the type or form of the game.

For example, it may be determined that the account value of user A who installs and plays only free games is lower than the account value of user B who installs and plays one paid game. Also, for example, it may be determined that the account value of user D, whose game character level is 30 or less, is lower than the account value of user E, whose game character level is 70 or higher. Also, for example, it may be determined that the account value of user F whose total value of owned items is 10,000 won or less is lower than the account value of user G whose total value of owned items is 100 million won or more.

The security level determination unit 113 determines the security level for the user account based on the account value.

The security level refers to a criterion for classifying a plurality of user accounts using a service according to the importance of account value and differentiating protection methods according to each importance. At this time, the protection method is a means of allowing authorized access to the user account to be protected and blocking unauthorized access attempts, and determining whether the user's identity is correct, for example, ID/password, biometric authentication, OTP, It can include entity authentication such as IP/region confirmation, QR code authentication, SMS authentication, ARS authentication, and account authentication.

According to an embodiment, the security level determination unit 113 may determine one of a plurality of preset security levels as the security level for the user account.

Specifically, according to an embodiment, the security level may be preset to a plurality of security levels based on a preset account value threshold. For example, security levels range from Lv.1 to Lv. It can be preset to 4 levels up to 4.

Meanwhile, the security level determining unit 113 may determine a security level corresponding to an account value of a user account among a plurality of preset security levels as the security level of the user account.

For example, user A, who only installs and plays free games, sets the security level to Lv. 1, and set the security level of user B, who installs and plays one paid game, to Lv. 2, and set the security level of user C, who installs and plays 5 paid games, to Lv. 4 can be determined. Also, for example, the security level of user D, whose game character is level 30, is set to Lv. It can be determined as 1, and the security level of user E whose game character is level 70 is Lv. 4 can be determined. Also, for example, the security level of user F whose total value of owned items is 10,000 won or less is set to Lv. It can be determined as 1, and the security level of user G, whose total value of owned items is 100 million won or more, is set to Lv. 4 can be determined.

The authentication method determination unit 115 may determine an authentication method for the user account based on the security level.

According to an embodiment, the authentication method determination unit 115 may determine an authentication method for a security level of a user account among preset authentication methods for each of a plurality of security levels as an authentication method for a user account.

Meanwhile, according to an embodiment, at least one of the type and number of authentication means to be used for authentication may be different from the preset authentication method for each of a plurality of security levels.

Meanwhile, a preset authentication method may be preset by a user, but may also be preset by a game developer or a game service provider according to embodiments.

Further, according to an embodiment, an authentication means to be used for authentication may be added to an authentication method preset for each of a plurality of security levels as the security level increases.

3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a preset authentication method for a security level according to an embodiment.

As in the example shown in FIG. 3 , the type and number of authentication means may be different in the example authentication methods 330 , 350 , 370 , and 390 according to the security level 310 .

For example, the user account authentication device 110 determines ID/password, biometric authentication, and IP/region when the security level 310 determined based on the account value for the user account has the highest security level of Lv.4. And four authentication means including OTP may be determined as the authentication method 330 for the user account. In this case, the user can complete authentication by performing ID/password, biometric authentication, IP/region confirmation, and OTP authentication.

For example, when the security level 310 determined based on the account value for the user account is Lv. It can be determined as an authentication method 390 for. In this case, the user may complete authentication through authentication through ID/password input.

In addition, as shown in the example shown in FIG. 3, exemplary authentication methods 330, 350, 370, and 390 may be performed by adding an authentication means to be used for authentication as the security level 310 increases. For example, if the security level is Lv. In the authentication method 350 for a three-person user account, the security level for performing authentication through ID/password and IP/region confirmation is Lv. Compared to the authentication method 370 for a two-person user account, authentication may be performed by adding biometric authentication.

The authentication unit 117 performs authentication on the user account according to the determined authentication method.

According to an embodiment, the authentication unit 117 may perform authentication for a user account when at least one of a service access by a user and an action that may change the account value of the user account occurs.

Specifically, when a user accesses a service, such as password change, new device registration and release, new IP and region access, and repeated login attempts, the authentication unit 117 may authenticate the user account.

In addition, actions that change the account value of a user account, such as, for example, changing or deleting a game, account or character, using or refunding an item, transferring an item to another user, selling/transferring an item, or attempting to register an auction house When occurs, the authentication unit 117 may perform authentication on the user account.

According to an embodiment, when an additional event occurs, the security level determiner 113 may change the security level based on at least one of an additional event and whether authentication for the additional event is successful.

Specifically, additional events include, for example, password change, new device registration and release, new IP and region access, service access by users such as repeated login attempts, game, account or character change or deletion, and item use. Alternatively, it may include actions that change the account value of a user account, such as refund, transfer of an item to another user, sale/transfer of an item, or attempt to register an item at an auction house.

Meanwhile, according to an embodiment, the security level determining unit 113 may change the security level based on the decrease in account value when a decrease in account value is expected due to an additional event.

At this time, according to an embodiment, when there is a change in the security level due to an additional event, the authentication unit 117 may perform authentication for the user account according to a preset authentication method corresponding to the changed security level.

4 is a diagram illustrating an example for explaining a user account authentication method for an additional event according to an exemplary embodiment.

4(a) illustrates an example of an item exchange screen in which an item transaction, which is an additional event, occurs according to an exemplary embodiment.

As in the example shown in FIG. 4 (a) , the exemplary item exchange screen 400 may include a transaction target item information display object 410 and a transaction decision UI 420 .

The transaction target item information display object 410 may include at least one of the capability and value of the transaction target item.

The transaction decision UI 420 may include a UI for acquiring a user's input regarding a decision to sell a transaction target item corresponding to the transaction target item information display object 410 .

When there is a user's request for an additional event such as item transaction, the security level determining unit 113 temporarily sets the security level of the user account based on the decrease in account value due to the item transaction. can be raised.

According to an embodiment, the security level determining unit 113 obtains a user's input through the transaction decision UI 420, and then sells the transaction target item corresponding to the transaction target item information display object 410. If a decrease in account value is expected, the security level can be raised. Thereafter, the authenticator 117 may provide the user device 130 with a screen requesting an additional authentication means included in the preset authentication method for the changed security level of FIG. 4 (b).

For example, the security level determining unit 113 determines the user account when the decrease in the account value of the user account decreases beyond a preset standard due to the sale of the item corresponding to the transaction target item information display object 410. Set the security level to Lv. 2 to Lv. can be changed to 3. At this time, the authentication unit 117 determines the changed security level Lv. For example, a screen for requesting authentication means including ID/password, IP/region confirmation, and biometric authentication, which are account authentication means for 3, may be provided to the user.

4(b) illustrates an example of a screen requesting an additional authentication means according to a changed security level according to an embodiment.

As in the example shown in FIG. 4 (b), the exemplary additional authentication means request screen 450 may include a changed security level display object 460 and a plurality of authentication means input UIs 470 and 480.

When an additional event occurs, the changed security level display object 460 may display the changed security level and whether additional authentication is required based on the additional event.

The plurality of authentication means input UIs 470 and 480 may include a user interface (UI) for acquiring a user input for an authentication method preset for a changed security level.

For example, when the changed security level is Lv. 3, the authentication means input UI 470 includes a UI for acquiring a user account ID/password, and the authentication means input UI 470 includes the user's biometric information. A UI for obtaining one fingerprint may be included.

According to an embodiment, the security level determining unit 113 may change the security level based on whether or not authentication is successful using an authentication means.

According to an embodiment, when an additional event occurs, the security level determiner 113 may change the security level based on whether authentication for the additional event is successful.

For example, the security level determining unit 113 temporarily changes the security level Lv. Depending on whether the authentication using the authentication means corresponding to step 3 is successful, the security level determining unit 113 may change the security level again.

For example, the security level determining unit 113 sets the security level to Lv. can be improved to 4. For another example, the security level determining unit 113 sets the security level to Lv. can be lowered to 2.

5 is a flowchart of a user account authentication method according to an embodiment.

The method shown in FIG. 5 may be performed by, for example, the user account authentication device 110 in FIGS. 1 and 2 .

Referring to FIG. 5 , the user account authentication device 110 determines the account value of the user account based on one or more evaluation factors related to the user account (510).

Thereafter, the user account authentication device 110 determines a security level for the user account based on the account value (530).

Thereafter, the user account authentication device 110 determines an authentication method for the user account based on the security level (550).

Thereafter, the user account authentication device 110 performs authentication on the user account according to the authentication method (570).

Meanwhile, in the flowchart shown in FIG. 5, the game interface providing method is described by dividing it into a plurality of operations, but one or more operations that are combined with other operations and performed together, omitted, divided into detailed operations, or not shown are performed together. can be added and performed.

6 is a block diagram illustrating and describing a computing environment 10 including a computing device according to an exemplary embodiment.

6 is a block diagram illustrating and describing a computing environment 10 including a computing device according to an exemplary embodiment. In the illustrated embodiment, each component may have different functions and capabilities other than those described below, and may include additional components other than those described below.

The illustrated computing environment 10 includes a computing device 12 . In one embodiment, computing device 12 may be user account authentication device 100 in FIG. 1 .

Computing device 12 includes at least one processor 14 , a computer readable storage medium 16 and a communication bus 18 . Processor 14 may cause computing device 12 to operate according to the above-mentioned example embodiments. For example, processor 14 may execute one or more programs stored on computer readable storage medium 16 . The one or more programs may include one or more computer-executable instructions, which when executed by processor 14 are configured to cause computing device 12 to perform operations in accordance with an illustrative embodiment. It can be.

Computer-readable storage medium 16 is configured to store computer-executable instructions or program code, program data, and/or other suitable form of information. Program 20 stored on computer readable storage medium 16 includes a set of instructions executable by processor 14 . In one embodiment, computer readable storage medium 16 includes memory (volatile memory such as random access memory, non-volatile memory, or a suitable combination thereof), one or more magnetic disk storage devices, optical disk storage devices, flash memory devices, other forms of storage media that can be accessed by computing device 12 and store desired information, or any suitable combination thereof.

Communications bus 18 interconnects various other components of computing device 12, including processor 14 and computer-readable storage medium 16.

Computing device 12 may also include one or more input/output interfaces 22 and one or more network communication interfaces 26 that provide interfaces for one or more input/output devices 24 . An input/output interface 22 and a network communication interface 26 are connected to the communication bus 18 . Input/output device 24 may be coupled to other components of computing device 12 via input/output interface 22 . Exemplary input/output devices 24 include a pointing device (such as a mouse or trackpad), a keyboard, a touch input device (such as a touchpad or touchscreen), a voice or sound input device, various types of sensor devices, and/or a photographing device. input devices, and/or output devices such as display devices, printers, speakers, and/or network cards. The exemplary input/output device 24 may be included inside the computing device 12 as a component constituting the computing device 12, or may be connected to the computing device 12 as a separate device distinct from the computing device 12. may be

Meanwhile, embodiments of the present invention may include a program for performing the methods described in this specification on a computer, and a computer readable recording medium including the program. The computer readable recording medium may include program instructions, local data files, local data structures, etc. alone or in combination. The media may be specially designed and configured for the present invention, or may be commonly available in the field of computer software. Examples of computer-readable media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks and magnetic tapes, optical media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs, and specially configured to store and execute program instructions such as ROM, RAM, and flash memory. Hardware devices are included. Examples of the program may include not only machine language codes generated by a compiler, but also high-level language codes that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter.

Although representative embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications are possible to the above-described embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention. . Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments and should not be defined, and should be defined by not only the claims to be described later, but also those equivalent to these claims.

10: Computing environment
12: computing device
14: Processor
16: computer readable storage medium
18: communication bus
20: program
22: I/O interface
24: I/O device
26: network communication interface
100: system environment
110: user account authentication device
111: user account analysis unit
113: security level determining unit
115: authentication method determining unit
117: authentication unit
130: user device

Claims (14)

one or more processors; and
A method performed in a computing device having a memory for storing one or more programs executed by the one or more processors,
determining an account value for the user account based on one or more evaluation factors associated with the user account;
determining a security level for the user account based on the account value;
determining an authentication method for the user account based on the security level; and
and performing authentication on the user account according to the authentication method. The method of claim 1,
The determining of the security level may include determining one of a plurality of preset security levels as a security level for the user account;
The determining of the authentication method may include determining an authentication method for a security level of the user account among preset authentication methods for each of the plurality of security levels as an authentication method for the user account. The method of claim 2,
wherein the preset authentication method for each of the plurality of security levels is different in at least one of the type and number of authentication means to be used for the authentication. The method of claim 1,
The one or more evaluation factors include at least one of an access history for the user account, an authentication history, and a service use history using the user account. The method of claim 4,
The user account is a game account for online game play,
The service use history includes at least one of character information and item information for one or more user characters created in the game account. The method of claim 1,
When an additional event occurs, the method of authenticating the user account further comprising changing the security level based on at least one of the additional event and whether authentication for the additional event is successful. The method of claim 6,
The changing operation includes changing the security level based on a decrease in the account value when a decrease in the account value is expected due to the additional event. a user account analyzer that determines an account value for the user account based on one or more evaluation factors associated with the user account;
a security level determination unit determining a security level for the user account based on the account value;
an authentication method determination unit configured to determine an authentication method for the user account based on the security level; and
and an authentication unit configured to perform authentication on the user account according to the authentication method. The method of claim 8,
The security level determining unit determines one of a plurality of preset security levels as a security level for the user account;
wherein the authentication method determining unit determines an authentication method for the security level of the user account among preset authentication methods for each of the plurality of security levels as the authentication method for the user account. The method of claim 9,
The authentication method preset for each of the plurality of security levels is different from at least one of the type and number of authentication means to be used for the authentication. The method of claim 8,
The one or more evaluation factors include at least one of an access history for the user account, an authentication history, and a service use history using the user account. The method of claim 11,
The user account is a game account for online game play,
The service use history includes at least one of character information and item information for one or more user characters created in the game account. The method of claim 8,
Wherein the security level determining unit, when an additional event occurs, changes the security level based on at least one of the additional event and whether or not authentication for the additional event is successful. The method of claim 13,
Wherein the security level determining unit changes the security level based on a decrease in the account value when a decrease in the account value is expected due to the additional event.

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