FR2654238A1 - METHOD FOR AUTHENTICATING THE IDENTITY OF A PHYSICAL PERSON AND AUTHENTICATING DEVICE FOR IMPLEMENTING THE METHOD. - Google Patents

Abstract

A simple, low-cost method for establishing beyond all doubt the identity of an individual accessing the resources of a protected information system or those of a restricted service. The method allows a user to take advantage of the reciprocity of the verifying mechanism. Because of the verifying device's completely self-contained mode of operation, the verifying method can be integrated without particular difficulty into existing information systems or manual processes.

Description

 The invention relates to a method which makes it possible to authenticate with certainty the identity of a natural person, within the framework of access to the resources of a protected computer system or to a reserved service, and an authenticating device for the implementation of the process.

 The field of the invention is more generally that of reciprocal authentication of participants in the context of the execution of a mutual identification procedure.

 This is particularly the case, when a user accesses a protected resource of a computer system, for example the management of his bank account from his home or requests to benefit from a service reserved for subscribers, for example the service telephone information Please

 I1 is known to date, that the most widely used means for ensuring the control of the identity of a natural person, commonly called "authentication", is based on the recognition of a digital or alphanumeric secret code. This secret code is the personal property of each individual.

 When connecting to a computer system, the authentication procedure for an authorized user is generally as follows - the user communicates his identity to the computer system, by entering the identification which has been assigned to him, on the keyboard of a terminal.

- in order to ensure that there is no identity theft, the computer system asks the user to provide information which is personal to him: his secret code.

- The specialized software of the computer system compares the secret code, communicated by the user, with the reference secret code, which is kept in a particular memory or in a protected file. If the two codes are identical, the user is authorized to access the resources of the computer system. Otherwise, the authorization is rejected.

 This procedure, which is well accepted by users, however has a major drawback due to the risks of disclosure of the personal secret code, for example when typing on the keyboard or when it is routed over the data transmission network, or even by effect. electromagnetic radiation from the user's workstation.

 In order to try to remedy this problem, some service providers offer users to introduce a second secret code. However, this does not resolve the disclosure risks listed above.

 Another disadvantage lies in the fact that in the event of the disclosure of the user's personal secret code it is not possible to determine, if this disclosure comes from negligence due to the user, of the fraudulent action from a third party to intercept this secret code, or from the voluntary transmission of this information to a third party by the user himself. Indeed, from the point of view of user involvement, having a personal secret code is not equivalent to having a physical object, specially allocated for security purposes. This fact can lead to demotivation and a lack of participation on the part of the user, with regard to the protection and security instructions in force at the provider of resources or services.

 The increasing increase in acts of piracy or computer crime, following illicit or fraudulent access to computer systems, requires strengthening the level of security of existing procedures, in order to authenticate with certainty the identity of users who try to to log in.

 This obligation is further reinforced when it comes to executing certain transactions, access to sensitive computer programs, confidential elementary data, critical resources of the operating system of the central computer or a personal computer.

 The present invention, which aims to provide a solution to the problems mentioned, proposes an authentication method and an authenticating device, the operation of which is closely associated with this method.

 This process can complement the procedure described above or replace it entirely.

 It is important to note that the authentication process is particularly well suited to operations aimed at authenticating with certainty users, who access the resources of a computer system, and who wish to ensure that the computer system accessed is well the expected computer system. This objective is obtained due to the reciprocity of the authentication mechanism used.

 In addition, the authentication process and the authenticating device can be used for security purposes, which justify a mutual authentication of the participants, within the framework of a manual procedure. Indeed, the authentication method and the authenticating device which implements it, can be advantageously used when two interlocutors wish to ascertain with certainty of their respective identity, for example when placing an order which would be carried out by telephone, that is to say when the workers cannot recognize each other visually.

 This is also the case during the transmission of certain financial or stock market directives, when the interlocutors present are not always the same, and where the consequences of a hoax can prove to be truly formidable.

 This is also the case in certain troubleshooting operations for technical installations carried out remotely, for example the remote maintenance of electronic equipment such as computers, telephone exchanges, or information systems that can be consulted remotely.

 The method is in particular intended to allow in a simple and inexpensive way, to authenticate a natural person when he accesses sensitive resources, or to reserved services, by allowing him to control with certainty, in a reciprocal way, the identity the provider of the protected resource or the reserved service.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will emerge more clearly from the description which follows of the method and of an authenticating device which implements it, in which
FIG. 1 represents an authenticating device.

 Figure 2 shows an example of the personalized information grid.

 FIG. 3 represents a sectional view of the authenticating device presented in FIG. 1.

 FIG. 4 is a diagram which represents the general principles implemented by the authentication method and by the authenticating device.

 Figures 5, 6, and 7 show a concrete example, relating to the operation of the authentication method and the authenticator device.

 In accordance with FIG. 1, an authenticating device for implementing the method consists of a rigid support having the shape of a rectangle of 8.5 cm in length by 5.5 cm in width and approximately 0.1 cm thick.

 The authenticating device can be made of a known material, flexible plastic for example, and in this case, its external appearance is close to that of a credit card of a banking organization.

 On the ordinate of the upper face (recto), there are two slides (2) and (3), the production of which is made, in a known manner, and at the bottom of which appear alphabetical references, for example the letters from J to A, inscribed from top to bottom.

 On the abscissa of the upper face (recto), there are two slides (4) and (5), the production of which is carried out in a known manner, and at the bottom of which appear numerical references, for example the numbers from 30 to 01, inscribed from left to right.

 In the slides (2) and (3), moves a slide (7) on which appear alphabetical marks, for example the letters from A to J written from top to bottom. The displacement of said slide in said slides reveals the letter inscribed at the bottom of the slides and makes disappear from the grid, represented by the rectangle (11), the letter inscribed on the upper face of the slide. For example, the letter J written at the bottom of the slide appears when the letter J written on the slide leaves the grid following a movement of the slide (7) downwards.

This action has the effect of modifying the position of the row referenced A, since the information is read from the second row, instead of obtaining it from the first row.

 In the slides (4) and (5), moves a slide (8) on which figures numerical marks, for example the numbers from 01 to 30, written from left to right. The displacement of said slide in said slides shows the figures inscribed at the bottom of the slides and makes disappear from the grid represented by the rectangle (11) the figures inscribed on the upper face of the slide. For example the number 30, inscribed at the bottom of the slide, appears when the number 30, inscribed on the slide, leaves the grid following a movement of the slide (8) to the right. This action has the effect of modifying the position of the column referenced 01, since the information is read from the second column on the left, instead of obtaining it from the first column on the left.

 The inner rectangle (11), formed by the ordinate slide (3) and the abscissa slide (5), the lower edge (9) and the straight edge (10) of the authenticating device, is intended to receive the printed information which are specific to each authenticating device.

 The printed information represented in FIG. 2 comes from the computer processing for personalization of the authenticating device, which is carried out by the implementation of a specialized algorithm, executed by a computer.

This personalized information grid is printed on a paper support, which may be of the "non-photocopiable" type, the back of which is coated with an adhesive so as to be stuck on the authenticating device, at the location referenced (11). .

 Following this operation, the user can find one or more characters appearing on the personalized information grid, insofar as he has the coordinates on the abscissa and on the ordinate.

 The search is carried out by reading the information which appears at the intersection of the letters A to J, written on the slide positioned on the ordinate, and of the numbers 01 to 30 which are written on the slide positioned on the abscissa, of the authenticating device.

 The sliding of each slide, at different positions from the neutral position, symbolized by the arrows on the ordinate (12) and on the abscissa (13), makes it possible to considerably increase the number of possible combinations which is offered by the authenticating device. .

 The positioning of each slide on a letter and on a well determined number represents a secret which is known only to the sole owner of the authenticating device. Once this positioning has been ensured by the user, the authenticating device becomes usable, because it allows the characters in the grid to be correctly selected.

 Suppose that the coordinates of the user is D 18. The implementation of the authenticating device takes place, by positioning the letter D written on the slide (7) opposite the arrow (12), and the number 18 written on the slide (8) opposite the arrow (13). Then just read the information that appears at the intersection formed by the coordinate: ordinate and abscissa.

 After use, in order to render the authenticating device unusable by a third party, the user need only return the authenticating device to its neutral position. This operation consists in positioning each slide in the rest position, that is to say placing the letter E written on the slide (7) opposite the arrow (12), and the number 15 written on the slide (8) in face of the arrow (13). In this way, the theft of the authenticating device by an ill-intentioned person, would not allow them to make use of it which could affect the level of security obtained by the process.

 Although each authenticating device is perfectly identical from a physical point of view, each authenticating device becomes different from a logical point of view because - each authenticating device has a personalized information grid inscribed in the rectangle (11), - each authenticating device can only be implemented insofar as the user has the coordinates to be positioned on the ordinate and on the abscissa.

 The personalized information grid and the specific contact details for a user are obtained, following computer processing by a computer, which is carried out on the user's references, by a specialized algorithm.

 The authenticating device is of simple design, which is an advantage vis-à-vis the maintenance and the cost of said device.

 The authenticating device is auditable. Indeed from the point of view of security, the certainty is absolute that there can be no hidden mechanism, which would allow to hide any trap, which would weaken the level of security of the process. It is not the same for devices that are made with electronic components and that operate according to a recorded program. Indeed, nothing proves that these devices do not react fraudulently in a particular situation. For example, the reception of a sequence of characters, the pre-programming of which, in the electronic device or in one of the components, aims to trigger a specific action.

 The authentication method and the authenticating device for implementing it, is characterized by the basic principle broken down in FIG. 4, the explanation of which is given below.

When a user performs a standard procedure for connection to a computer system (14), the specialized software of this system receives the message composed by the user on the keyboard of his terminal. In this message is written the necessary identification code, for example
PATH.

 The specialized software of the computer system stores this identification code, and sends back (15) to the user the message represented by FIG. 5. This message is a series of challenges which have been generated in a totally random manner, and which are displayed on the terminal screen in the form of a table, for example 10 rows on the ordinate and 14 columns on the abscissa. Each challenge is itself made up of coordinates: ordinate and abscissa, for example D 23.

 In order to respond to the challenge offered by the computer system, the user will perform the following operations - find the challenge intended for him and which is hidden in the table of challenges (16), using the coordinates which have been communicated to him. , upon delivery of its authenticating device.

- position the ordered slide (7) and the abscissa slide (8) of its authenticating device opposite the letter and the numbers corresponding to said coordinates, so as to bring it into line with the information available to the computer system (17) .

- retrieve the character sequence to provide, as a response, to the computer system. These characters are located at the intersection of the ordered row and the abscissa column, which corresponds to the coordinates of the challenge (17).

- transmit this sequence of characters to the computer system by dialing it on the keyboard of its terminal (18).

 In order to control the response made by the user, to the challenge addressed by the computer system, the specialized software of said system, will execute (19) the following verification operations - reconstitute the personalized information grid which is present on the device user authenticator, by applying the algorithm specialized on the reference which identifies the user, for example DUCHEMIN.

- calculate the coordinates of the user: ordinate and abscissa by again applying the specialized algorithm on the reference: DUCHEMIN.

- determine the response to the challenge, from the personalized information grid and contact details: ordered and abscissa of the user.

- compare this response, with the response transmitted (18) by the user. If the answers are different, the connection request is rejected. If the answers are identical, the connection request is accepted, then the system will execute the following operations - determining the response of the computer system, to respond to the response formulated by the user; this response is obtained from the personalized information grid and the user's ordered and abscissa coordinates; for example, use the information on the row below the row that corresponds to the response to the challenge.

- display this sequence of characters on the screen of the user's terminal (20).

 Within the framework of a reciprocal authentication of the participants and in order to verify the response proposed by the computer system, the user will execute the following operations: - position the ordered slide (7) and the abscissa slide (8) of his device authenticator opposite the letter and the numbers corresponding to the coordinates which have been communicated to it, upon delivery of its authenticating device, so as to bring it into line with the information available to the computer system (21).

- find the character sequence to be checked on the information grid of the authenticating device. These characters are located at the intersection of the ordered row and the abscissa column.

- visually compare the characters present on the personalized information grid, and the characters which are displayed on the terminal screen. If the characters are identical, proof is given to the user that the connection which has been established is made with the expected computer system. If the characters displayed are different from those present on the personalized information grid of the authenticating device, the user is provided with proof that the computer system to which he is connected is a usurper system.

 The present invention, which allows the computer system to ascertain with certainty the identity of the user and, which reciprocally allows the user to verify that he is indeed in relation to the computer system to which he wishes to connect , will be better understood on reading the description which follows. This description lists the actions to be carried out in the context of a concrete, non-limiting example of the method and of the authenticating device which implements it, and refers to the information which is represented in FIG. 5, FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 .

 We will assume in this example that - the coordinates of the user DUCHEMIN are B 08, that is to say that the specialized algorithm determined, from the character string DUCHEMIN, the letter B on the ordinate and the digits 08 on the x-axis.

- the existing agreement, between the computer system and the user, to respond to the challenge, consists in exchanging the four letters on the right which appear at the ordered and abscissa intersection of the personalized information grid.

- the existing agreement, between the computer system and the user, to respond to the response to the challenge, consists in exchanging the four letters on the right of the line below that of the intersection: ordinate and abscissa of the information grid customized.

In order to discover the challenge which is hidden in the screen displayed on his terminal, the user searches, in the row
B and in column 08 of the proposed table, the coordinates corresponding to this challenge. Consulting the table in Figure 5 therefore indicates the coordinates: F 13.

 In order to find the answer to this challenge, the user must first make his authenticating device usable, by positioning it with the coordinates which have been communicated to him, in our example B 08.

 FIG. 6 represents the authenticating device at rest. The coordinates F 13 give access to the four EBUZ characters. This answer does not correspond to the challenge F 13 which was proposed by the computer system.

FIG. 7 represents the authenticating device in the operating position. The slide placed on the ordinate is positioned on the letter B, and the slide placed on the abscissa is positioned on the numbers 08. The coordinates
F 13 now gives access to the four HBXP characters.

This answer corresponds to the challenge F 13 which was proposed by the computer system.

 In order to provide the user with proof that the connection that has been established is well made with the expected computer system, the system returns to the user, the response of the HBXP response to challenge F 13, in our example the four characters located on the next row - row G - and originating from the same ordinate. The system therefore communicates the letters UYTM, displaying them on the screen of the user's terminal.

 At this stage, the user can visually compare the response transmitted by the computer system, and that provided by his authenticating device. Depending on the result of this verification, the user decides whether or not to continue his activity.

 Finally, with the aim of rendering the authenticating device unusable by an unauthorized third party, the user replaces each slide in the neutral position, which is described in FIG. 6.

 Another example, of convention between the computer system and the user, can consist in exchanging dynamic information, that is to say information which changes constantly. In this case, the specialized information grid is made up of a sequence of numbers. The challenge addressed to the user consists in adding two sets of figures and returning the result, as a response, to the challenge proposed by the computer system. The challenge is communicated to the user in the usual way, in the form of a table of challenges. The first term to be added is obtained by reading the numbers at the intersection of the coordinates: ordinate and abscissa of the personalized information grid, before the ordered slide and the abscissa slide is positioned. The second term to be added is obtained , as for him, by reading the figures at the intersection of the ordinate and abscissa coordinates of the personalized information grid, after the ordered slide and the abscissa slide are positioned. The answer is represented by the result of the operation. From this answer, it is practically impossible to find the terms of origins. The response of the computer system to the user is the result of the multiplication of the two terms previously added by the user. Thus, the user can easily authenticate the computer system which has just formulated the response.

 The authentication method uses an authenticating device as shown in Figure 1. In this case the support is a flexible plastic. However, a complementary and advantageous characteristic of the method consists in that the authenticating device can be produced with different media. For example, the logic retained for the authenticating device can be cut in software. In the long term, to be executed by a generalized computer, or by a specialized computer, this software can itself be recorded in one of the following media - a specialized electronic component such as a RAM or EPROM type memory or even EEPROM - a magnetic type medium, for example a standard computer floppy disk of 5 1/4 inches, 3 inches 1 / 2 or 2 1/2 inches.

- an optical type support for personal computer, - a photographic type support, for example a laser card, - a microcomputer, - etc ...

 However, from the point of view of the user, the operating mode, which presides over the implementation of the medium, remains identical to that of the authenticating device, which is transposed in its entirety.

 It is also obvious that any authentication process for a natural person, whether or not implemented by an authenticating device, would be deemed to be carried out in the same spirit as that of the invention, and therefore would not go beyond the ambit of the invention. framework of said invention, if one or more of the technical specifications were modified by - the density of the information entered on the personalized information grid, - the presentation of the information entered on the personalized information grid, - the nature of the information entered on the personalized information grid, - the density of the information displayed on the terminal screen, - the presentation of the information displayed on the terminal screen, - the nature of the information displayed on the terminal screen, - the characteristics specific to one or more of the algorithms used, - the number of letters written on the slide placed on the ordinate, - the number of figures written on the slide on the abscissa, - the sequence of presentation of the letters which appear on the slide placed on the ordinate, - the sequence of presentation of the figures which appear on the slide placed on the abscissa, - the conventions concerning location and length of the challenge displayed on the screen of the user's terminal, - the conventions concerning the location and the length of the challenge present on the personalized information grid, - the conventions concerning the location and the length of the response to the challenge present on the personalized information grid, - the conventions concerning the location and length of the response, made by the computer system, to the response to the challenge, - the deletion of the slide on the ordinate, for the benefit of a fixed representation of the letters A to J or of any other letters, - the deletion of the slide on the abscissa, for the benefit of a fi xes of the digits 01 to 30 or any other digits, - the number of rows which are arranged on the ordinate of the personalized information grid and of the ordered slide corresponding to it, - the number of rows which are arranged on the abscissa of the grid personalized information and the corresponding abscissa slide.

 The invention proposes an authentication method and an authenticating implementation device, acceptable to all and which, due to the perfect autonomy of the authenticating device, does not present any particular difficulty for integrating it into installations, procedures. , equipment in service to date or to implement it in new products.

 The authentication method and the authenticating device which implements it is intended to allow, in a simple and inexpensive manner, to ascertain with certainty the identity of a natural person, and moreover allows him to call on the reciprocity of the authentication mechanism.

The method relates to authentication means with a high security level.

Claims (10)

1) Authentication process characterized in that it consists of carrying out the following steps a) have a computer system produce a series of challenges and then display them on a specialized screen. b) have a user search for the challenge intended for him and which is hidden in a table of challenges. c) having a user search, using his authenticating device, for the answer to the challenge offered to him. d) have the user's response checked by the computer system. e) have the computer system respond to the response formulated by the user, if this response is correct. f) have the user verify, using his authenticating device, the response formulated by the computer system. 2) Method according to claim 1 characterized in that step a) relating to the creation of challenges by the computer system, generates a totally random sequence of challenges, and displays them on the specialized screen of a terminal or of a workstation, in the form of a table of challenges which consists of rows on the ordinate and columns on the abscissa.  3) Method according to claim 1 characterized in that step b) relating to the search by a user, to discover the challenge intended for him and which is hidden in the table of challenges, is carried out using secret coordinates : ordered and abscissa, which were communicated to him confidentially. 4) Method according to claim 1 characterized in that step c) relating to research by a user, to discover the answer to the challenge offered to him by the computer system, operates by the implementation of the authenticator device , which has been specially assigned to the user. The answer to this challenge can be found in the personalized information grid, which appears on the authenticating device, at the intersection of the ordered row and the abscissa column, which intersection corresponds to the coordinates of the challenge, 5) Method according to claim 1 characterized in that step d) relating to the verification of the response of the user by the computer system, consists of carrying out the following steps - reconstructing the personalized information grid, which appears on the user's authentication device, applying the specialized algorithm on the reference that identifies the user. - calculate the coordinates of the user: ordinate and abscissa by re-applying the algorithm specialized on the reference which identifies the user. - determine the exact response to the challenge, from the personalized information grid and the coordinates of the user ordered and abscissa. - compare this response with the response sent by the user. If the answers are different, the connection request is rejected. If the answers are identical, the connection request is accepted. 6) Method according to claim 1 characterized in that step e) relating to the response made by the computer system, to respond to the response formulated by the user, consists of carrying out the following steps - reconstructing the grid personalized information, which appears on the user's authentication device, applying the specialized algorithm on the reference that identifies the user. - calculate the coordinates of the user: ordinate and abscissa by re-applying the algorithm specialized on the reference which identifies the user. - determine the response to be provided, from the personalized information grid and the coordinates of the user ordered and abscissa, using the information entered in the row located below the row which corresponds to the response to the challenge. - display this sequence of characters on the specialized screen of the user's terminal or workstation. 7) Method according to claim 1 characterized in that step f) relating to the verification by the user, of the response formulated by the computer system, takes place by the implementation of the authenticating device, which has been specially assigned to the user. This answer can be found in the personalized information grid, which appears on the authenticating device, on the row below the row which corresponds to the coordinates of the challenge, which challenge is at the intersection of the ordered row and the column abscissa. 8) Authenticating device for implementing the method according to all of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises, on a support in the form of a rectangle of 8.5 cm in length, 5.5 cm in width and d '' a thickness of about 0.1 cm, made of a known material, the following elements - two slides, the production of which is carried out in a known manner, which are placed on the upper face (front) on the left ordinate (2) and on the right ordinate (3), and at the bottom of which are alphabetical references, for example the letters from J to A written from top to bottom. - A slide (7) on which there are alphabetical references, for example the letters from A to J, written from top to bottom, which moves in the slides placed on the ordinate (2) and (3). The displacement of said slide in said slides reveals the letter inscribed at the bottom of the slides, and causes the letter inscribed on the upper face of the slide to disappear. - two slides, the production of which is carried out in a known manner, which are placed on the upper face (recto) on the upper abscissa (4) and on the lower abscissa (5), and at the bottom of which are numerical references, for example the numbers from 30 to 01, registered from left to right. - A slide (8) on which appears numerical references, for example the numbers from 01 to 30, written from left to right, which moves in the slides placed on the abscissa (4) and (5). The displacement of said slide in said slides reveals the figures inscribed at the bottom of the slides, and causes the figures inscribed on the upper face of the slide to disappear. - a rectangle-shaped housing (11), formed by the slides on the ordinate (3), on the abscissa (5), the lower edge (9), and the right edge (10), of the authenticating device, which is intended to receive the personalized information grid which is specific for each authenticating device. 9) Authenticator device according to claim 8 characterized in that - the displacement of the slide (7) in the slides (2) and (3) has the effect of modifying the position of the row referenced A, since the reading of the characters on the Personalized information grid is made from the second row instead of getting it from the first row. - the displacement of the slide (8) in the slides (4) and (5) has the effect of modifying the position of the column referenced 01, since the reading of the characters on the personalized information grid is carried out from the second column on the left instead of getting them from the first column on the left.  - The sliding of each slide at different positions from the neutral position, symbolized by the arrows on the ordinate (12) and on the abscissa (13) makes it possible to considerably increase the number of possible combinations which is offered by the authenticating device. - the positioning of each slide on a letter and on a clearly determined number represents a secret, which is known only to the sole owner of the authenticating device. Once this positioning has been ensured by the user, the authenticating device becomes usable, because it allows the characters in the specialized information grid to be correctly selected. Conversely, in order to render the authenticating device unusable by a third party, the user need only return the authenticating device to its neutral position. This operation consists in positioning each slide in the rest position, that is to say placing the letter E written on the slide (7) opposite the arrow (12), and the number 15 written on the slide (8) in face of the arrow (13). 10) Authenticating device according to claim 8 characterized in that - each authenticating device has a personalized information grid inscribed in the rectangle (11).  This grid results from the personalization computer processing, which is carried out by the implementation of a specialized algorithm, executed by a computer, and applied to the reference which identifies the user. This information grid is printed on a paper support, the back of which is coated with an adhesive so as to be stuck in the rectangle (11). - each authenticating device can only be implemented insofar as the user knows the coordinates to be positioned on the ordinate and on the abscissa.  Said contact details specific to a user are obtained, following computer processing by a specialized algorithm, executed by a computer, and applied to the reference which identifies the user. Said contact details are communicated confidentially to said user.