SECURING HOST CARD EMULATION CREDENTIALS

1 . A method associated with a device having near-field communication capabilities, the method comprising:

receiving, by the device, a password input by a user, wherein the password is not stored on the device prior to receiving the password;

generating an encryption key as a function of the user-input password;

decrypting an encrypted token using the encryption key;

verifying whether the token was properly decrypted;

in response to verification that the token was properly decrypted, decrypting a credential using the encryption key; and

initiating a near-field communication transaction with a reader using the decrypted credential.

2 . The method of claim 1 wherein generating the encryption key is additionally a function of one or more device-specific values.

3 . The method of claim 2 wherein generating the encryption key is additionally a function of one or more key generation parameters selected from the group comprising: user biometric data, a slider value, an iteration counter value, an initialization vector, and a salt.

4 . The method of claim 3 further comprising encrypting a token using the encryption key to form the encrypted token.

5 . The method of claim 4 further comprising creating the token by

rotating a N×M matrix of data bytes, where N and M are non-zero positive integers;

applying exclusive or to every byte in the rotated N×M matrix; and

converting the rotated the XOR′d N×M matrix into an array.

6 . The method of claim 5 further comprising validating the N×M matrix of data bytes using one or more self-validation techniques selected from the group comprising a cyclic redundancy check, a LUHN check, and short cryptogram.

7 . The method of claim 6 further comprising storing the encrypted token in an encrypted manner.

8 . The method of claim 1 wherein generating the encryption key is additionally a function of one or more key generation parameters selected from the group comprising: user biometric data, a slider value, an iteration counter value, an initialization vector, and a salt.

9 . The method of claim 9 wherein the slider value is generated by applying a windowing function at a predetermined position of a site key.

10 . A system comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory storing computer readable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the system to:

receive a password input by a user, wherein the password is not stored on the system prior to receiving the password;

generate an encryption key based on the password;

decrypt a token using the encryption key;

in response to verifying that the token was properly decrypted, decrypt a credential using the encryption key; and

initiate a near-field communication transaction with a reader using the decrypted credential.

11 . The system of claim 10 wherein the least one memory storing computer readable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, further causes the system to generate the encryption key additionally based on one or more device-specific values.

12 . The system of claim 11 wherein the least one memory storing computer readable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, further causes the system to generate the encryption key additionally based on one or more key generation parameters selected from the group comprising: user biometric data, a slider value, an iteration counter value, an initialization vector, and a salt.

13 . The system of claim 12 wherein the least one memory storing computer readable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, further causes the system to create a token by

rotating a N×M matrix of data bytes, where N and M are non-zero positive integers;

applying exclusive or to every byte in the rotated N×M matrix; and

converting the rotated the XOR′d N×M matrix into an array.

14 . The system of claim 13 wherein the least one memory storing computer readable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, further causes the system to validating the N×M matrix of data bytes using one or more self-validation techniques selected from the group comprising a cyclic redundancy check, a LUHN check, and short cryptogram.

15 . The system of claim 15 wherein the least one memory storing computer readable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, further causes the system to store the encrypted token in an encrypted manner.