MOVEMENT-BASED EVENT DETECTION IN A MOBILE DEVICE
Systems and methods are provided for enhancing security by providing additional authentication factors. Prior to authentication, a user may enroll a device from which access to a service or application is authorized. During authentication, the authentication system may retrieve the location of the enrolled device and generate one or more questions that only a user in that location can answer. The user may additionally or alternatively enroll a movement signature with an authentication server as an authentication factor. The user may set a pattern for device movement. During authentication, the user moves the device in the pattern. The device then transmits the movement signature for authentication.
1 . An authentication server, comprising:
a transceiver configured to receive an authentication request associated with a user device;
a geographic information database that stores location-specific information; and
one or more processors and/or circuits configured to:
determine a location of the user device based on information included in the authentication request;
access the geographic information database;
retrieve location-specific information corresponding to the location of the user device from the geographic information database;
generate a location-specific question based on the retrieved location-specific information; and
transmit, via the transceiver, the location-specific question to the user device.
2 . The authentication server of claim 1 , the transceiver being further configured to receive a response in response to the location-specific question, and
wherein the one or more processors and/or circuits are further configured to:
extract an answer to the location-specific question from the response; and
compare the answer to a previously-stored correct answer.
3 . The authentication server of claim 2 , wherein the one or more processors and/or circuits are further configured to authenticate the user based on the comparison.
4 . The authentication server of claim 1 , wherein the location-specific information stored in the geographic information database includes location-specific questions corresponding to different geographic locations.
5 . The authentication server of claim 4 , wherein the location-specific information stored in the geographic information database includes general information corresponding to different geographic locations.
6 . The authentication server of claim 5 , wherein the one or more processors and/or circuits are further configured to generate the location-specific question using the general information corresponding to the location of the user device.
7 . The authentication server of claim 3 , wherein the one or more processors and/or circuits are further configured to determine whether a second location-specific question is to be generated and forwarded to the user device based on the comparison.
8 . A user device, comprising:
a transceiver; and
one or more processors and/or circuits configured to:
transmit, via the transceiver, an authentication request to an authentication server, the authentication request including location information of the user device;
receive, via the transceiver, a response signal from the authentication server that includes a location-specific question corresponding to the location information;
receive, via a user input device, an answer to the location-specific question; and
transmit, via the transceiver, the answer to the authentication server.
9 . The user device of claim 8 , further comprising a location circuit configured to determine the location information of the user device.
10 . The user device of claim 9 , wherein the location circuit is a global positioning system circuit configured to determine the location information based on satellite signals.
11 . The user device of claim 8 , wherein the location circuit is configured to estimate a location of the user device.
12 . The user device of claim 8 , wherein the one or more processors and/or circuits are further configured to receive an authentication answer from the authentication server in response to the transmitting of the answer.
13 . The user device of claim 12 , wherein the one or more processors and/or circuits are further configured to provide access to at least one of a server and/or an application based on the authentication answer.
14 . A method for providing authentication a user of a user device, the method comprising:
receiving an authentication request associated with a user device;
determining a location of the user device based on information included in the authentication request;
retrieving location-specific information corresponding to the location of the user device from a geographic information database;
generating a location-specific question based on the retrieved location-specific information; and
transmit the location-specific question to the user device.
15 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising:
receiving a response from the user in response to the location-specific question;
extracting an answer to the location-specific question from the response; and
comparing the answer to a previously-stored correct answer.
16 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising authenticating the user based on the comparison.
17 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the location-specific information retrieved from the geographic information database includes location-specific questions corresponding to different geographic locations.
18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the location-specific information retrieved from the geographic information database includes general information corresponding to different geographic locations.
19 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising generating the location-specific question using the general information corresponding to the location of the user device.
20 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising determining whether a second location-specific question is to be generated and forwarded to the user device based on the comparison.