Continual peer authentication
A method for orchestrating peer authentication during a call (e.g., a telephone call, a conference call between three or more parties, an instant messaging [IM] chat session, etc.) is disclosed. In particular, a user is first authenticated in order to participate in a call (e.g., via entering a password, etc.), and subsequently during the call the user may be peer authenticated. In accordance with the illustrative embodiment, a user who participates in a call might be prompted to authenticate another user on the call based on particular events or user behavior during the call.
1. A method comprising:
presenting by a data-processing system an authentication challenge to a first user who wishes to participate in a call;
admitting by said data-processing system said first user to said call when said authentication challenge is met; and
generating by said data-processing system during said call, after the admission of said first user, a signal that prompts a second user participating in said call to authenticate said first user, wherein the second user consists of a human.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the generation of said signal is in response to said first user speaking for the first time during said call.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the generation of said signal is in response to said first user speaking after being silent for at least N seconds, wherein N is a positive number.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the generation of said signal is in response to said first user being silent for at least N seconds, wherein N is a positive number.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein the generation of said signal is in response to said first user speaking for less than a fraction f of time over a time interval.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein the generation of said signal is in response to said first user speaking for no more than N seconds contiguously over a time interval, wherein N is a positive number.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein said first user participates in said call via a wireless telecommunications terminal, and wherein the generation of said signal is in response to a change in location of said wireless telecommunications terminal.
8. The method of claim 1 further comprising selecting by said data-processing system said second user from a plurality of users who are participating in said call.
9. A method comprising:
presenting by a data-processing system an authentication challenge to a first user who wishes to participate in a call;
admitting by said data-processing system said first user to said call at time t 1 when said authentication challenge is met; and
generating by said data-processing system during said call, at time t 2 , a signal that prompts a second user participating in said call to authenticate said first user, wherein t 2 >t 1 , and wherein the second user consists of a human.
10. The method of claim 9 wherein said time t 2 is based on when said first user speaks during said call.
11. The method of claim 9 wherein said first user participates in said call via a wireless telecommunications terminal, and wherein said time t 2 is based on at least one location of said wireless telecommunications terminal during time interval [t 1 , t 2 ].
12. The method of claim 9 wherein said first user participates in said call via a wireless telecommunications terminal, and wherein the magnitude of t 2 -t 1 is based on at least one location of said wireless telecommunications terminal during time interval [t 1 , t 2 ].
13. The method of claim 9 wherein the magnitude of t 2 -t 1 is based on a metric of said first user's speaking during said call.
14. The method of claim 13 wherein the magnitude of t 2 -t 1 is based on the length of a time interval over which said first user is silent.
15. The method of claim 13 wherein the magnitude of t 2 -t 1 is based on the fraction of time interval [t 1 , t 2 ] over which said first user is silent.
16. The method of claim 9 further comprising selecting by said data-processing system said second user from a plurality of users who are participating in said call.
17. A method comprising:
presenting by a data-processing system an authentication challenge to a first user who wishes to participate in a call;
admitting by said data-processing system said first user to said call at time t 1 when said authentication challenge is met;
generating by said data-processing system during said call, at time t 2 , a first signal that prompts a second user participating in said call to authenticate said first user, wherein the second user consists of a human; and
generating by said data-processing system during said call, at time t 3 , a second signal that prompts a third user participating in said call to authenticate said first user, wherein t 3 >t 2 >t 1 .
18. The method of claim 17 wherein said first user participates in said call via a wireless telecommunications terminal, and wherein the magnitude of t 3 -t 2 is based on at least one location of said wireless telecommunications terminal during time interval [t 2 , t 3 ].
19. The method of claim 17 wherein the magnitude of t 3 -t 2 is based on a metric of said first user's speaking during time interval [t 2 , t 3 ].
20. The method of claim 17 further comprising:
selecting by said data-processing system said second user from a plurality of users who are participating in said call at said time t 2 ; and
selecting by said data-processing system said third user from a plurality of users who are participating in said call at said time t 3 .