Authentication Methods and Systems

Abstract

The invention provides a solution for secure authentication of an individual. The invention comprises methods and apparatus for secure input of a user's identifier e.g. PIN. An image of a keypad is superimposed over an operable keypad within a display zone of a screen associated with an electronic device. The keypad image and/or the operable keypad are generated by the device using a scrambled or randomised keypad configuration generated on or at the electronic device. The configuration or order of keys depicted in the image may or may not be scrambled or randomised. Thus, the order of keys depicted in the image do not correspond to the order of the keys in the operable keypad, so that when the user selects a ‘key’ depicted in the image on the screen, the underlying operable keypad is caused to operate and an encoded version of the user's input is received into memory on the device. The encoded input can be sent for decoding on a remote computer. The keypad configurations used for generation of the operable keypad(s) and/or keypad image(s) are generated using an input. The input could be a true or pseudo random number or biometric data relating to a user of the device. The device may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, laptop, PC, payment terminal or any other electronic computing device with a screen.

1 . A verification method comprising:
 generating at least one scrambled keypad configuration on or at an electronic device;   generating at least one of an operable keypad and a keypad image using the at least one scrambled keypad configuration; and   presenting the keypad image within a display zone of a screen associated with the electronic device; and   using a mapping between keys depicted in the keypad image and keys of the operable keypad to enter an encoded version of a user's identifier into the electronic device by operation of the keys of the operable keypad through user interaction with the keys of the keypad image.   
     
     
         2 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the mapping is based on superimposition of the keypad image over the operable keypad.   
     
     
         3 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the keypad image is an image of a non-scrambled keypad, and the operable keypad is generated using the at least one scrambled keypad configuration; or   the position of the keys depicted in the image is scrambled and the position of the keys in the operable keypad are non-scrambled; or   the configuration of the keys in both the image and the operable keypad are scrambled.   
     
     
         4 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the scrambled keypad configuration is generated on or at the electronic device by a software component.   
     
     
         5 . A method according to  claim 4 , wherein the software component is:
 i) configured to receive an input and use the input to provide one or more keypad configurations for use in generation of at least one of the operable keypad and the keypad image; or   ii) installed on the electronic device after download from a remote resource.   
     
     
         6 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the operable keypad is one of a plurality of operable keypads generated from the scrambled keypad configuration, or the keypad image is one of a plurality of keypad images generated from the scrambled keypad configuration.   
     
     
         7 . A method according to  claim 6 , wherein:
 the plurality of operable keypads is arranged or ordered in a series, stack, queue, or other data structure, or the plurality of keypad images is arranged or ordered in a series, stack, queue, or other data structure.   
     
     
         8 . A method according to  claim 6 , wherein:
 one operably keypad in the plurality of operable keypads is designated or selected as the active operable keypad for receiving input from a user.   
     
     
         9 . A method according to  claim 8 , wherein
 the selection or designation of the active operable keypad is performed automatically without user input.   
     
     
         10 . A method according to  claim 8 , further comprising:
 re-ordering or otherwise altering the plurality of operable keypads after an input has been received from the user.   
     
     
         11 . A method according to  claim 8 , further comprising:
 i) changing selection or designation of the active operable keypad such that another operable keypad becomes selected or designated as the active operable keypad; or   ii) altering the configuration of the keys of the operable keypad to provide a different ordering or arrangement of keys.   
     
     
         12 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the scrambled keypad configuration is generated using a true random number generator or pseudo random number generator; or   the scrambled keypad configuration is generated using biometric data related to a user.   
     
     
         13 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the electronic device is a mobile device or handheld device.   
     
     
         14 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the electronic device is personal computing device associated with the user.   
     
     
         15 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the operable keypad or the keypad image is erased from the electronic device following input from the user or following a specified period of time.   
     
     
         16 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 position of the display zone on the screen, or its dimensions, are specified by a procedure call.   
     
     
         17 . A method according to  claim 16 , wherein:
 the procedure call causes a keypad object to be created in volatile memory on the electronic device.   
     
     
         18 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the display zone comprises a plurality of sub-zones, each sub-zone corresponding to a key of the keypad image.   
     
     
         19 . A method according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 storing the encoded version of the user's identifier in memory associated with the electronic device, the identifier being received by the operable keypad via the keypad image such that the user's identifier is never stored on the device in an un-encoded form.   
     
     
         20 . A method according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 storing the encoded version of an identifier entered into the electronic device by the operable keypad via the keypad image; and   transmitting the encoded version of the identifier to a remote computing resource.   
     
     
         21 . A method according to  claim 20 , further comprising:
 transmitting the scrambled keypad configuration to the remote computing resource.   
     
     
         22 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the order of keys in the operable keypad is different from the order of keys depicted in the keypad image.   
     
     
         23 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the operable keypad is hidden from view.   
     
     
         24 . A method according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 generating a new operable keypad for each keystroke required from the user to enter the user's identifier; or   altering the operable keypad after receipt of an input from the user; or   replacing or exchanging the operable keypad for another operable keypad after an input from the user.   
     
     
         25 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the user enters the user's identifier by selecting a sequence of keys that are depicted in the keypad image; and   the mapping is used to generate and store an encoded version of the user's identifier on the electronic device.   
     
     
         26 . An electronic device comprising a screen and at least one component configured to perform the method of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         27 . An electronic device according to  claim 26 , further comprising:
 a true random number generator or a pseudo random number generator; or   means for capturing or generating biometric data related to the user; or   means for reading data from a smart card.   
     
     
         28 . An electronic payment terminal comprising:
 a touch screen;   a component arranged to read a payment card or other IC card; and   software arranged to execute the method of  claim 1 .   
     
     
         29 . A verification method comprising:
 displaying a keypad image within a zone of a screen associated with an electronic device;   using a first operable keypad to obtain a first keystroke from a user; and   using at least one further operably keypad to obtain at least one further keystroke from the user;   wherein at least one of configuration of the first operable keypad, configuration of the at least one further operable keypad, and configuration of the keypad image is determined using an input sequence generated on or captured locally to the electronic device; and   wherein a mapping between keys depicted in the keypad image and keys of the first operable keypad and the at least one further operable keypad is used to enter an encoded version of a user's identifier into the electronic device by operation of the keys of the operable keypad and the at least one further operable keypad through user interaction with the keys of the keypad image.   
     
     
         30 . A method according to  claim 29 , wherein:
 the mapping is based on superimposition of the keypad image over the first operable keypad and the at least one further operable keypad.