Patent Issued for Home router authentication device (USPTO 11531991): United Services Automobile Association

2023 JAN 10 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- United Services Automobile Association (San Antonio, Texas, United States) has been issued patent number 11531991, according to news reporting originating out of Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx editors.

The patent’s inventors are Bernstein, Steven Michael (San Antonio, TX, US), Luberus, Patrick Michael (San Antonio, TX, US), Meyer, Gregory Brian (San Antonio, TX, US), Russell, Ryan Thomas (The Colony, TX, US), Waters, Jr., David Ira (San Antonio, TX, US).

This patent was filed on June 28, 2021 and was published online on December 20, 2022.

From the background information supplied by the inventors, news correspondents obtained the following quote: “Financial institutions such as banks, savings and loans, credit unions and investment firms, as well as other institutions may allow their customers remote access to their accounts. Using that access, malevolent actors may gain the ability to fraudulently transfer funds from the customers’ accounts to their own accounts. The financial institutions therefore need to provide the highest practical level of security to block malevolent actors from access to the customers’ accounts. These institutions may, for example, require the customer to enter a secure password, or may require two-factor authentication. Although such requirements can be very effective, they are not necessarily foolproof. For example, if a malevolent actor somehow gains access to a customer’s password (or guesses the password), or even obtains a customer’s personal smartphone, that malevolent actor may succeed in overcoming the financial institution’s best efforts for preventing him or her from accessing the customer’s accounts. The malevolent actor could then, for example, transfer funds from the customer’s accounts to his or her own accounts.

“For that reason, there remains a need for financial institutions to use additional precautionary devices and/or measures to block access by unauthorized persons to their customers’ accounts.”

Supplementing the background information on this patent, NewsRx reporters also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “In one aspect, embodiments include a user authentication device with a portion configured to physically and electrically connect to a complementary portion on a router. The user authentication device includes an identifier of the user authentication device and an authentication app configured to transmit the identifier of the user authentication device through the router to a remote authentication server. When the user authentication device is connected to the router, the user authentication device is configured to respond to a query from the remote authentication server by transmitting the identifier of the user authentication device to the remote authentication server.

“In another aspect, embodiments include a method for confirming the identity of a user attempting to transfer funds from a customer’s bank account by providing a user authentication device to the customer that houses an authentication app that is connected to a router. The method checks to determine if the user authentication device is connected to the router. If the user authentication device is connected to the router, the authentication app is configured to transmit an identifier of the user authentication device to a server at the bank. The server at the bank then checks the identifier of the user authentication device in order to determine if it matches the user authentication device associated with the customer’s account, in order to confirm the identity of the remote user.

“In yet another aspect, embodiments include a system for preventing fraudulent transfers from a bank account that uses a user authentication device which is physically and electrically connected to a router at a remote location. The system also includes a server at a bank for the purpose of receiving a transfer of funds request from a user at the remote location who has an account at the bank, and for receiving an identifier of the user authentication device. The server is configured to determine whether the user authentication device physically and electrically connected to the router at the remote location is a legitimate user authenticated device based at least in part on the identifier of the user authentication device. The server has an authentication app configured to evaluate the user’s request to transfer funds based upon policies and security logic stored in an authentication database housed in the server. The server is configured to allow the request if the request meets all requirements demanded by the security logic.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A method of authenticating a transaction using a user authentication device plugged into a router, wherein the user authentication device stores a user identification, the method comprising: storing, by a bank server, a policy for a user account; logging, by the bank server and via the router, a user device into the user account; receiving, by the bank server and via the router, a transaction request associated with the user account from the user device; determining, by the bank server, based on the transaction request and the policy for the user account, that the user authentication device is required for executing a transaction corresponding to the transaction request; determining, by the bank server and based on the determination that the user authentication device is required, that the user authentication device is plugged into the router by polling the router and receiving, by the bank server and from the router, the user identification stored on the user authentication device; and executing, by the bank server, the requested transaction in response to receiving the user identification stored on the user authentication device from the router.

“2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: transmitting, by the bank server, a one-time password to a separate device associated with the user account; and receiving, by the bank server, the one-time password from the user device.

“3. The method of claim 1, wherein the logging comprises performing a two-factor authentication.

“4. The method of claim 1, wherein the policy limits a payment to a payee to no more than an amount specific to the payee.

“5. The method of claim 1, wherein the determination that the user authentication device is required further comprises determining that a payment amount, specified by the transaction request, is greater than a threshold.

“6. The method of claim 1, further comprising registering, with the bank server, the user authentication device as associated with the user account.

“7. The method of claim 1, wherein the user device is connected to the router.

“8. The method of claim 1, further comprising establishing a wireless connection between the user device and the router.

“9. The method of claim 1, wherein the user authentication device is plugged into a port of the router.

“10. The method of claim 1, further comprising establishing a connection between the router and the bank server via an internet service provider.

“11. The method of claim 1, wherein the user identification is permanently stored on the user authentication device.”

For the URL and additional information on this patent, see: Bernstein, Steven Michael. Home router authentication device. U.S. Patent Number 11531991, filed June 28, 2021, and published online on December 20, 2022. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(11531991)&db=USPAT&type=ids

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