WO2007092715A2

WO2007092715A2 - Method and system for providing online authentication utilizing biometric data

Info

Publication number: WO2007092715A2
Application number: PCT/US2007/061361
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jon Siegal; Simon Rowell; Thomas Hintz
Original assignee: Solidus Networks, Inc.
Priority date: 2006-02-06
Filing date: 2007-01-31
Publication date: 2007-08-16
Also published as: WO2007092715A3; US20070198435A1; US9911146B2; US7502761B2; EP1997066A2; EP1997066A4; US20090177587A1

Abstract

A system and method for securely authenticating a user for the purpose of accessing information, such as private financial or personal information, in an online environment are disclosed. In addition, a system and method for allowing consumers to make secure payments from an electronic wallet with biometric authentication are disclosed.

Description

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING ONLINE AUTHENTICATION

UTILIZING BIOMETRIC DATA

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

[0001] This application claims priority benefit under 35 U.S.G, § 119(e) from provisional application numbers 6I)/765,62I. filed February 6, 2006, (>{)/765p79, filed February 6, 2006 and 60/S2B JIl,_. filed October 9, 2006, All the foregoing provisional applications are incorporated by reference herein, in their entirely, for. ail purposes,

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] This invention pertains to online authentication and transactions^' and more specifically., -a method and system for providing secure authentication of customers seeking to access secure; information and financial services via an online interface.

BACKGROUND

[0003] More frequently., customers are turning to the convenience of websites for accessing and managing financial account information and to engage in e-commerce and other online transactions- Consequently, Internet users face a growing threat from online fraud. Identity thieves, take advantage of the anonymity of the Internet, its relative insecurity as compared to bricks and mortar outlets, and its ability to provide programmatic access to any information. Nevertheless_* consumers remain enamored by the ease of use of Internet banking and e-conimerce. sites (Morgan Stanley estimates 61% of US population is online.— H§} million users) but do hot do enough to ^'protect ^'themselves^'. For example, according to information obtained by RSA Security and Network Intelligence, 81% of people sun-eyed thought identity theft was a critical issue, but less that 46% were motivated to change passwords regularly and only 4% made the effort to cheek, credit reports. As noted by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination. Council ("FHBC"). "an effective -authentication system is -necessary tor compliance with requirements to safeguard customer informations to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing, to reduce fraud, to inhibit identity theft, aiid to promote the legal enfόreeability^' of , . , electronic -agreements and transactions/' Consequently, online service providers, such as financial institutions ('"Ff) and e-commerce merchants, have a .need for secure and reliable online authentication solutions 'utilizing multiple fee-tors ("multifaetor") of authentication^" _*. [0004] Current methods of allowing customer access to .financial information and electronic funds transfers online provide unsatisfactory levels of security. For ^'example, a typical implementation of online authentication might involve a user, such as an account holder at an FI, selecting or being assigned a useraame and pass code (single-factor authentication) for access to secure information, such as account records. However, ϋsemames and pass codes may be easily compromised through well-known Internet fraud techniques. According to the FFIECs recently, issued guidelines, stronger, multi-factor forms of authentication, are needed. FFlEC agencies "consider single-factor authentication, as the only control mechanism, to be inadequate for high- risk transactions : involving access to customer information or the movement of funds ^'to other parties. Financial institutions offering Internet- based products and services to their customers should use effective methods to authenticate the identity of customers ^'using those products and services" (see Federal Financial Institutions- Examination. Council. "Authentication m an Internet Banking Environment¹", 2005}^'; ^'The FFlEC further makes the -following observations:

L Multi-factor authentication provides much, better security than, single-factor authentication (username and p&sscode).

2. Financial institutions should conduct a risk assessment to see whether their existing, authentication system is .deemed adequate.

3. A successful authentication system "should have customer acceptance, reliable performance; scalability to accommodate growth, and interoperability with existing systems and future plans".

4. If critical systems are outsourced to third-parties,, appropriate monitoring and reporting processes should be in place. Suspicious activities peed to be reported by the third-party organization rapidly. The ability for ^'external audits would need to be supported.

Similar, issues aXfecf the operation and security of e-commerce websites. Most merchant websites currently implement their, own identity management systems. While these systems provide a merchant the capability to manage its customer base and provide some level of personalization, the focus of onfine merchants is rapidly shifting to providing, a security barrier against fraudulent access. With merchant websites requiring constant content and structure updates (what is developed today will, soon be. obsolete), no website is ever "complete" and is continually- open to new security exploitations.

|00OS] To address these needs, the present disclosure describes a third party-mainiairjed authentication ^•infrastructure whereby online service providers, such as financial institutions and. e-commerce merchants utilize a registered biomeiric device as part of the login process for a registered and trusted user.

SUMMARY^'

{QΘOόJ The present disclosure relates to a method for securely authenticating a user for the pmpose of accessing oniiae financial information and other online personal information. The method enables a user to Utilize a bioπletric sensor device connected to a personal computer or laptop, such that the user can log in securely to websites either without the use of -a useraame.and password,- or as added, security in. addition to. a usemame and password. The user would then be allowed access to the site if he is. positively authenticated. Specifically, one of the authentication methods taught herein comprises receiving biometric device identification information associated with a . biometric device coupled to an online terminal (used .by the user), receiving a biometric sample of the' user taken by the biometric device, retrieving at. least one registered biometric. sample associated with the biometric device identification information, comparing the biometric sample with at least one registered biometric sample, upon a match with at least one registered biometric sample, retrieving a user identifier associated with the matched registered biometric sample, extracting a federated identity (as further- detailed below) associated with the user identifier and the online service provider; aad transmitting the federated. identity, to the online sendee provider. Due^' to the use of biometrics and ihc device identiϊϊeation information, multifector authentication of the user is. achieved through the authentication methods described herein.

(0007) In addition, the present disclosure teaches methods of payments for e-commerce- merchant websites. Such payment methods may be used in concert with the authentication methods above to allow consumers to make, secure payments through the use of an. electronic wallet, using electronic checking or credit/debit, cards- with biorπetrk authentication. Specifically, one of the payment methods taught herein comprises receiving from the^: e- commeree ^"merchant -payment transaction details, relating to an e-commerce purchase being conducted by the user at the e-commerce merchant website; extracting electronic- wallet, information relating to a user identifier that was obtained during ars authentication process as taught herein; transmitting- at least a portion of the electronic wallet information and at least a portion of the payment transaction details to a payment processor; and transmitting an approval message to the e-commerce merchant- indicating whether the payment processor has authorized the e-commerce .purchase. Because such payment, methods do not require that the merchant receive electronic waiiet information relating to the user (such -as financial account information),, the security and privacy of user information are increased,

[00Θ8] As further detailed -.below, the present disclosure also teaches an authenficaiαr provider system that may enable the aivtheήtieation and payment methods described above. Such a system may comprise . an identity management software component configured to receive bipmetric samples from, user terminals and to transmit federated identities to. the online 'service providers, a biometric a&thents cation server software component configured to receive bionietrie samples from the identity management software component and to compare the received biometric samples to registered bioraetrie samples, a biometric directory configured to store the registered biometric samples in association with user identifiers and biometric device identification information; and a^: federated identity directory configured, to store the federated identities in association with the user, identifiers and the online service providers..

[O0O9J The methods and systems taught herein contribute to ihc effort of reducing illegitimate access to online service provider web environments. By using the. authentication provider service, online service providers can outsource positive authentication to a hosted and trusted system that provides .non-repudiation and a verified federated identity, In addition, the- authentication provider service may also provide access to user electronic ..wallets to e-commerce merchants, obviating the need for e-cerr$rneree merchants to manage the storage of users¹ personal financial information and providing a central location for users to store such sensitive information.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OFTHE DRAWINGS jjOθtO^'J Figure 1 depicts an exemplary biomelrically enhanced authentication service, provider infrastructure architecture for online authentication, and e-commerce transactions according to an embodiment [ϋθ.1.1] Figure 2 depicts a flow chart for an exemplary, process of enrolling a user to ^e an authentication provider service at an online service provider website according to an embodiment.

|O012] Figure 3 depicts a flow chart for an exemplary process of authenticating an enrolled user for online access to a partnered online service provider website via ati authenπcaiion provider service according to an embodiment

[0013} Figure 4 depicts a flow chart for an exemplary process of performing an online payment transaction at aii online service provider website via an authentication provider service;: according to an embodiment.

DETAILED JDESCEIPllOiV

[0Θ14] Figa rε J depicts- one embodiment of a biometrically enhanced infrastructure architecture for authenticating- a user for the purpose of accessing secure information or conducting financial transactions online- An online authentication provider service ("APS^*') 100 provides bionietric authentication and electronic wallet services within ΆΏ overall online environment, which includes various other components that enable the APS 100 to authenticate a user biόnietrically in order to verify his identity, for example, to securely log in to online service provider websites, or to conduct financial transactions . ith an e-commerce merchant.

JOOΪS| As depicted in Figttre t, the APS .100 contains and interacts with a "variety of components; An online terminal such as. a user's personal computer ("PC") 102 is cormeeteci lo^: bionietric sensor device ("BSD") 1Θ4₅ such as a fingerprint sensor, via. ibr example, a USB cable, BSD 104 may have umque device identification information and has the capability of obtaining a sample biometric template .(and/or raw bioraetric image data) based on a finger scan of the user, which may- then be ultimately ^transmitted (in either template or raw image, form)^' £ø the APS 100, Although BSD 104 is Illustrated as separate from online terminal 102, BSD ?Θ4 may alternatively be integrated into online terminal 102 or a PC _. peripheral (e.g., keyboard, mouse, etc>)_j ibr example, as an integrated, fingerprint swipe sensor in a laptop. Online terminal 102 contains vSortware necessary for an online authentication process such as the one described herein. Such software, may include a web browser 106, device, drivers 108 to coirrrrrurucate with BSD 104. and a downloaded web browser component UO (e.g., ActiveX controls. Java applets, and/or other "pmg~m" components etc.) for managing BSD 1.04 and enabling communication between BSD 104 and AFS 1.Θ0. Online terminal 102 is connected via a network., syc.fr as the Internet, to online service provider ("OSP") web server 112, wherein the OSP, for example an e- commerce vendor or Ff with online login technology, is an entity subscribing to the authentication service offered by the APS 10.0 and with whom the user may have a registered account. The web browser component 110 in the web browser 106 may be utilised to obtain network identifying information (e.g.., OSP IF address) from QSP weh server 1.12 and a session 3D related to the user's communication session with the OSP website for which authentication is being provided. OSP web server 112 is coupled to at least one OSP database 114_» which, stores 0SP registration information about users authorised to access information and services or conduct transactions at the OSP website 112, including user identity information that may be matched with a federated user identity contained in a security assertion markup language. ("SAlVSL-'). token -that may be .generated by the APS J 00 and transmitted to the OSP web server H2 (or otherwise shared between the Al^?$ 100 and OSF web server .112) to indicate that the user has /authenticated himself to the APS 100_. without requiring the APS 100 and OSP web server 112 to share persona! information relating to the^' user.

[0016\ Within the APS 106. an identity management, component IM may provide web content (ε-g., web code relating to identity management functions, such .as HTML, JavaScript, etc.)_. to web browser .1.06 when the user visits a web page delivered by the OSP web server 112 during an authentication transaction; Once instructed by the OSP web server 1.12₅ the web content provided by the identity management component 116 to the browser 106 may cause the web. browser component JlO to initiate and manage direct communication^' between the online terminal 102 and the identity management component 116^". During such communication, the identity management component 116 may initiate the- management of functionality at the APS 100 relating to user account management, device management, federated, identity .management and session management. Additionally, ^'during a process of enrolling a user with the APS iθO, the. identity management component .116 may also, provide software downloads to online terminal 102, such .as the downloaded web browser component l i ft and device drivers 108 to enable the online terminal 102 to communicate with the BSD 104, Identity management ^'component 116 is also coupled, to a biometric authentication server .118 to which it may transmit biαmetric information (ε,g._? Bngergrint template or image data) of the user and the BSD 104 device identification information, feat is acquired from online terminal 102. The feiometric authentication server 11.8 is coupled to a biometric directory 120 and utilizes the BSD 104 device identification dnlbrtnation to locate registered user biomeirie templates stored in association with such device identification information in order to conduct a comparison of the sample btometrie template to stored biometric templates to verily the user. If the comparison results: in a verification, the biometric directory 120 may provide user identification information (e.g., an internal user identifier) to the bioπietric authentication server Ϊ18 which may utilize such user identification information io obtain from the federated identity directory 122 a federated identity (e.g_?J contained in a SAML token) associated with the user and the particular OSP (e.g,, as identified, by an OSP ID and certificate or other QSF identifying information received by the AS¹S 1Θ0 through the web browser component 110) pertaining to' the transaction at hand. Such a federated identity and a session ID (e.g., related to the user's particular transaction aad obtained by the APS 160 via communication with the web browser component 110 as described above) may then, be transmitted by identity management component 116 to OSP web server 112 via browser component 110. ln ati alternate embodiment, the identity management component 116 may transήtit such a federated identity and a . session ID directly to OSP web server 112, rather than via web browser component 110. The federated identity is -recognized by OSP web server 112 as related to the. user engaged m an authentication, transaction related to the session ID and the OSP web server 112 is able to authenticate the user for secure access to the OSP website.

[0017] hi one. embodiment, in addition to authentication transactions- AFS 100 may be , further enabled to conduct payment transactions between an authenticated user and an OSP 11:2 that is an e-commerce merchant, Jn such an embodiment, APS 100 may additionally have a. payment management component 128 that, interacts with/the OSP web server Ϊ32_S the web browser 106 at the online terminal 102, the identity management component 116, an electronic wallet .server .126, and payment processor 130. B.uring a payment transaction, OSP web server 1.12 communicates with payment management component 128 in order to submit purchase- related- information to payment management component 128. Once 'the payment .management component 128- Obtains such payment information^ it is able to correspond directly with the user through the web browser KM».(e.g._it.by redirection through the OSP web server 112} to obtain, any approvals directly irofn the user and -coordinate any identity verification and payment processing activities that, need to. be conducted internally within the APS 1ΘG. For example, if a user engaged in an e-commerce transaction nas not been authenticated by the APS 100 (e.g., as- part of. a log-in process for a personalized experience at the OSP website), the payment management component 128 may interact with the Identity management component 116 to -authenticate the user. Once the user is authenticated,- the user identification information obtained from the bioraetrie directory 120 (as previously discussed) may be used by the payment management component 128 to obtain an electronic wallet related, to the user (stored in an electronic wallet database 124) from an electronic wallet server 1.26. The payment management component 128 may then utilize financial account information (e.g., credit card, debit card, eCheck, stored value accounts or other payment modalities) stored in the electronic wallet to interact with a payment processor 130 to process and authorize the payment transaction, As described earlier, in addition to -financial account information, other personal data stored in an electronic wallet (i.e., that is obtained during a user enrollment- or registration with the APS 100) could include, without limitation, merchant specific loyalty information (e.g., loyalty identification numbers, etc), healthcare information (e.g., policy number, insurance carrier, etc) and other personal information (e.g., a unique identification number, name, address, date of birth, driver's license information, email address, home phone number, mobile phone number, etc.). Once, payment has been authorized by the payment processor IM₁₁ the payment management component .1.28 may eomraimicate with the OSP web server Ϊ12 to confirm, a successful purchase. In an alternative payment embodiment (not depicted in Figure 1), the payment processor 130 may be coupled directly to the OSP rather than to APS 100, Ih such an embodiment, the. payment management component 128 may submit -a user's payment information to the OSP web server 112 which communicates with the payment processor itself 130 to authorize/ the transaction. Alternatively, those with ordinary skill_. in the art will recognize that such payment information may be transmitted by .the payment management component 128 directly to the web browser 1Θ6 at the.oniϊne.terniinai 102 to be populated into the OSP's web page. f 0018] those of ordinary skill in the: ait will.recognize. that the various communication channels and components depicted., in Figure 1 may be implemented in a variety of known techniques and manners. For example and without ihrύtatioϊL, a dedicated TCP/IP connection between the payment processor 130 and the_:.A.SP 100 may be used, or Internet: connections may fee considered in alternative embodiments, Sirnikrly, rather than having the online terminal 102 communicate with APS 100 through a. wired network_* alternative .embodiments may utilize a wireless .network system for communication between tile online terminal 102 and the APS 100. The online terminal 1.02 may also be any suitable device capable of navigating to an OPS hosted web page,, such as a web-enabled mobile phone, PDA, and the like. As those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize, the- communication among the various components of APS 100, OSP web server 112 and online terminal .102 may be implemented through n variety of private .or- proprietary networked connections or. through the Internet or other publicly accessible networks. Those of ^'ordinary skill in -the art will recognize. that the control logic: and data stored and used by the various computer components as described above, is merely illustrative and may be distributed throughout the various computer components' logic controls and databases in alternative but functionally equivalent designs, including without, limitation, the removal of certain components and addition of other components, without departing -from the scope or spirit ^•of the described embodiments. For example, in an alternative embodiment of the components of the online terminal .102 and BSD 104, certain functionality performed by the web component l ift may be dispersed between BSD 104 and. identity management component 116, thereby. eliminating the need to download and install web. browser component .110 in order to mmmunicate directly with the APS .100. Rather, specialized code embedded tή BSD 104 would work in concert with web browser 106 to communicate wi& identity management component 116. h-or example and without limitation, the BSD .104 may contain a web server component and various security and. encryption -components such that the BSD 10.4, in essence serves as another network device (with a network address) that interacts wim the- web browser..106 as a specialized, web server providing: secure biornetiϊc services and functions.

USEE REGISIlLiTION WITH AUTHENTItATION P&OVIΪWBR SERVICE

[0019] ^'To utilize the APS 10Θ in order to gam biometπca.lly authenticated, access to an OSP,. a user enrolls or registers his BSD 104 and biometrie data with the authersti cation provider service as: depicted, in .Figure .-2; Although figure 2 Will be described in terms of a new APS enrolment conducted at a website of an affiliated OSP. a user could, have previously enrolled information directly through an enrollment website offered by the AFS 100 itself or through a previously affiliated OSP, A user having a web login account with an OSP utilizing APS 100 is offered an opportunity ;to enroll with the APS 100 to utilize biometrie. online access. The ^"user may be offered enrollment via an . email or other message from thβ OSP or .may be offered enrollment directly when he navigates to the OSF Website and logs in using his existing useϊnarric and password. .As- previously discussed, in certain embodiments, the user's web. enrolhhent interaction may b£ implemented through a redirection (via web code embedded in the Web page of the OSP) from the OSP website to a website hosted by identity management component 116 of the APS 100. If the user desires to enroll in the APS .1.00, the user obtains or is..provided with a BSD 104 (e.g.. the. OSP may send the BSD. 104 to. the -user or ihe user may purchase . one at. a retail location),, if -necessary (i:e., a user may already possess an appropriate BSD .104, such as one integrated into his online terminal 102). As illustrated in Figure 2, Io begin the. process of registering for a biometrkally authenticated login at an affiliated OSP website, the. user navigates to the OSP website and logs in using njs existing username and password (step 202). If -the user already possesses an appropriate BSD 104. the user then downloads (via redirection to the identity management component Ϊ J6 .of .the APS 100 as described above) aid installs a web browser component 110 (e.g., ActiveX control or other browser plug-in, .or -browser -helper object) (step 204). ^"which manages corrmiuxiieation between the users web browser 106 and the APS 100 during an online authentication transaction. If needed, the user may also download additional... client software, such as device drivers .1.08, for BSD Ϊ04 (step :2M). Those with ordinary skill in the art will recognize that alternative embodiments may utilize the OSP web server 1.12 itself, rather than a redirection to. web pages/frames hasted by the identity management component .1.1.6 at the APS 100 to guide the user through an enrollment process. Once the local die^'nt software (e;g., device^' drivers 1Θ8, web browser component Hi⁾, etc) is downloaded arid installed, the APS 100 may communicate with BSD 104 (via the web browser component I JO and device, drivers 108) in order to activate and register the device- with APS 100 for online authentication, transactions. During such eommuffi cation, the BSD 104 may transmit device identification information (e.g., unique device ID) to- the APS 100 which may be stored, in biometric directory 120 arid used during, subsequent transactions to access user biometric information^' stored in association with the device identification information (step .208).

(0020) After the device identification information has been collected and stored^ the website or web component l l θ may then prompt the user to provide hioraetric samples (step .210) via the BSD 104, Multiple biometric scans may be taken to ensure accurate ^'matching^'. For example, three scans might be taken from an index finger .of each hand_* for a total of six .scans for an enrolling user. Depending upon the embodiment;, the biometric samples are either converted to templates within Ihe online terminal 102 or BSD 104 and transmitted to the APS 100, or raw image data may be ^• traiisiήttied to the APS; 100 which then converts the raw image data to a bipmetric template (step _:2Ϊ2), The user's biomeirie templates are submitted by the identity management component 116 to authentication server 11$ aid stored in bioraetric directory .120 as the user's registered biometric samples in. association wife the previously received biometric device identification information and the internal user identifier (such an identifier is generated if it was not already generated during the creation of an existing user electronic wallet, e.g_;., through a previous enrollment) (step 214). The authentication -server 118 may then generate a unique federated identity (e.g., thai may subsequently be used as in a SAML ^•authentication token or document)^' relating specifically and used solely between the_. particular OSP and the. APS 100, which is transmitted to the OSP website -server 1.12 ibr storage- in OSP database 114 (step 216). The generated federated identity may be stored in the AJ³S 100 in the federated identity directory 122. in association with the -user's internal identifier used by the AP-S- 100 among its various .databases- The user may then be informed that the OSP website is now biometrically .secure and invited to test the biometric authentication, (step 218).

(00211 m embodiments that implement an APS 100 with online payment services, the user may additionally submit various personal data to create an electronic -wallet (step 220). As previously discussed, such personal data may include nanie, mailing address, home phone number, email address, demographic data (e.g., age, date of birth, gender, etc.) and the like. Additionally, the individual/can register a password, a PIN. and/or krso'wledge-based inϊbrmation (ε;g._.v "out of wallet" data that an unauthorised individual is xmϋkely to feiow, such as his mother's maiden name, the name of Ms favorite sports team, or the name of a childhood friend, etc). In one embodiment, existing user account information stored at the OSP database 114 could be utilised, to populate some of the required, fields for creation of the electronic wallet. The enrollee may then be prømpted to register one or more financial accounts, such as a credit, debit, or checking account by providing the appropriate account information, such as a credit or debit card number, expiration date, and security code or, in the ease of a cheeking account, a routing number and account number. If the enroltee registers more than one. financial account certain embodiments may permit/the enrollee to designate one of such financial accounts as a. default account which will be used _: for the online payment transactions unless, overridden during a transaction. Ail such user information is then stored as ars electronic wallet at- electronic ivallet database 124 and. associated with ail internal μser identifier (e,g;, a. ^'user identification number) used to track the users, various information among the various databases of the- .APS 100 (step 222).

[0022] As previously mentioned, .some users may already have an electronic wallet and/or ^'biometfic templates stored with AFS 100 as a. consequence of a prior enrollment in affiliated systems. For these previously enrolled, users, the collection of biometric templates from steps 210-2.1.4 would be unnecessary; the system would associate the BSD device identification information with their previously collected biometric templates and proceed from step 216 and generate a federated identity to be used between, the APS 100 and the particular OSP.

ONLINE AUTHENTICATION OF REGISTERED USER.

|0023.J Figure: 3 depicts a process flow for biometrically logging, in a user who has registered with the APS 100 and a particular OSP. When an APS 100 registered user. itavigates to a biometric authentication enabled website hosted by OSP web server 112 (step 302), the website detects that the user is registered for: bϊometric authentication (for example, via communication between the web code embedded by identity management component 116 into tlie OSP website and the web browser component .1:1:0 or by detecting a cookie stored on user online terminal 102},. The website may trigger the web browser component Uf) to activate the BSD 104 and ^'form a secure direct connection with APS 1.Θ0 whereby the BSD 104 device identification, infon^atioa is sent to the identity .management component 116 in the APS 180 along with m OSP 112 identifier (such as the IP address of the OSP's server) and a session_. ID relating to the browser and/ or user (step 304). The identity management component 116: may then . notify the authentication server 118 that an. authentication is pending oh a -particular user/browser session_:ΪD (step 306).

£0024] the BSD 104 is instructed by the web browser component- 110 _.(e.g._* via communication^' with device drivers 108) to collect a biometric sample, such as a finger image, from the User (step 308). Instructions for the user to submit their biometric sample could appear in a dialog box or an inline frame hosted by identity management component 116 of the APS 100 that is embedded vyitbm the OSP webpage, BSD 104 returns a biometric sample template to the web browser component 110, which may relay the template to the authentication server 118 via identity management component Ϊ16 over the established, secure link (step 310). Tlie

~i2~ authentication server 118 utilizes the previously received BSD 104 device ^• identification information to locate registered user btometric templates stored in tne biόrrϊetric directory 120 in association with the BSD ^"104 device identification information (e.g., unique device number) and compares the registered user biometric templates, with the collected Hometric sample templates (i.e., more than one user might be registered to utilize a particular device for authentication) (step 312). If the comparison results m a match, the internal user identifier (e.g., user identification number) associated with the . matched biometric template is used iri combination with the OSP 112 identifier to locate in federated identity directory J.22 a federated identity for that user particular to the OSP website being accessed, and the federated identity is transmitted to OSP web. sewer 112 via web browser component 110 (step 314). The federated identity could be communicated or encoded;, for example, as a SAML token that is compatible with: security systems having federated identity "'single sign-on" capabilities: The OSP- web server 112 maps the federated identity to a .previously stored user identity in QSP database 114 (step 316), If a matching; stored user identity is found, the OSP web server 112 establishes , a secure connection (e.g., SSL connection) with the user's.: web browser 106 on online ^■terminal .102 and the user ϊs logged in (step 318). The. ΘSP web server 112 may send a completion response to identity management component 116. The authenticated user may now. proceed to. utilize logged in functionality on the OSP website.

PAYMENT PROCESSING WITH ONLINE AUTHENTICATION

|002Sj As depleted, in Figure 4, a user who Ms navigated to a merchant website may desire to conduct ats e-commerce purchase transaction utilizing his electronic wallet information stored in electronic wallet database 124 of the APS 100. As used; herein, a. "merchant" is meant to refer to any OSP where secure payment transactions for e-commerce purposes would be desirable, including online retail merchants, government entities, university accounts, payable ^•offices, etc. Λs further detailed below, unlike the authentication process as described earlier, an e-commerce purchase ^• transaction may not lead to the transmission of -a federated identity to merchant web server 112v if the APS 100 itself is configured to_. process .payment and interact with payment processor 130. During an e-commerce payment transaction, the. user may peruse the merchant's e-commerce; website., adding goods to his. electronic- shopping cart (as managed by merchant web server 112) until he is ready to checkout. When the user engages the merchant's checkout, .process (e.g., by clicking a checkout button) (step 402};, the. merchant web server 1.12 may transirύt a payment message to the payment management component 128 of the APS 100 (step 404). Such a payment • message may include the amount of the purchase transaction, a description of the transaction, and merchant identification information (e.g,, merchant account number and other identifying .information) and/or any other merchant or payment transaction details or information which may. be. required by a payment processor 130 to authorize a payment transaction, ϊf the user had, for example, previously, authenticated himself (e.g., prior to tilling. Ms shopping cart) to the merchant and had logged into his merchant account via the authentication process with the identity management component 116 as described, in the previous section., the payment message transmitted from the merchant web server 112 to the payment management component 128 may also contain the federated identity of the user. In such a scenario., payment, management component. 128 would query the federated identity directory 122 and obtain the _;associated user identification information used internally (e.g., a user identifier) within the AFS 100 among the various databases (step 4Θ6); The ^■ payment management component 128 would then submit the obtained internal user identification information to electronic wallet server.126, which- would extract the user's electronic walletirom electronic wallet database 124 and provide it to the payment .management component 128 (step; 408).

[OΘ26| Upon receipt of payment message from the merchant web server 112, the payment management component 128 generates^' a transaction identifier (e.g.. transaction number) and places the transaction details in a queue awaiting -ultimate approval from the user (step 410); The payment: management component 128 sends a redirection request ednt&Mng the: transaction identifier back to. the merchant web server 112 which, subsequently interacts with -the user's web browser Ϊ06 ^' _.(and web browser component 1.10) .thereby causing the web browser 106 to establish a direct channel of copiπmrύcation. wiill payment management component 128 (step 412), By presenting: the transaction identifier to the payment management component I2S upon establishing this direct, channel, the web browser 106 identifies itself and the. payment management component- 12§ is able to present the payment details (e.g., user's credit card or debit card or eCheck information, etc) to the web browser 106 and request selection of a. desired payment type (e.g.. where . multiple payment types _. are available and/or: ihe:.user lias not already predefined a . default payment type) and a confirmation from the user of &ε transaction: details (e.g.. amount, description of purchase,: etc,) (step 414), Once the payment management co mponent 128 receives approval from the web browser 106, it is able to mark the transaction in the queue as approved and forward the .payment details (e.g. ■, user's credit card or debit card or eCheck information, merchant's -account, etc_r) to payment processor 130 to accept the transaction (step 416). When the payment processor 130 confirms authorization of the transaction, the payment management component 128 transmits an approval message to_. the. merchant web ^'server ϊ 12, including fee transaction identifier and the user's federated ϊdetiβty; ⁽hereby indicating to the merchant web sewer 112 that the transaction has been approved. The merchant web server 112 Is able Io access its own stored account information ior the user to obtain the address of the user and. any other persona! information necessary to deliver the purchased goods to the user (or otherwise fulfill the transaction) (step 418). Alternatively, the payment, management component 128 may not send the federated identity ^'in the approval message transmitted to merchant vyeb server 112. but instead may provide any additional information (e.g.. user address, shipping address, etc.) necessary to fulfill. the purchase.

[0027] ra an alternative scenario,, (e.g., the user shops .anonymously) the user may not have logged into or possess a. merchant account and therefore has not been authenticated by the identify management component 116 prior to engaging the checkout process. In such -a scenario, the absence of a federated identity in the payment message from the merchant web server 112 to the payment man agement component 128 causes the payment management component 12.8 to redirect the direct connection that it establishes with . the web browser ^"1.06 in step 412 to the identity management component 116 (step 420). The authentication process then follows steps^' 304-314 set forth, in the previous section and in- Figure 3 except that in step 314, the obtained internal user identifier associated, with, the matched bϊøraetric template is transmitted to the payment management component 128 (rather than the federated identity directory) via the identity management component. 116 (step 422), Thereafter, the process continues at, step 408 until the payment, transaction las been accepted.

[0028] In yet another alternative scenario; the user may have never previously visited the Merchant's website but is -a registered, user of APS 100. in such a scenario, m addition to handing off user authentication responsibilities to. the identity managemeM component 116 through steps 420 and 422, the payment mtøageraent component 128 may interact- -with federated .identity directory 122 to generate a new federated identity for the user that is particular to this merchant and. iraiismit -relevant user information, which may include a user's name, email address, phone number, shipping address or other user information (as extracted iτom the electronic wallet -database .124) needed by the/ merchant to establish a merchant account for the ^■federated, identity, ϊn one embodiment, sudi federated identity and user information may be submitted k> the merchant web server 112 in the payment transaction approval message in step 418. Alternatively_? an anonymous merchant account for the user (e.g., without the user's naine, email address, phone- number, etc.) may be established by the- merchant in association, with the newly generated federated identity.

[0029] Those, with ordinary skill in the art will recognize that alternative process flows may be utilized by the ΛPS .100 to enable a user to conduct a payment transaction with merchant: web server 1.12; For example, the payment managejuent component 128 may transmit, all payment particulars (obtained through the users electronic wallet) to the merchant web server J Ϊ2, which then could interact with payment processor 150 to finalize the payment transaction. In yet another alternative process flow, the authenticated users electronic wallet information could be transmitted by .the payment management component Ht to web browser 106 in order to populate required fields (e.g., in an OSP web page residing on user web browser 106) for payment authorization, such as full user name, account number, expiration date, billing_:address, etc. The information could then be communicated to OSP web server 112, and the OSP could then process the financial transaction utilizing existing methods for processing wcb-based transactions.

ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONS

[0030] In an additional embodiment, the APS 100 may enable "single sign, on" functionality through the federated identity process. For example and without limitation, a user who has been authenticated at a ^'first OSP may be -automatically authenticated at a second OSP without an additional OSP userøame-password or biornetric authentication request, so long as the user has established, a federated identity with the second OSP in a prior registration process. Specifically,, upon. being informed by the second OSP ^'that the user is requesting access, the APS 100 recognizes that the. usώr has already authenticated the first OSF and forwards a ..federated identity associated with the -user and the second OSP to: inform the second OSP that tlie user is authenticated. [0031 J Similarly, the APS 100 could provide age verification for users conducting online transactions by uti.lk.ing personal, demographic information contained in the user's electronic wallet In order to utilize age veπficaLϊoii functionality, users could be required to complete registration of their electronic wallets at an attended physical location, such -as a. service desk .or kiosk, where personal identity documents could be examined by a- representative of APS 100. The AFS 100 could additionally offer heightened levels of confidence as_. to the. identity and demographic information related to an authenticated user based upon the means of collecting the required, information- For example, a user registration where attested information is witnessed By a notary could be assigned the. highest confidence level, whereas a user only haying performed an online registration :could be assigned a lesser confidence level.

[0032] Users of APS 100 ¹A⁷OuId additionally be. enabled to perform other functions, such as administrative functions. For example, a user could manage information contained in his electronic wallet via an online interface, possibly requiring the user be biomeirically authenticated and/or identified via an additional pass code or other information. Users could additionally add or delete biometric sensor devices, or allow additional users to register for authentication with a particular BSD. 104;

|0033| Although the present invention has been described with reference to one embodiment, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that changes- may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of this; disclosure.. Terminology used in the foregoing description is for the purpose of describing the particular versions or embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the. scope of ihe present invention which will be limited only by t&ε appended claims. As used herein and in. the appended, claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and ^'"the" include plural references .unless the context clearly dictates Otherwise.; Similarly, the words: "include," "includes" and 'Including*' when used herein shall be deerned in each case to be followed by the words "without limitation," ^'Unless defined otherwise herein, all technical snd scientific terms used .herein have, the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. AH publications mentioned herein ate incorporated by reference. Nothing herein is to be construed as an admission that Oie embodiments. disclosed herein are not entitled to antedate such disclosure by virtue of prior invention,- Thus, various modifications, additions and substitutions and the like can_. be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and these are therefor considered to be within the_.scope of the invention, as defined in the following claims.

Claims

What is claimed is;

1 ; A iiiethόd for providing user authentication sendees to an online service provider, the method comprising: receiving biometric. device identification information associated with a biometric device coupled to an online terminal; receiving a biomeiric sample of a user taken by the biometric device; retrieving at least one registered biometric sample associated with the biometric device identification^' information; comparing the bionietric sample with the- at least one registered .biometric sample; upon, a rnateh with the at least one registered biometric sample, retrieving a ^'user identifier associated with the matched registered biometric sample; extracting a federated identity associated with the user^' identifier .and £he online, service provider; and transmitting the federated identity to the .online service provider.

2, The method of^' claim 1 wherein the biometric- device identification information and the biometric -sample are received through a4jrect connection with the. online terminal.

3.. The method of claim.2, further comprising: receiving through the direct connection, network identifying information relating to the online service provider; and utilizing the network identifying iaforrnatioα to transmit the federated identity to the online service provider.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising: receiving through, the direct connection a- -session XD -relating to an online communication session between the user and the. online service provider; and transmitting the session ID to file online service provider in conjunction with transmitting the federated identity to the online service provider..

5. .The method of claim 1 , further: comprising; receiving, from the online sen-ice provider, payrixeht traiϊsaction details xekting, to an e~ commerce purchase being conducted by the user -at the online service provider;- extracting electronic wallet information relating to the user Identifier; transmitting at least a portion of the electronic wallet information and at least a portion of the payment transaction details to a payment processor; and transmitting an approval message to the online service provider indicating whether; the payment processor has. authorized the e-commerce purchase.

6_T The method of claim 5 wherein the payment transaction details include a purchase price, and merchant account information.

7_* The method of claim 5 wherein the electronic wallet information includes a financial account associated with- the user.

Zr The method of claim 5. further comprising: generating a transaction identifier associated -with the. payment transaction details; and transmitting the transaction identifier to the online service provider as part of the approval message.

9: The .method of claim 5 wherein the approval message ^'includes the federated identify. 1.0, The method of claim 5, further comprising: establishing a direct connection with the online terminal; and presenting at least a portion of the payment transaction details to the user through the direct connection with the online terminal for an approval by the.. User,

11. The method of claim I O₅ further comprising: presenting to the user -at least, one financial account in the. electronic wallet information, through^' the direct connection with the online terminal; and receiving a selection of the at least one financial account from the user through the direct connection.

12. The ^'method of claim. 1 wherein transmitting the federated identity to the online service provider, occurs via the online^' terminal,

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the received btonietric sample corresponds to one of a fingerprint scan of the user, an iris scan of the user* a voice scan. of die user, a retinal scan of the user,, a facial scan of the. user and a hand architecture of the_., user-;

14. A method for providing user authentication services to an online service provider, the method comprising : obtaining biometric device identification information from a biometrie device; obtaining a biometric sample of a user from tlic biometric device; obtaining network identifying information from a web server of the online service provider; obtaining a session ID from a communication session between the. user's web browser and the -web server of the online service provider; establishing a direct connection with an authentication provider sendee; and transmitting the biometric -device identification information, biαmelric sample, network identifying information, and session ID to the authentication provider service;. wherein upon an authentication by the authentication provider service, the user's wεb browser gains Oϊαliπe access to the user's account _: at fee online service provider.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the obtained biometric sample is a template generated, by the biometric device based on a scan of a.aser biometrie characteristic.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein the obtained network, identifying information is one of an IP address of the online service provider web server, a host name ..and a public- certificate.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising: receiving a federated identity associated with the user and the online^" service provider; and transmitting the federated identity to the online service provider-

18. A. computer-readable earner containing! one or more programming instructions for performing a method for providing user authentication sendees to an online service provider, Jhe method comprising: obtaining biometrie device identification information from a biometrie device; obtaining a biometric sample of a user .from the biametric device; obtaining network identifying information from a web server of the online service provider; obtaining.. a session ΪD from a cpmmuxiication session between the users web browser and lhe web sen^der of the online service provider; establishing a direct connection with an authentication, provider service; and transmitting, the. biometπc device identification information, biometric sample, network identifying iaformaiibn, and session ΪD to the authentication provider- service, wherein ujpon an. autlients cation by the authentication provider service, the user's web browser-gains access to the user's account at the online service provider.

19. The computer readable carrier of claim IS wherein the one or more programming instructions corresponds to one. of. an ActiveX control* a Java, applet, a browser helper object and a browser plug-in.

20» The compivier-readabie carrier of claim 18 wherein the method for providing user authentication services to an Online sen-ice provider further comprises: receiving a federated identity associated with the user mid the online service provider; arid transmitting the federated identity to the online service provider.

2 L An online computer serve? for providing a service to online service providers for authenticating users, the server comprising: an identity nisnagemexit software component configured to receive bioroetrie samples from online terminals and to transmit federated identities to the online service providers; a biometric authentication server software component configured to receive biometric samples from the identity management software component and to compare the received biometric samples Io registered biometπc samples: a biometric directory 'configured to store the registered bloTπetπc samples in association with user identifiers and biometric device identification intυrήiation;. and a federated identity directory configured to store the federated identities^' in association with^' the user identifiers and the online, service providers.

22. The server, of claim 21 wherein the identity management software component is further configured to be capable of establishing a direct network, connection with the online terminals.

23. The server of claim 21 wherein the identity management software component is configured to ^'transmit the federated identities to the online service providers via the online terminals.

24. The server of claim 21 _> further comprising: an electronic wallet server component configured to receive- the user identifiers and to retrieve at least a portion of electronic 'wallets relating to the user identifiers; an electronic wallet database configured to store electronic wallets in association wϊthihe user identifiers; and a payment management software component configured to receive at least a portion of the electronic wallets from the electronic wallet server, to receive payment transaction details from the online service providers, to transmit at least a portion of the payment transaction, details and a portion of the electronic wallets to a payment processor Io authorize a payment, transaction, and to transmit -an approval message to the online service provider indicating Whether the payment process has authorized the payment transaction;

25. The server of claim.24 wherein the payment transaction details include a purchase price and merchant, account information.

26. The server of claim 24 wherein the payment management software component Is further configured to; generate transaction identifiers associated with the payment transaction details; and transmit the transaction identifiers to the online- service providers as part of the approval message.

27, The server of claim 24 wherein the approval message- includes a federated identity.

28. The server of claim 24 wherein the payment management software component is further configured to: establish a direct connection with the online terminals; and present at least a portion- of the payment transaction details to the users through the direct connection with the online terminals for an approval by the users,

29. The server .of claim _..24 wherein the payment management software component- is further configured to: present to the users at .least one financial account from the electronic wallets through the direct connection with, the online terminals; and receive a selection of the at least one financial account from the users -.through the direct connection.

30. A method for enabling a user at an online terminal to conduct an e-commerce transaction through an online merchant for which a user does not have a_. merchant account,, ih.c method comprising: remving frorrϊ fee online merchant payment transaction details relating to the e- :commerce purchase; retrieving a user identifier upon, a bϊorøetric authentication of the user conducted through a direct connection with the online, terminal: extracting electronic wallet infoπnstiori relating to the user identifier; generating a new federated identity associated with the user identifier and the online merchant; transmitting at least a first portion of the electronic wallet information and .the new federated identity to the online merchant for the online merchant to estahlish a merchant account for the user; transmitting at least, a second portion of the electronic wallet information and at least, a portion of the payment transaction details to a payment processor; and transmitting an approval message to the online merchant indicating whether the payment processor has authorized Oie e-c.αmmerce purchase.

31. The method of claim 30 wherein the. first portion of the electronic- waiϊet information includes a name and a shipping address of the user.

32. ^'Flic method of claim 30 where^'. the second portion of the electronic wallet information includes a financial account associated with the user,

33; The method of claim 30, .further comprising: generating a transaction^'. identifier associated with the payment transaction details; and transmitting the transaction identifier to the online merchant as part of the approval message,

34. The method of. claim 30. ^'wherein -the approval message includes the federated identity. , The method of claim 30 ^'wherein the step of transmitting the new federated identity to the online merchant occurs via the online terminal. , The method of claim 30, further comprising: establishing a second direct connection with the online terminal; and presenting at least a portion of the- payment transaction details to the user through the second direct connection, with the online terminal for an approval by the user. , The method of claim 36, further comprising: presenting to. the. user at least one financial account in the electronic wallet information through the second direct connection with the online terminal: and receiving a selection of the at least one financial account from the user through.. the second direct connection.