Method for granting a plurality of electronic communication devices access to a local area network

Abstract

Method for granting a plurality of electronic communication devices access to a local area network (LAN) via an access point using a single cryptographic key to secure communications exchanged through the LAN. The method comprising an activation phase performed once at initialization of the LAN and an operating phase wherein the electronic communication devices accesses the LAN. The activation phase comprising: providing the cryptographic key in a digital form by the access point; transferring the cryptographic key to a master device, switching the access point into a secure mode in which any further communication with the access point is secured with the cryptographic key. The operating phase comprising: transferring the cryptographic key from the master device to the electronic communication devices. The cryptographic key is converted from its digital form into a graphic form and then transferred in the graphic form to the electronic communication devices during the operating phase.

1 . A master device for granting an electronic communication device access to a local area network via an access point using a cryptographic key to secure communications exchanged through said local area network, said master device comprising:
 a communication interface suitable for receiving said cryptographic key in a digital clear form from said access point;   a memory for storing said cryptographic key;   a central processing unit to convert said cryptographic key from its digital clear form into a graphical form;   a dispatching resource suitable for dispatching the graphical form of said cryptographic key to said electronic communication device.   
     
     
         2 . The master device of  claim 1 , wherein said dispatching resource is a display screen. 
     
     
         3 . The master device of  claim 1 , wherein said dispatching resource is computer picture file generated by the central processing unit. 
     
     
         4 . The master device of  claim 1 , wherein said dispatching resource is an interface suitable for transmitting said graphical form to a printer. 
     
     
         5 . The master device of  claim 1 , wherein it is further configured to send an acknowledgement as a response to the cryptographic key received by the communication interface. 
     
     
         6 . The master device of  claim 1 , wherein said communication interface is a wireless interface. 
     
     
         7 . The master device of  claim 6 , wherein said communication interface is further a short range interface. 
     
     
         8 . The master device of  claim 7 , wherein said communication interface is near field communication (NFC) compliant. 
     
     
         9 . The master device of  claim 1 , further comprising a user interface through which the access to the master device can be either granted or denied. 
     
     
         10 . The master device of  claim 9 , wherein the user interface is a keypad suitable for entering a password or a personal identification number (PIN) code. 
     
     
         11 . The master device of  claim 1 , wherein said memory is configured to store a set of cryptographic keys, each one in association with an identifier for retrieving the local area network assigned to said cryptographic key. 
     
     
         12 . The master device of  claim 1 , wherein said central processing unit is configured to provide a reversible graphical form allowing to retrieve the digital clear form of the cryptographic key from said graphical form. 
     
     
         13 . The master device of  claim 1 , wherein said graphical form is a barcode. 
     
     
         14 . The master device of  claim 1 , wherein said graphical form is a two dimensional graphical code. 
     
     
         15 . The master device of  claim 1 , wherein said master device is a portable device.