Beacon devices, such as Bluetooth low energy beacons or Wi-Fi beacons, are inexpensive devices that a merchant system can install in a merchant location. Beacon devices may communicate advertising (“ADV”) packets to user computing devices, such as smartphones and tablets that are within signal range. Beacon devices may be placed by a merchant near a point of sale (“POS”) terminal. Establishing a network connection with a beacon device may indicate to a user computing device that it is near a merchant POS terminal. A user computing device may be configured to allow a transaction resulting in the transfer of user financial account information when it is near a POS terminal. Additionally, a merchant system may have arranged therein multiple beacon devices in a merchant location that communicate with each other in a mesh network and with user computing devices in network proximity.
It is important that network connections between beacon devices and user computing devices is secure. A third party may move a beacon device so that the user computing device allows a transaction, determining that it is near the POS terminal when it actually is not. Additionally, user financial account information may be compromised by a third party moving a beacon device and replacing it with a third party device that intercepts and retransmits communications between the beacon device and the user computing device.
Accordingly, a need exists for secure network communications. Conventional technologies do not determine the security of a wireless mesh network of beacon devices by periodically creating and comparing virtual maps comprising received signal strength indicator (“RSSI”) values, path loss indicator values, or other distance sensitive values detected by each beacon device in the mesh network of beacon devices in proximity.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds