WO2022001707A1

WO2022001707A1 - Method and system for receiving a secure input, using a secure input means

Info

Publication number: WO2022001707A1
Application number: PCT/CN2021/101011
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kushal Kamleshbhai GANDHI; Roshan V NAYAK; Danish MANZER ALI; Varun B P; Govind Singh; Shishir kant SHARMA
Original assignee: Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp Ltd
Current assignee: Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp Ltd
Priority date: 2020-06-29
Filing date: 2021-06-18
Publication date: 2022-01-06
Anticipated expiration: 2022-12-29

Abstract

The present disclosure provides method [200] and system [100] for receiving a secure input, using a secure input means [106]. The method encompasses receiving, at a transceiver unit [102], a request for a secure input, wherein the request is associated with an input type. Thereafter the method comprises launching, via a processing unit [104], a secure input means [106], in an event the input type is a secure input type, wherein the secure input means [106] comprises a secure gesture keyboard view, wherein the secure gesture keyboard view comprises a plurality of placeholders, and each placeholder is associated with a unique hidden element. Further the method comprises receiving, via the secure input means [106], a selection of the at least one placeholder from the plurality of placeholders, to provide a corresponding at least one unique hidden element as the secure input.

Description

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR RECEIVING A SECURE INPUT, USING A SECURE INPUT MEANS

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure generally relates to the field of information and data security and more particularly to a system and method for receiving a secure input, using a secure input means.

BACKGROUND

This section is intended to provide information relating to field of the disclosure and thus any approach or functionality described below should not be assumed to be qualified as prior art merely by its inclusion in this section.

The rapid growth and advancement in digital technology has provided the users, a number of digital platforms via smart user-devices, to perform various day to day tasks/activates remotely, such as online banking and financial transactions, exchange of digital data, online shopping and many more. Also, over a period of time, with the increase in the use of digital platforms, these technologies have further enabled various security tools to provide the users a secure and safe environment in the digital world. For instance, the smart user devices now a days are equipped with various security tools such as personal identification number (PIN) code, facial recognition, fingerprint recognition, user-defined passwords, one-time passwords (OTP) etc. to provide safe and secure access to the smart user devices, mobile applications, digital bank accounts, digital transactions, social media accounts and/or any other digital platform.

Also, as the digital sector is growing a very rapid rate, the challenges relating to the digitization is also increasing. There are various risks in the digital world such as data theft, hacking activities, online banking and financial frauds, unauthorized access to smart user devices, etc. Furthermore, most of the security tools for online activities are related to the use of secure passwords such as user defined passwords and/or OTP, secure PIN codes etc., which further requires one or more secure means of input. For instance, a user may provide input for one or more passwords and/or PIN codes via an input means such as a keyboard. Further, with the use of keyboards to provide at least one input for one or more passwords and/or PIN codes, there also arises the risk of peeping attacks by hackers/attackers to get the passwords and/or the PIN codes of the users, which further leads to malicious activities by the attackers such as data theft, online banking frauds, etc.

The existing solutions developed in order to avoid risks of data theft and also to provide information security, have many limitations and therefore there is a need for improvement in this area of technology.

SUMMARY

This section is provided to introduce certain objects and aspects of the present disclosure in a simplified form that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify the key features or the scope of the claimed subject matter.

In order to overcome at least a few problems associated with the known solutions as provided in the previous section, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a novel method and system for receiving a secure input, using a secure input means. It is another object of the disclosure to provide a secure input means for receiving a secure input for Personal Identification Number used in payments and for enhancing security of user’s content. It is also an object of the present disclosure to provide a secure input means for secure actions which restricts the access to contents of user’s device, such as banking transaction, unlocking user device and/or opening a secure application in the user device. Also, one more object of the present disclosure is to provide the users a secure way to enter a secure PIN and/or password in the user device by using a plurality of empty place holders in a secure gesture keyboard. Also, one of the object of the present disclosure is to provide a better and secure input means which further leads to an increased security of user’s passwords and/or PIN numbers in a way that the vulnerability of exposing user’s PIN and passwords to 3rd person is reduced. Also, one more object of the present disclosure is to provide a secure gesture keyboard, smarter than the standard traditional Key-Pads. Further, one other object of the present disclosure is to reduce the vulnerability to hack user’s PIN/passwords of a stolen user device based on marking present on a screen-guard or key-pad, as by implementing the features of the present disclosure there will be no particular marking based on standard key-pad positions. Also, one more object of the present disclosure is to receive one or more secure inputs via secure input means for various digital payment terminals such as including but not limited to gas stations, super-marts, food stores etc. Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide the security from peeping attacks, also by CCTV cameras as the present disclosure provides a unique solution which makes a CCTV’s work harder to judge user’s PIN/password.

In order to achieve the afore-mentioned objectives, the present disclosure provides a method and system for receiving a secure input, using a secure input means. One aspect of the present disclosure relates to a method of receiving a secure input, using a secure input means. The method comprises receiving, at a transceiver unit, a request for a secure input, wherein the request is associated with an input type. Thereafter the method comprises launching, via a processing unit, a secure input means, in an event the input type is a secure input type, wherein the secure input means comprises a secure gesture keyboard view, wherein the secure gesture keyboard view comprises a plurality of placeholders, and each placeholder is associated with a unique hidden element. Thereafter the method encompasses receiving, via the secure input means, a selection of the at least one placeholder from the plurality of placeholders, to provide a corresponding at least one unique hidden element as the secure input.

Further, another aspect of the disclosure relates to a system receiving a secure input, using a secure input means. The system comprises a transceiver unit, configured to receive, a request for a secure input, wherein the request is associated with an input type. The system further comprises a processing unit, configured to launch, a secure input means, in an event the input type is a secure input type, wherein the secure input means comprises a secure gesture keyboard view, wherein the secure gesture keyboard view comprises a plurality of placeholders, and each placeholder is associated with a unique hidden element. The secure input means is also configured to receive, a selection of the at least one placeholder from the plurality of placeholders, to provide a corresponding at least one unique hidden element as the secure input.

Yet, another aspect of the disclosure relates to a user equipment for receiving a secure input, using a secure input means. The user equipment comprising a system configured to receive, a request for a secure input, wherein the request is associated with an input type. Thereafter the system is configured to launch, a secure input means, in an event the input type is a secure input type, wherein the secure input means comprises a secure gesture keyboard view, wherein the secure gesture keyboard view comprises a plurality of placeholders, and each placeholder is associated with a unique hidden element. Further, the system is configured to receive, a selection of the at least one placeholder from the plurality of placeholders, to provide a corresponding at least one unique hidden element as the secure input.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein, and constitute a part of this disclosure, illustrate exemplary embodiments of the disclosed methods and systems in which like reference numerals refer to the same parts throughout the different drawings. Components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Some drawings may indicate the components using block diagrams and may not represent the internal circuitry of each component. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that disclosure of such drawings includes disclosure of electrical components, electronic components or circuitry commonly used to implement such components.

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of the system [100] , for receiving a secure input, using a secure input means, in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary method flow diagram [200] , depicting method of receiving a secure input, using a secure input means, in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary use case, in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram, depicting an instance implementation of the process of receiving a secure input, using a secure input means, in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

The foregoing shall be more apparent from the following more detailed description of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, various specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent, however, that embodiments of the present disclosure may be practiced without these specific details. Several features described hereafter can each be used independently of one another or with any combination of other features. An individual feature may not address all of the problems discussed above or might address only some of the problems discussed above.

As it is important to secure a user’s data and information, a number of solutions have been developed over a period of time. For instance, to deal with risk of peeping attacks a number of solutions have been developed. The known prior art solutions are based on numerical keypad consisting of random 0-9 digits. In one prior known solution, the keypad display is displayed to the user with random position of 0-9 digits. The user is required to enter PIN by clicking on digits in this random keypad, therefore the prior known solution is vulnerable as any other 3 ^rd person watching user entering PIN may judge/identify the actual PIN. Also, the prior known solution further displays the digits on a screen, so it is vulnerable to be seen by any 3 ^rd party person. Also, the 3 ^rd party can be CCTV cameras. Furthermore, the user entering the PIN has to be attentive as the digits would be shown randomly and the chances of entering a wrong PIN are high, in these known/prior art.

Therefore, in view of these and other existing limitations, there is an imperative need to provide a solution to overcome the limitations of prior existing solutions and to provide a more efficient method and system for receiving a secure input, using a secure input means.

The present disclosure provides a method and system for receiving a secure input, using a secure input means. The present disclosure provides the user a unique way to enter secure PIN and/or password in a user device by using a secure input means comprising a secure gesture keyboard view. The disclosure in order to provide a secure input, makes use of a plurality of empty place holders in the secure gesture keyboard view, such that the secure gesture keyboard view comprises multiple empty place holders instead of keys of any traditional keyboard or keypad. Further, the position of each of the placeholder defines a unique hidden element associated with the placeholder. A swipe action on a placeholder is required to select the at least one placeholder in order to provide a corresponding unique element as a secure input. Also, all the associated elements of the corresponding placeholders are hidden elements and only the blank placeholders are visible for input. Further, the unique hidden element comprises at least one of an alphanumeric element, punctuation element and a special element.

As used herein, a “transceiver unit” may comprise one or more transmitter units and one or more receiver units, configured to transmit and receive respectively, at least one of one or more signals, data and commands from various units/modules of the electronic device/user device and/or the system, to implement the features of the present disclosure. The transceiver unit may be any such transmitting and receiving unit known to the person skilled in the art, to implement the features of the present disclosure.

As used herein, a “processing unit” or “processor” includes one or more processors, wherein processor refers to any logic circuitry for processing instructions. A processor may be a general-purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, Application Specific Integrated Circuits, Field Programmable Gate Array circuits, any other type of integrated circuits, etc. The processor may perform signal coding data processing, input/output processing, and/or any other functionality that enables the working of the system according to the present disclosure. More specifically, the processor or processing unit is a hardware processor.

As used herein, a “user equipment” , “user device” , “smart-user device” , “electronic device” may be any electrical, electronic and computing device or equipment. The user equipment may include, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, smart phone, laptop, a general-purpose computer, desktop, personal digital assistant, tablet computer, wearable device or any other computing device which is capable of implementing the features of the present disclosure. The user equipment contains at least one input means configured to receive an input from a user, processing unit, storage unit, display unit, transceiver unit and any other such unit which is obvious to the person skilled in the art and is capable of implementing the features of the present disclosure.

As used herein, a “secure input means” may include at least one input unit capable of providing at least one text input in a secure manner. Further, the secure input means comprises a secure gesture keyboard view. The secure gesture keyboard view further comprises a plurality of placeholders. Also, the secure input means may further comprise one or more input keys to select one or more placeholders of the secure gesture keyboard view. The secure input means may also be connected to one or more touch-sensitive display units to select one or more placeholders of the secure gesture keyboard view, via at least one input received via the one or more touch-sensitive display units.

As used herein the “display” and/or “display unit” may include but not limited to a display of an electronic/user device, and also the display unit may be a touch-sensitive display unit. The “display” or “display unit” may further include but not limited to CRT display, LED display, ELD display, PDP display, LCD display, OLED display and the similar display unit obvious to a person skilled in the art, to achieve the purpose of the present disclosure.

As used herein the “alphanumeric element/s” comprises alphabetical letter/sand mathematical digit/s.

As used herein the “punctuation element/s” comprises punctuation mark/sincluding but not limiting to the punctuation mark/sprovided via the traditional keyboards such as comma, full stop, colon, question marks, hyphen etc.

As used herein the “special element/s” comprises non-alphabetic and non-numeric character/sincluding but not limiting to the special character/sprovided via the traditional keyboards such as @, #, $, %, &, *, +, brackets etc.

The present disclosure is further explained in detail below with reference now to the diagrams.

Referring to FIG. 1, an exemplary block diagram of the system [100] , for receiving a secure input, using a secure input means, in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

The system [100] comprises, at least one transceiver unit [102] , at least one processing unit [104] , at least one secure input means [106] and at least one display unit [108] . All of these components/units are assumed to be connected to each other unless otherwise indicated below. Also, in Fig. 1 only few units are shown, however the system [100] may comprise multiple such units or the system [100] may comprise any such numbers of said units, obvious to a person skilled in the art or as required to implement the features of the present disclosure.

The system [100] , is configured to receive the secure input, using the secure input means [106] , with the help of the interconnection between the components/units of the system [100] .

The at least one transceiver unit [102] is configured to receive, a request for a secure input, wherein the request is associated with an input type. The input type is a flag, received to launch a secure input view, in an event the flag is indicated as secure input type. In an example the request for the secure input may be received in an event where a user needs to input one or more private and/or confidential information in the form of one or more secure text such as a password or a PIN number, etc. For example, the request for a secure input may be received in an event of payment transactions and/or an event of user device authentication, to provide one or more secret input. The secure inputs refers to a combination of multiple secret/secret elements such as alphanumeric elements, punctuation elements and special elements that may be used to obtain an access for a particular event such as for providing a user device access, secure payment transaction, etc.

The at least one processing unit [104] is connected to at least one transceiver unit [102] . The processing unit [104] is configured to identify at least one input means based on the input type of the request for secure input. The processing unit [104] , thereafter is configured to launch, a secure input means, in an event the input type is a secure input type. This secure input means comprises a secure gesture keyboard view, wherein the secure gesture keyboard view comprises a plurality of placeholders, and each placeholder is associated with a unique hidden element. The plurality of placeholders are visible as blank placeholders on the secure gesture keyboard view. Further, the unique hidden element comprises at least one of an alphanumeric element, punctuation element and a special element.

Further, the unique hidden element associated with each placeholder is one of a user defined and a predefined association. The processing unit [104] is also configured to reallocate the at least one unique hidden element to the at least one placeholder, based on a user input.

The at least one display unit [108] is connected to the at least one transceiver unit [102] , the at least one processing unit [104] and the at least one secure input means [106] . The at least one display unit [108] is configured to display the secure gesture keyboard view, in one of a horizontal and a vertical manner/direction. Also, the display unit [108] is further configured to display, the at least one unique hidden element, wherein the at least one unique hidden element is displayed based on a long press action received for the corresponding at least one placeholder, and the at least one unique hidden element is displayed prior to a selection of the at least one placeholder. The respective hidden element will be displayed at the place of placeholder, to ensure the user that the element is as per his/her assumption. Also, the display of the element will be very small ensuring no visibility to any 3 ^rd party person except the user.

Further, in one instance the processing unit [104] may be configured to reconfigure the long press action based on a user input, wherein the reconfiguration encompasses enabling and/or disabling the long press action. Also, the long press action is based on a predefined time limit. The processing unit [104] may further be configured to adjust the predefined time limit of the long press action, based on a user input. For example, in one instance, the predefined time limit may be 5 seconds and in other instance the predefined time limit may be 7 seconds.

The at least one secure input means [106] is connected to the at least one transceiver unit [102] , the at least one processing unit [104] and the at least one display unit [108] . The secure input means [106] is configured to receive, a selection of the at least one placeholder from the plurality of placeholders, to provide a corresponding at least one unique hidden element as the secure input. Further, the selection of the at least one placeholder is received via at least one swipe action. The swipe action further comprises swiping of at least one placeholder via a user to select the corresponding placeholder. For example, in an event a hidden element is displayed to a user as a hint, based on a long press action, which further ensures the user the current placeholder that he/she wants to enter is correct. Once confirmed, the user may swipe UP (or in any other direction, for instance swipe down) from the corresponding placeholder in the keyboard gesture view and thereafter the associated hidden element gets entered as a secure input. In one other example, the hidden element is not displayed to a user as a hint, due to a disabled long press action. Therefore, the user may directly swipe UP from the corresponding placeholder in the keyboard gesture view to enter the associated hidden element as a secure input.

Further, the processing unit [104] is configured to reconfigure the swipe action based on a user input, wherein the reconfiguration of swipe action encompasses changing the swipe action to a different action such as a touch action or a key pressing action, to select at least one placeholder, or changing the direction of the swipe action (i.e. from swipe up to swipe down) .

The processing unit [104] is further configured to generate a haptic feedback, wherein the haptic feedback is generated in an event of successful selection of the at least one placeholder. The haptic feedback as a vibration further provides the users an indication of successful selection of the secure input so that the user can proceed for providing next secure input, if required.

Also, the processing unit [104] is further configured to reset the display unit [108] to an initial display, after the successful selection of the secure input.

Referring to Fig. 2, an exemplary method flow diagram [200] , depicting method of receiving a secure input, using a secure input means, in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. As shown in Fig. 2, the method begins at step [202] .

At step [204] , the method comprises receiving, at a transceiver unit [102] , a request for a secure input, wherein the request is associated with an input type. The input type is a flag, received to launch a secure input view, in an event the flag is indicated as secure input type. In an example, the request for the secure input may be received in an event where a user needs to input one or more private and/or confidential information in the form of one or more secure text such as a password or a PIN number, etc. For example, the request for a secure input may be received via at least one of a digital payment terminals, user device/equipment authentication platforms or the like platforms, to receive one or more secret input. The secret/secure inputs refers to a combination of multiple secure/secret elements such as alphanumeric elements, punctuation elements and a special elements that must be used to obtain an access for a particular event such as for providing a user equipment access, secure payment transaction etc.

In an event, the input type indicates that the request is for a non-secure or normal input, the method terminates.

Next, the method encompasses identifying at least one input means based on the input type of the request for secure input. At step [206] , the method comprises launching, via a processing unit [104] , a secure input means [106] , in an event the input type is a secure input type. The secure input means [106] comprises a secure gesture keyboard view, wherein the secure gesture keyboard view comprises a plurality of placeholders, and each placeholder is associated with a unique hidden element. The plurality of placeholders are visible as blank placeholders on the secure gesture keyboard view. Further, the unique hidden element comprises at least one of an alphanumeric element, punctuation element and a special element.

Launching the secure input means may encompass displaying at a display unit [108] the secure gesture keyboard view, in one of a horizontal and a vertical manner/direction. Also, the method comprises displaying, at the display unit [108] the at least one unique hidden element, wherein the at least one unique hidden element is displayed based on a long press action received for the corresponding at least one placeholder, and the at least one unique hidden element is displayed prior to a selection of the at least one placeholder. The corresponding hidden element is displayed at the place of placeholder, to ensure the user that the element is as per his/her assumption. Also, the displaying of the element is very small, to ensure no visibility to any 3 ^rd party person except the user.

Thereafter, at step [208] , the method comprises receiving, via the secure input means [106] , a selection of the at least one placeholder from the plurality of placeholders, to provide a corresponding at least one unique hidden element as the secure input. Further, the method comprises receiving a selection of the at least one placeholder via at least one swipe action. The swipe action further comprises swiping of at least one placeholder via a user to select the corresponding placeholder. For example, in an event a hidden element is displayed to a user as a hint, based on a long press action, which further ensures the user the current placeholder that he/she wants to enter is correct. Once confirmed, the user will swipe Right (or in any other direction, for instance swipe Left) from the corresponding placeholder in the secure keyboard gesture view and thereafter the associated hidden element gets entered as a secure input. In one other example, the hidden element may not be displayed to a user as a hint, due to a disabled long press action. Therefore, the user directly swipes Right from the corresponding placeholder in the keyboard gesture view to enter the associated hidden element as a secure input.

The method thereafter encompasses generating a haptic feedback, wherein the haptic feedback is generated in an event of successful selection of the at least one placeholder. The haptic feedback as a vibration further provides the users an indication of successful selection of the secure input so that the user can proceed for providing next secure input, if required.

After successfully receiving the secure input, using the secure input means, the method further terminates at step [210] .

The present disclosure encompasses that the unique hidden element associated with each placeholder is one of a user defined and a pre-defined association. The present disclosure encompasses/provides for a pre-defined association of elements to placeholders. For instance, there may be 10 blank placeholders in the secure gesture keyboard view wherein the first placeholder is associated with the digit 0, the second placeholder is associated with the digit 1, the third placeholder is associated with the digit 2, and so on. The present disclosure also encompasses that the association between the placeholders and the elements are user defined. To achieve this, the present disclosure encompasses providing an option to the user to decide or set a unique element with each placeholder; receiving user’s input in response to said option; and storing the association between the placeholders and the elements as provided by the user.

The present disclosure also encompasses reconfiguring the long press action via the processing unit [104] , based on a user input, wherein the reconfiguration encompasses enabling and/or disabling the long press action. Also, the long press action is based on a predefined time limit. The predefined time limit of the long press action may be adjusted based on a user input. For example, in one instance, the predefined time limit may be 4 seconds and in other instance, the predefined time limit may be 6 seconds.

The present disclosure also encompasses re-configuring the swipe action via the processing unit [104] , based on a user input, wherein the re-configuration of swipe action encompasses changing the swipe action to a different action such as a touch action or a key pressing action, to select at least one placeholder.

The present disclosure further encompasses resetting the display unit [108] to an initial display, after the successful selection of the secure input.

Furthermore, the one more aspect of the present disclosure relates to user equipment for receiving a secure input, using a secure input means. The user equipment comprises a system [100] . The system [100] is configured to receive, a request for a secure input, wherein the request is associated with an input type. The system is further configured to launch, a secure input means, in an event the input type is a secure input type, wherein the secure input means comprises a secure gesture keyboard view, wherein the secure gesture keyboard view comprises a plurality of placeholders, and each placeholder is associated with a unique hidden element. The unique hidden element associated with each placeholder is one of a user defined and a pre-defined association. The unique hidden element comprises at least one of an alphanumeric element, punctuation element and a special element.

Also, the system further configured to re-allocate the at least one unique hidden element to the at least one placeholder, based on a user input. The system is further configured to display the secure gesture keyboard view, in one of a horizontal and a vertical manner. Also, the system is configured to display, the at least one unique hidden element, wherein the at least one unique hidden element is displayed based on a long press action received for the corresponding at least one placeholder, and the at least one unique hidden element is displayed prior to the selection of the at least one placeholder. The long press action is based on a predefined time limit. Thereafter, the system [100] is configured to receive, a selection of the at least one placeholder from the plurality of placeholders, to provide a corresponding at least one unique hidden element as the secure input. The selection of the at least one placeholder is received via at least one swipe action. The system further configured to generate a haptic feedback, wherein the haptic feedback is generated in an event of successful selection of the at least one placeholder.

Referring to Fig. 3, which indicates an exemplary user interface of a secure gesture keyboard view. The exemplary user interface (UI) indicated in Fig. 3 at step [302] indicates four exemplary blank placeholders corresponding to a secure PIN number of four digits.

At step [304] , ten exemplary blank placeholders for receiving a secure input for the secure four digit PIN number is shown. In the given exemplary use case, each placeholder at step [304] is associated with a unique hidden element. For example, in the present use case the placeholders at step [304] are associated with a pre-defined association of hidden digits in a particular order of 0 to 9.

In order to receive a secure input 1848 for the four digit PIN number, the step [306] indicates an exemplary UI displaying the digit 1 based on a long press action received at the second placeholder. The display of the digit 1 is to further provide the user a hint about his selection.

Thereafter, step [308] indicates the selection of the digit 1 at the second place holder on the basis of a swipe action of a user which indicates user’s confirmation that the element corresponding to the selected placeholder is as per his/her assumption. Once the second place holder is successfully selected, a haptic feedback vibration is generated to indicate to the user the successful selection of digit 1, so that the user can proceed for providing next selection of digit 8.

Also, once the digit 1 is successfully selected, the first placeholder of the four exemplary blank placeholders [302] corresponding to the secure PIN number of four digits, is replaced with a dot to indicate that the selection for the first placeholder has already been received.

Next, at step [310] , the exemplary UI of the secure gesture keyboard indicates the displaying of the digit 8 on the long press action, to ensure the user that the ninth placeholder selected by him/her is as per his assumption.

Next, at step [312] , the exemplary UI of the secure gesture keyboard indicates the successful selection of the ninth placeholder by the user to provide the digit 8 as a secure input. Once the ninth place holder is successfully selected, a haptic feedback vibration is generated to indicate the user the successful selection of digit 8, so that the user can proceed for providing next selection of digit 4.

Also, once the digit 8 is successfully selected, the second placeholder of the four exemplary blank placeholders [302] corresponding to the secure PIN number of four digits, is replaced with a dot to indicate that the selection for the second placeholder is received.

Next, at step [314] , the exemplary UI of the secure gesture keyboard indicates the displaying of the digit 4 on the long press action, to ensure the user that the fifth placeholder selected by him/her is as per his assumption.

Next, at step [316] , the exemplary UI of the secure gesture keyboard indicates the successful selection of the fifth placeholder by the user to provide the digit 4 as a secure input. Once the fifth place holder is successfully selected, a haptic feedback vibration is generated to indicate the user the successful selection of digit 4, so that the user can proceed for providing next selection of digit 8.

Also, once the digit 4 is successfully selected, the third placeholder of the four exemplary blank placeholders [302] corresponding to the secure PIN number of four digits, is replaced with a dot to indicate that the selection for the third placeholder is received.

Next, at step [318] , the exemplary UI of the secure gesture keyboard indicates the displaying of the digit 8 on the long press action, to ensure the user that the ninth placeholder selected by him/her is as per his assumption.

Next, at step [320] , the exemplary UI of the secure gesture keyboard indicates the successful selection of the ninth placeholder by the user to provide the digit 8 as a secure input.

Also, once the digit 8 is successfully selected, the fourth placeholder of the four exemplary blank placeholders [302] corresponding to the secure PIN number of four digits, is replaced with a dot to indicate that the selection for the fourth placeholder is received.

Thereafter, step [322] indicates the successful receipt of the secure input 1848, in the form of four dots, for the four digit PIN number via the secure gesture keyboard.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram, depicting an instance implementation of the process of receiving a secure input, using a secure input means, in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 4, the process begins at step [402] .

At step [404] , the method of the exemplary process encompasses passing a request with the input type to the processing unit [104] , wherein the request is a request received for a secure input.

Next at step [406] the method encompasses, checking if the input type is the secure input type or not, further if the input type is not the secure input type then a normal standard keyboard view will be launched at the step [408] otherwise in case of the secure input type the method leads to step [410] .

Next, at step [410] the method encompasses, launching of a secure input means [106] . The secure input means [106] further encompasses a secure gesture keyboard view. The secure gesture keyboard view comprises a plurality of placeholders, and each placeholder is associated with a unique hidden element. The unique hidden element comprises at least one of an alphanumeric element, punctuation element and a special element.

Next at step [412] the method encompasses, displaying the plurality of placeholders to the user on a display unit [108] , wherein the plurality of placeholders are displayed as blank placeholders.

Next at step [414] the method encompasses, determining if a long press action is received or not from the user. If no long press action is received the process will lead to step [416] and will not perform any further action, otherwise the process leads to step [418] .

Next, at step [418] the method encompasses, displaying at the display unit [108] , an element corresponding to the placeholder on which a long press action is received. Next, at step [420] the method encompasses, whether the displayed element is correct as per the user’s assumption or not. If the displayed element is not correct, the process will return back to the step [414] otherwise the process will lead to the step [422] .

Further, at step [422] the method encompasses, receiving a swipe action to select the placeholder to enter the corresponding element as the secure input. Next, at step [424] the method encompasses, entering of the selected element to the password field. Thereafter, the process will return back to the step [414] to receive next secure input.

Further, after successfully receiving the secure input, using the secure input means, the process further terminates at step [426] .

As is evident from the above disclosure, the present disclosure provides the users a better and more secure input means to provide one or more secure inputs. Since the present disclosure relies on hidden placeholders, the present disclosure also overcomes the limitations of currently known solutions relating to peeping attacks. Furthermore, the present disclosure also provides the users an option to customize the secure input means such that every user can have different hidden elements being associated with the placeholders. Further, considering that the present disclosure provides the option to the user to hide the elements associated with the placeholders, such that only the user would know which placeholder is associated with which element, the present disclosure thereby provides a better and secure platform by reducing vulnerability to hack a user’s PIN/passwords of a stolen user device. Also, the present disclosure provides the users a more secure input means not only to enhance the security of the user devices but also to provide secure inputs for various payment gateways/terminals.

While considerable emphasis has been placed herein on the disclosed embodiments, it will be appreciated that many embodiments can be made and that many changes can be made to the embodiments without departing from the principles of the present disclosure. These and other changes in the embodiments of the present disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art, whereby it is to be understood that the foregoing descriptive matter to be implemented is illustrative and non-limiting.

Claims

A method [200] of receiving a secure input, using a secure input means, the method comprising:

- receiving, at a transceiver unit [102] , a request for a secure input, wherein the request is associated with an input type;

- launching, via a processing unit [104] , a secure input means [106] , in an event the input type is a secure input type, wherein:

the secure input means [106] comprises a secure gesture keyboard view, wherein the secure gesture keyboard view comprises a plurality of placeholders, and

each placeholder is associated with a unique hidden element; and

- receiving, via the secure input means [106] , a selection of the at least one placeholder from the plurality of placeholders, to provide a corresponding at least one unique hidden element as the secure input.
The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the unique hidden element comprises at least one of an alphanumeric element, punctuation element and a special element.
The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the secure gesture keyboard view is displayed at a display unit [108] in one of a horizontal and a vertical manner.
The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the selection of the at least one placeholder is received via at least one swipe action.
The method as claimed in claim 1, the method further comprises generating a haptic feedback via the processing unit [104] , wherein the haptic feedback is generated in an event of successful selection of the at least one placeholder.
The method as claimed in claim 3, the method further comprises displaying at the display unit [108] , the at least one unique hidden element, wherein:

the at least one unique hidden element is displayed based on a long press action received for the corresponding at least one placeholder, and

the at least one unique hidden element is displayed prior to the selection of the at least one placeholder.
The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the long press action is based on a predefined time limit.
The method as claimed in claim 1, the unique hidden element associated with each placeholder is one of a user defined and a pre-defined association.
A system [100] of receiving a secure input, using a secure input means, the system comprising:

- a transceiver unit [102] , configured to receive, a request for a secure input, wherein the request is associated with an input type;

- a processing unit [104] , configured to launch, a secure input means [106] , in an event the input type is a secure input type, wherein:

the secure input means [106] comprises a secure gesture keyboard view, wherein the secure gesture keyboard view comprises a plurality of placeholders, and

each placeholder is associated with a unique hidden element;

- the secure input means [106] , configured to receive, a selection of the at least one placeholder from the plurality of placeholders, to provide a corresponding at least one unique hidden element as the secure input.
The system as claimed in claim 9, wherein the unique hidden element comprises at least one of an alphanumeric element, punctuation element and a special element.
The system as claimed in claim 9, the system further comprises a display unit [108] configured to display the secure gesture keyboard view, in one of a horizontal and a vertical manner.
The system as claimed in claim 9, wherein the selection of the at least one placeholder is received via at least one swipe action.
The system as claimed in claim 9, wherein the processing unit [104] is further configured to generate a haptic feedback, wherein the haptic feedback is generated in an event of successful selection of the at least one placeholder.
The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the display unit [108] is further configured to display, the at least one unique hidden element, wherein:

the at least one unique hidden element is displayed based on a long press action received for the corresponding at least one placeholder, and

the at least one unique hidden element is displayed prior to the selection of the at least one placeholder.
The system as claimed in claim 14, wherein the long press action is based on a predefined time limit.
The system as claimed in claim 9, the unique hidden element associated with each placeholder is one of a user defined and a pre-defined association.
The system as claimed in claim 9, wherein the processing unit [104] is further configured to re-allocate the at least one unique hidden element to the at least one placeholder.
A user equipment for receiving a secure input, using a secure input means, the user equipment comprising:

- a system [100] , configured to:

receive, a request for a secure input, wherein the request is associated with an input type;

launch, a secure input means, in an event the input type is a secure input type, wherein:

the secure input means comprises a secure gesture keyboard view, wherein the secure gesture keyboard view comprises a plurality of placeholders, and

each placeholder is associated with a unique hidden element;

receive, a selection of the at least one placeholder from the plurality of placeholders, to provide a corresponding at least one unique hidden element as the secure input.