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SonyGranted patentSecurity & privacyInterest 6/10

Sony patents crypto wallet recovery using government-verified ID

Patent drawing
Patent drawing from the official filing.

Sony describes a system for recovering access to a cryptocurrency wallet stored on a remote server. It works by generating a new security key and verifying the owner's identity through a separate government-backed authentication service before updating the wallet's controls.

Why it mattersThis approach could make it safer to regain access to digital assets if a user loses their primary login details, relying on official identity verification rather than just passwords.

In the filing’s own words

This invention relates to a system for recovering access to a cryptocurrency wallet on a remote server. It introduces a wallet control apparatus, method, and system for registering a new cryptographic secret at a wallet hosted in a trusted execution environment on a server. The apparatus generates a new cryptographic secret for the wallet, retrieves a second cryptographic secret from another remote server after authenticating the wallet owner, and uses this second secret to sign a control instruction. This instruction is sent to the server to register the new cryptographic secret, enabling secure wallet control.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A wallet control apparatus, the wallet control apparatus comprising processing circuitry configured to: register a new first cryptographic secret at a cryptocurrency wallet hosted in a trusted execution environment on a first remote server, wherein the processing circuitry for registering the new first cryptographic secret is further configured to generate the first cryptographic secret, obtain a second cryptographic secret from a second remote server that provides a government-backed authentication structure separate from the first remote server, wherein the second cryptographic secret is obtained upon authentication of an owner of the cryptocurrency wallet vis-à-vis the second remote server using a signed identification certificate that is signed by an independent entity operating the second remote server and is renewable through the government entity upon loss, sign a control instruction for registering the first cryptographic secret at the cryptocurrency wallet using the second cryptographic secret, transmit the signed control instruction for registering the first cryptographic secret at the cryptocurrency wallet to the first remote server, and provide instructions for controlling the cryptocurrency wallet to the first remote server, the instructions being cryptographically protected based on the first cryptographic secret, wherein the cryptocurrency wallet stores, within the trusted execution environment, a third cryptographic secret for signing transactions on a cryptocurrency blockchain, and wherein the operations on cryptographic assets comprise signing one or more transactions on the cryptocurrency blockchain inside the trusted execution environment using the third cryptographic secret.

Facts

Company
Sony (Sony Group Corporation)
Official title
Concept for recovering access to a cryptocurrency wallet on a remote server
Patent number
US12762545B2
Application number
18848553
Filed
Mar 27, 2023
Granted
Oct 13, 2026
Inventors
4
Claims
20

Classified under

G06Q 20/3678 Physics & computingG06Q 20/3829 Physics & computing

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.