System and method for user equipment identification and communications

• US 10,728,747 B2
• Filed: 07/05/2018
• Issued: 07/28/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 02/13/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Futurewei Technologies Incorporated (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Futurewei Technologies Incorporated (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Tenny, Nathan Edward, Gage, William Anthony
• Primary Examiner(s): Khan, Mehmood B.
• Application Number:
  US16/028,184
• Publication Number:
  US 20180332467A1
• Time in Patent Office: 754 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/061 for key exchange, e.g. in peer-to-peer networks cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key agreement H04L9/0838
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/123 received data contents, e.g. message integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/04 Key management, e.g. using generic bootstrapping architecture [GBA]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/041 Key generation or derivation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/10 Integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/106 Packet or message integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0033 with transfer of context information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/0808 using carrier sensing, e.g. carrier sense multiple access [CSMA]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/11 Allocation or use of connection identifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/27 Transitions between radio resource control [RRC] states
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support

Abstract

A method for identifier management for user devices operating in an inactive mode includes receiving a first uplink transmission including a user device identifier associated with a user device, transmitting a first downlink transmission including an indication of an ephemeral identifier assigned to the user device, transmitting a second downlink transmission including data associated with the ephemeral identifier, and discarding the ephemeral identifier.

Claims

1. A method for communication in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:

receiving, by an anchor node in the wireless communication system, data from a serving node in the wireless communication system, the data including;

user data of a user equipment (UE) that is cryptographically encoded, a UE identifier (UE ID) of the UE that transmitted the user data to the serving node, a sequence number associated with the user data, and a session identifier (session ID) identifying a session associated with the user data, the anchor node having UE-specific context information of the UE;

determining, by the anchor node based on the data received from the serving node, a UE context associated with the UE ID, the UE context comprising session information associated with the session identified by the session ID, and the UE context further comprising a range of allowed sequence numbers associated with the session ID, and cryptographic keying material associated with the UE;

validating, by the anchor node, that the sequence number associated with the user data is within the range of allowed sequence numbers to determine whether to decrypt the user data;

decrypting, by the anchor node upon validating that the sequence number associated with the user data is within the range of allowed sequence numbers, the user data using the sequence number associated with the user data and using the cryptographic keying material associated with the UE; and

transmitting, by the anchor node, the user data that is decrypted to a core network component in the wireless communication system, the core network component associated with the session information identified by the session ID received from the serving node.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the UE context comprises at least one of:

a data radio bearer identifier (DRB ID);

a logical channel identifier (LCID);

a DRB configuration;

a logical channel configuration;

a cryptographic key;

a cryptographic counter;

a radio resource control configuration parameter associated with the UE; and

a protocol data unit (PDU) sequence number.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the session ID is one of:

a logical channel identifier (LCID);

or

a data radio bearer identifier (DRB ID).

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting, by the anchor node to the UE, via the serving node, an acknowledgement of reception of the user data by the anchor node.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the acknowledgement of reception is cryptographically protected in accordance with the cryptographic keying material associated with the UE.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the user data is conveyed in a packet data convergence protocol data unit.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the acknowledgement of reception is conveyed in a packet data convergence protocol data unit.

8. An anchor node in a wireless communication system, the anchor node comprising:

a receiver configured to receive data from a serving node in the wireless communication system, the data including;

user data of a user equipment (UE) that is cryptographically encoded, a UE identifier (UE ID) of the UE that transmitted the user data to the serving node, a sequence number associated with the user data, and a session identifier (session ID) identifying a session associated with the user data, the anchor node having UE-specific context information of the UE;

a processor configured to retrieve UE context associated with the UE ID received from the serving node, the UE context comprising session information associated with the session identified by the session ID, a range of allowed sequence numbers associated with the session ID, and cryptographic keying material associated with the UE, to validate that the sequence number associated with the user data is within the range of allowed sequence numbers to determine whether to decrypt the user data, and, upon validating that the sequence number associated with the user data is within the range of allowed sequence numbers, to decrypt the user data using the sequence number associated with the user data and using the cryptographic keying material associated with the UE; and

a transmitter configured to transmit the user data that is decrypted to a core network component in the wireless communication system, the core network component associated with the session information identified by the session ID received from the serving node.

9. The anchor node of claim 8, wherein the UE context comprises at least one of:

a data radio bearer identifier (DRB ID);

a logical channel identifier (LCID);

a DRB configuration;

a logical channel configuration;

a cryptographic key;

a cryptographic counter;

a radio resource control configuration parameter associated with the UE; and

a protocol data unit (PDU) sequence number.

10. The anchor node of claim 8, wherein the session ID is one of:

a logical channel identifier (LCID);

or

a data radio bearer identifier (DRB ID).

11. The anchor node of claim 8, wherein the anchor node transmits, to the UE, via the serving node, an acknowledgement of reception of the user data.

12. The anchor node of claim 11, wherein the acknowledgement of reception is cryptographically protected in accordance with the cryptographic keying material associated with the UE.

13. The anchor node of claim 8, wherein the user data is conveyed in a packet data convergence protocol data unit.

14. The anchor node of claim 11, wherein the acknowledgement of reception is conveyed in a packet data convergence protocol data unit.