Method and system for veryfying the authenticity of a first communication participants in a communications network

• US 20030229784A1
• Filed: 06/18/2003
• Published: 12/11/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Munitech IP S.a.r.l. (Marathon Patent Group, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Horn, Guenther, Cuellar, Jorge
• Granted Patent: US 8,565,429 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/155
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/126 the source of the received data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/40 for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity, e.g. service redundancy protocols, protocol state redundancy or protocol service redirection management of faults, events, alarms or notifications in data switching networks H04L41/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/108 Source integrity

Abstract

In the method and the arrangement for checking the authenticity of a first communication subscriber in a communications network, a first information item is formed in the first communication subscriber using a fault detection data item of the first communication subscriber and an information item relating to a random data item. In a second communication subscriber in the communications network, a second fault information item is formed using a fault detection data item of the second communication subscriber and the information relating to the random data item. The authenticity of the first communication subscriber is checked using the first fault information and the second fault information.

Claims

1. A method for checking the authenticity of a first communication subscriber in a communication network, comprising:

forming an authentication information item for the first communication subscriber using a first error detection datum and an information item concerning a random datum;

transmitting the authentication information item and the information item concerning the random datum, from the first communication subscriber to a second communication subscriber;

forming a reproduced first error detection datum at the second communication subscriber using the authentication information item and the information item concerning the random datum;

checking whether the reproduced first error detection datum lies in a predetermined range, the reproduced first error detection being checked by the second communication subscriber.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein checking whether the reproduced first error detection datum lies in the predetermined range comprises:

forming a second error detection datum at the second communication subscriber;

determining a difference between the first and second error detection data; and

forming a sequence error when the difference does not lie in the predetermined range.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the sequence error is transmitted from the second communication subscriber to the first communication subscriber.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein

the first communication subscriber verifies the sequence error, and

the first communication subscriber changes a value of the first error detection datum in dependence on a value of the second error detection datum.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the sequence error contains the information item concerning the random datum and contains the second error detection datum.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first error detection datum is a sequential number.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the information item concerning the random datum is a random number.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first communication subscriber is a service provider and the second communication subscriber is a service user in the communication network.

10. The method according to claim 5, wherein the sequence error contains the information item concerning the random datum and contains the second error detection datum.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the first and second error detection data are sequential numbers.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the information item concerning the random datum is a random number.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the first communication subscriber is a service provider and the second communication subscriber is a service user in the communication network.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the service provider is a mobile radio operator and the service user is a mobile telephone.

9. The method according to claim 9, wherein the service provider is a mobile radio operator and the service user is a mobile telephone.

15. A method to check the authenticity of a first communication subscriber in a communication network, comprising:

forming authentication information for the first communication subscriber using a first error detection datum and a random datum;

transmitting the authentication information and the random datum, from the first communication subscriber to a second communication subscriber;

forming a reproduced first error detection datum at the second communication subscriber using the authentication information and the random datum; and

checking whether the reproduced first error detection datum lies in a predetermined range, the reproduced first error detection being checked by the second communication subscriber.

16. A system for checking authenticity in a communication network, comprising:

a first communication subscriber to form an authentication information item using a first error detection datum and an information item concerning a random datum and to transmit an authentication information item and the information item concerning the random datum; and

a second communication subscriber to receive the authentication information item and the information item concerning the random number from the first communication subscriber, to form a reproduced first error detection datum using the authentication information item and the information item concerning the random datum and to check whether the first error detection datum, which was reproduced at the second communication subscriber, lies in a predetermined range to authenticate the first communication subscriber.

17. The system according to claim 16, wherein to check whether the first error detection datum, which was reproduced at the second communication subscriber, lies in the predetermined range:

a second error detection datum is formed at the second communication subscriber;

a difference between the first and second error detection data is determined; and

a sequence error is formed when the difference does not lie in the predetermined range.

18. The system according to claim 17, wherein the sequence error is transmitted from the second communication subscriber to the first communication subscriber.

19. The system according to claim 18, wherein

the first communication subscriber verifies the sequence error, and

the first communication subscriber changes the first error detection datum in dependence on a value of the second error detection datum.

20. The system according to claim 19, wherein the sequence error contains information concerning the random datum and contains the second error detection datum.

21. The system according to claim 16, wherein the first communication subscriber is a service provider and the second communication subscriber is a service user in the communication network.

22. The system according to claim 21, wherein the service provider is a mobile radio operator and the service user is a mobile telephone.

23. A system for checking authenticity of a first communication subscriber in a communication network having first and second communication subscribers, comprising:

means for forming an authentication information item at the first communication subscriber using a first error detection datum and an information item concerning a random datum;

means for transmitting the authentication information item and the information item concerning the random datum from the first communication subscriber to the second communication subscriber;

means for reproducing the first error detection datum at the second communication subscriber using the authentication information item and the information item concerning the random datum; and

means for checking whether the first error detection datum, which was reproduced at the second communication subscriber, lies in a predetermined range to thereby authenticate the first communication subscriber.