System and method for digital signature authentication of SMS messages

• US 20030236981A1
• Filed: 06/19/2003
• Published: 12/25/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/20/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Trend Micro Inc.
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Marmigere, Gerard, Szalai, Zsolt
• Granted Patent: US 7,353,394 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/168
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/123 received data contents, e.g. message integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3247 involving digital signatures
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/10 Integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/71 Hardware identity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/20 Information technology specific aspects, e.g. CAD, simulation, modelling, system security

Abstract

The invention allows SMS messages authentication through the use of a digital signature computed with the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) as a key. Particularly, a text messaging system having the ability to send SMS messages to remotely managed wireless terminal equipment is disclosed and includes a system to generate such digital signature and to store it in available Information Element fields of the TP-User Data of the SMS message. Receiving wireless terminal equipment that are configured for IMEI-based signature security, still keep the option to process both SMS messages having the IMEI-based signature or not. Receiving wireless terminal equipment not enabled for IMEI-based signature security process the SMS normally.

Claims

1. A text messaging system for sending at least one text message to a wireless terminal equipment, the text messaging system comprising means for storing an equipment identification number assigned to said wireless terminal equipment, the text messaging system comprising:

means for generating a digital signature based on said assigned equipment identification number; and

means for storing the digital signature in the at least one text message.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the at least one text message is a Short Message Service (SMS) message and said assigned equipment identification number is the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number of said wireless terminal equipment.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the at least one text message comprises a frame header and a frame body and further comprising means for storing the digital signature in the frame body of the at least one text message.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein said wireless terminal equipment is a Short Message Service (SMS) receiving mobile device and said at least one text message is carried over a wireless network.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein said wireless terminal equipment comprises means for storing a personal equipment identification number, and further comprising:

means for receiving said at least one text message;

means for generating a personal digital signature based on said personal equipment identification number; and

means for comparing the digital signature carried within the received at least one text message to the personal digital signature.

6. The system of claim 5 further comprising means for rejecting the received at least one text message if the personal digital signature and the received digital signature mismatch.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the means for generating a digital signature further comprises means for processing a signature generation algorithm to compute a value based on said assigned equipment identification number and the at least one text message content.

8. The system of claim 5 wherein the means for generating a personal digital signature further comprising means for processing a signature generation algorithm to compute a value based on said personal equipment identification number and the at least one text message content.

9. The system of claim 7 wherein the signature generation algorithm is a hash-function MD5 algorithm.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the signature generation algorithm is a hash-function MD5 algorithm.

11. A method for authenticating a text message send by a text messaging system to a wireless terminal equipment, the text messaging system comprising means for storing an equipment identification number assigned to the wireless terminal equipment and the text message comprising at least one unassigned data field, the method comprising the steps of:

at the text messaging system;

generating a digital signature based on the assigned equipment identification number;

storing the digital signature in the at least one unassigned data field; and

sending the text message with the digital signature to the wireless terminal equipment;

at the wireless terminal equipment;

receiving the text message;

generating a personal digital signature based on a personal equipment identification number stored within the wireless terminal equipment; and

comparing the personal digital signature to the incoming digital signature carried within the received text message.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the text message is a Short Message Service (SMS) message, and the assigned equipment identification number is the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number of the wireless terminal equipment.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising after the step of receiving the text message, the step of:

if the wireless terminal equipment supports the IMEI signature authentication, determining if this option is activated, and if not ending the authentication process by processing the SMS message.

14. A wireless terminal equipment comprising means for carrying the method of claim 11.

15. In a digital communication network supporting Short Message Service (SMS) messages delivery to a plurality of mobile devices, each mobile device being identified by a unique International Mobile Equipment Identifier (IMEI), a method for enhancing the delivered SMS messages comprising the steps of:

for each SMS message, generating a digital signature based on the unique International Mobile Equipment Identifier of the corresponding receiving mobile device;

storing the digital signature in a non-allocated Information Element Data (IED) field of the User Data Header (UDH) of the respective SMS message; and

sending the enhanced SMS message to the corresponding receiving mobile device.