Method for Setting a Key and a Method for Setting an Inital Security Key to a Mobile Terminal

• US 20080070549A1
• Filed: 01/24/2006
• Published: 03/20/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Wang, Zhengwei
• Application Number:
  US11/662,434
• Publication Number:
  US 20080070549A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/411
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/06 for supporting key management in a packet data network cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key management H04L9/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/04 Key management, e.g. using generic bootstrapping architecture [GBA]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/35 Protecting application or service provisioning, e.g. securing SIM application provisioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/71 Hardware identity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/72 Subscriber identity

Abstract

An embodiment of the present invention discloses a method for setting a key, which includes: setting a first security key in a mobile terminal; providing a corresponding relation between the first security key and an identity of the mobile terminal adapted to be saved on a network side; and obtaining, by the network side, the saved corresponding first security key according to the identity of the mobile terminal, and generating and saving a second security key according to the first security key. By means of the above method, when an operator leases out a mobile terminal, a security key corresponding to the mobile terminal is not required to be set manually in subscription data of the subscriber of the mobile terminal on the network side. As a result, various mistakes and leakages due to manual operation may be reduced, and the terminal-lease service of the operator may be facilitated. Another embodiment of the invention further discloses a method for setting an initial security key to a mobile terminal.

Claims

1. A method for setting a key, comprising:

setting a first security key in a mobile terminal;

providing a corresponding relation between the first security key and an identity of the mobile terminal adapted to be saved on a network side;

obtaining the saved corresponding first security key according to the identity of the mobile terminal, and generating and saving a second security key according to the first security key.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

generating an electronic key according to the first security key, and returning the electronic key to the mobile terminal;

determining the validity of the electronic key after obtaining the electronic key, and generating and saving the second security key after it is determined that the electronic key is valid.

3. The method according to claim 1, the obtaining the saved corresponding first security key according to the identity of the mobile terminal further comprising:

obtaining the identity of the mobile terminal, and getting the saved corresponding first security key according to the identity.

4. The method according to claim 3, the obtaining the identity of the mobile terminal further comprising one of the followings:

obtaining the identity of the mobile terminal from subscription data of a subscriber of the mobile terminal according to an identity of the subscriber, the identity of the mobile terminal being set in the subscription data of the subscriber and, receiving the identity of the mobile terminal sent by the mobile terminal.

5. The method according to claim 2, the generating an electronic key according to the first security key further comprising one of the followings:

receiving a request for obtaining an electronic key from the mobile terminal and a random number carried in the request and obtaining a result according to the random number and the first security key, and taking the result as the electronic key to be returned to the mobile terminal;

generating a controllable random number, obtaining a result according to the controllable random number and the first security key, and taking the result and the controllable random number together as the electronic key to be returned to the mobile terminal; and

generating a random number, obtaining a result according to a pre-saved serial number, the random number and the first security key, and taking the serial number, the random number and the result together as the electronic key to be returned to the mobile terminal.

6. The method according to claim 2, wherein:

a second security key of the network side is generated according to one or more of the followings;

a random number, an authentication key in subscription data and the saved corresponding first security key; and

a second security key of the terminal is generated according to one or more of the followings;

a random number, an authentication key in a subscriber card and the saved first security key.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

arranging a mobile terminal equipment information module for saving the correlation between the identity of the mobile terminal and the first security key on the network side.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the network side requests the first security key corresponding to the mobile terminal from the mobile terminal equipment information module according to the identity of the mobile terminal.

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising:

saving a corresponding zone information according to the identity of the mobile terminal; and

determining whether the corresponding first security key has been obtained successfully according to the consistency between the identity of the subscriber card of the mobile terminal or the directory number of the mobile subscriber and the zone information corresponding to the identity of the mobile terminal.

10. The method according to claim 8, further comprising:

saving the corresponding identity information of the subscriber card or the directory number of the mobile subscriber according to the identity of the mobile terminal; and

determining whether the corresponding first security key has been obtained successfully according to the consistency between the identity of the subscriber card of the mobile terminal or the directory number of the mobile subscriber and the identity of the subscriber card of the mobile terminal or the directory number information of the mobile subscriber corresponding to the identity of the mobile terminal.

11. A method of setting a key, comprising:

setting a first security key in a mobile terminal;

saving the first security key on a network side according to the identity of the subscriber card of the mobile terminal; and

obtaining the saved corresponding first security key according to the identity of the subscriber card of the mobile terminal, and generating and saving a second security key according to the first security key.

12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising:

generating an electronic key according to the first security key, and returning the electronic key to the mobile terminal;

determining the validity of the electronic key after obtaining the electronic key, and generating and saving the second security key after it is determined that the electronic key is valid.

13. A method of setting an initial security key to a mobile terminal, comprising:

generating a temporary security key, and transmitting the temporary security key to the mobile terminal;

transmitting the temporary security key to a security module after obtaining the temporary security key;

obtaining the identity of the mobile terminal after the temporary security key has been saved successfully by the security module, and returning the identity of the mobile terminal to writing equipment.

14. A communication system, comprising:

a network side being adapted for providing a wireless communication service;

a mobile terminal being adapted for communicating with the network side and saving a first security key therein,

the network side being adapted to save the first security key according to the identity of the mobile terminal or a subscriber card of the mobile terminal, obtain the first security key according to the identity, and generate and save a second security key according to the first security key.

15. The communication system according to claim 14, wherein:

the network side is further adapted to generate an electronic key according to the first security key, and return the electronic key to the mobile terminal; and

the mobile terminal is further adapted to determine the validity of the electronic key after obtaining the electronic key, and generate and save the second security key after it is determined that the electronic key is valid.

16. The communication system according to claim 15, wherein the mobile terminal further comprises a security module adapted to save the first security key or the second security key of the mobile terminal.

17. The communication system according to claim 14, wherein the network side further comprises a mobile terminal equipment information module adapted to save the correlation between the identity of the mobile terminal or the subscriber card of the mobile terminal and the first security key.