METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE LOCATION INFORMATION FOR AUTHENTICATION OF A MOBILE STATION

• US 20090222669A1
• Filed: 05/17/2006
• Published: 09/03/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Giesecke + Devrient Mobile Security GmBH (Giesecke & Devrient GmbH)
• Original Assignee: Giesecke & Devrient GmbH
• Inventors: Nyholm, Jari, Huang, Tea Vui
• Granted Patent: US 8,423,768 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/182
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/33 using certificates
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2111 Location-sensitive, e.g. geographical location, GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3224 Transactions dependent on location of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0492 by using a location-limited connection, e.g. near-field communication or limited proximity of entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/107 wherein the security policies are location-dependent, e.g. entities privileges depend on current location or allowing specific operations only from locally connected terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/63 Location-dependent; Proximity-dependent
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/72 Subscriber identity

Abstract

The method is for authentication in a communication network. A mobile station and an authentication server give access to services in the network. A user of a mobile station first sends a request for a service or a password in a message from the mobile station. The authentication server controls the location information for the mobile station, and sends a password to the mobile station or grants access to the user as a reply to the request if the location information is accepted by the server.

Claims

1. A method for authentication in a telecommunication network comprising:

providing a mobile station and an authentication server giving access to services in the telecommunication network,

a user of the mobile station sending a request in a message from the mobile station,

the authentication server controlling location information for the mobile station, and granting access to the user when the location information is accepted by the authentication server.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the authentication server receives the location information from the mobile station.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the mobile station sends the location information to the authentication server together with the request.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the authentication server controls the location information by sending a request for location information to the mobile station and receiving the location information in a separate or later message.

5. The method of claim 2 wherein the mobile station monitors the location from which the request was sent by asking an application in the mobile station, which has information of a serving base station.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the application is in a Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) of the mobile station.

7. The method of claim 2 wherein the mobile station receives the location information by means of a Global Positioning Service (GPS).

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the authentication server receives the location information from a network entity with information of a serving base station.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the mobile station sends time information in messages of the mobile station to the authentication server in order to avoid multiplied use of a message to an authentication center.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the authentication server sends a challenge to the mobile station as a reply to the request.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the mobile station encrypts the challenge and sends the challenge back to the authentication server.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the mobile station encrypts the challenge with a private key of the user of the mobile station.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the authentication server decrypts the challenge with the public key of the user.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein the authentication server gives access to a service to the user when both the location information and a decrypted challenge are accepted by the server.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the access is granted by sending a password to the mobile station.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the password is a onetime password (OTP).

17. The method of claim 1 wherein the mobile station sends a PIN code to the authentication server.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein the mobile station sends the password to the authentication center.

19. The method of claim 2 wherein the location information, time information, a PIN code and/or a password is/are sent to an authentication center together with the password or request, with an encrypted challenge or in a separate message.

20. The method of claim 1 wherein the authentication server grants access to the user when both the location information and a decrypted challenge, a PIN code and/or a password are accepted by the server.

21. The method of claim 15 wherein the authentication server encrypts the password to be sent to the mobile station with a public key of the user.