Method and System for Encrypting Short Message

• US 20130238891A1
• Filed: 04/22/2011
• Published: 09/12/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: ZTE Corporation
• Original Assignee: ZTE Corporation
• Inventors: Cao, Yaobin, Deng, Fangmin, Xue, Tao, Yu, Song, Sun, Junsheng, Zhang, Pengbo, Yang, Yulin
• Application Number:
  US13/641,517
• Publication Number:
  US 20130238891A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/153
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0464 using hop-by-hop encryption, i.e. wherein an intermediate entity decrypts the information and re-encrypts it before forwarding it
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0471 applying encryption by an intermediary, e.g. receiving clear information at the intermediary and encrypting the received information at the intermediary before forwarding
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/033 of the user plane, e.g. user's traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]

Abstract

The present invention discloses a method and system for implementing short message encryption. Both the Mobile Station (MS) and the Mobile Switching Center (MSC) are configured with encryption-decryption modules (1), which can encrypt and decrypt the short message by using the Cipher Key (CK) as the encryption-decryption factor. The CK is variable with the Random value (RAND). The CK is not shared between the receiving end and the sending end in the whole process, so that the encrypted short message has a high confidentiality. In addition, the security of the whole transmission environment can be realized by the selectable configuration.

Claims

1. A method for implementing short message encryption, comprising the following steps of:

a mobile station (MS) of a transmitting party encrypting a short message to be transmitted using a cipher key (CK) of the transmitting party as an encryption factor and then sending the short message out;

a mobile switching center (MSC) to which the MS of the transmitting party belongs decrypting the short message using the CK of the transmitting party as a decryption factor after receiving the short message, and then sending the short message to a short message service center (SC) through an interworking message service center (IWMSC);

after receiving the short message transmitted by the SC through a gateway mobile switching center (GMSC), an MSC to which an MS of a receiving party belongs encrypting the short message using a CK of the receiving party as an encryption factor and then sending the short message to the MS of the receiving party;

after receiving the short message, the MS of the receiving party decrypting the short message using the CK of the receiving party as a decryption factor, thereby restoring a content of the short message.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein,

the step of the MS of the transmitting party encrypting a short message to be transmitted using the CK of the transmitting party as an encryption factor and then sending the short message out comprises:

the MS of the transmitting party encrypting user data (UD) of a protocol data unit (PDU) of the short message to be transmitted using the CK of the transmitting party as the encryption factor through an encryption-decryption module of itself, setting an encryption identifier in the PDU of the short message to be transmitted, and then sending the short message out;

the step of the MSC to which the MS of the transmitting party belongs decrypting the short message using the CK of the transmitting party as a decryption factor after receiving the short message comprises;

after receiving the short message, if judging according to the encryption identifier therein that the short message is an encrypted short message, the MSC to which the MS of the transmitting party belongs decrypting the UD of the PDU of the short message using the CK of the transmitting party as the decryption factor through an encryption-decryption module of itself;

the step of the MSC to which the MS of the receiving party belongs encrypting the short message using the CK of the receiving party as an encryption factor after receiving the short message comprises;

after receiving the short message, if judging according to the encryption identifier therein that the short message needs to be encrypted, the MSC to which the MS of the receiving party belongs encrypting the UD of the PDU of the short message using the CK of the receiving party as the encryption factor through an encryption-decryption module of itself;

the step of the MS of the receiving party decrypting the short message using the CK of the receiving party as a decryption factor after receiving the short message comprises;

after receiving the short message, if judging according to the encryption identifier therein that the short message is an encrypted short message, the MS of the receiving party decrypting the UD of the PDU of the short message using the CK of the receiving party as the decryption factor through an encryption-decryption module of itself.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein,

after decrypting the UD of the PDU of the short message, the MSC to which the MS of the transmitting party belongs encrypts the UD of the PDU of the short message using a user identifier of the receiving party as the encryption factor through the encryption-decryption module of itself, and then transmits the short message to the SC through the IWMSC;

after receiving the short message transmitted by the SC through the GMSC, if it is judged according to the encryption identifier therein that the short message needs to be encrypted, the MSC to which the MS of the receiving party belongs firstly decrypts the UD of the PDU of the short message using the user identifier of the receiving party as the decryption factor through the encryption-decryption module of itself, and then encrypts the UD of the PDU of the short message using the CK of the receiving party as the encryption factor.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein,

the CK is calculated with a particular algorithm from a random value (RAND) of generated in an authentication process of the MS and MSC of a party to which the CK belongs and a root key (Ki) of a user.

5. The method according to claim 3, wherein,

the user identifier of the receiving party is a mobile subscriber international ISDN number (MSISDN) or International Mobile Subscriber Identification Number (IMSI) of the receiving party.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein,

before the MS of the transmitting party encrypts the short message to be transmitted, the MS provides an interface for the user of the transmitting party to select whether to encrypt the short message to be transmitted, and if the user of the transmitting party selects to encrypt, the MS of the transmitting party encrypts the short message to be transmitted.

7. A method for transmitting an encrypted short message, comprising the following steps of:

a mobile station (MS) of a transmitting party encrypting a short message to be transmitted using a cipher key (CK) of the transmitting party as an encryption factor and then sending the short message out;

a mobile switching center (MSC) to which the MS of the transmitting party belongs decrypting the short message using the CK of the transmitting party as a decryption factor after receiving the short message, and then sending the short message to a short message service center (SC) through an interworking message service center (IWMSC).

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein,

the step of the MS of the transmitting party encrypting a short message to be transmitted using the CK of the transmitting party as an encryption factor and then sending the short message out comprises:

the MS of the transmitting party encrypting user data (UD) of a protocol data unit (PDU) of the short message to be transmitted using the CK of the transmitting party as the encryption factor through an encryption-decryption module of itself, setting an encryption identifier in the PDU of the short message to be transmitted, and then sending the short message out;

the step of the MSC to which the MS of the transmitting party belongs decrypting the short message using the CK of the transmitting party as a decryption factor after receiving the short message comprises;

after receiving the short message, if judging according to the encryption identifier therein that the short message is an encrypted short message, the MSC to which the MS of the transmitting party belongs decrypting the UD of the PDU of the short message using the CK of the transmitting party as the decryption factor through an encryption-decryption module of itself.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein,

after decrypting the UD of the PDU of the short message, the MSC to which the MS of the transmitting party belongs encrypts the UD of the PDU of the short message using a user identifier of the receiving party as the encryption factor through the encryption-decryption module of itself, and then transmits the short message to the SC through the IWMSC.

10. A method for receiving an encrypted short message, comprising the following steps of:

after receiving the short message transmitted by a short message service center (SC) through a gateway mobile switching center (GMSC), an mobile switching center (MSC) to which a mobile station (MS) of a receiving party belongs encrypting the short message using a cipher key (CK) of the receiving party as an encryption factor and then sending the short message to the MS of the receiving party;

after receiving the short message, the MS of the receiving party decrypting the short message using the CK of the receiving party as a decryption factor, thereby restoring a content of the short message.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein,

the step of the MSC to which the MS of the receiving party belongs encrypting the short message using the CK of the receiving party as an encryption factor after receiving the short message comprises:

after receiving the short message, if judging according to the encryption identifier therein that the short message needs to be encrypted, the MSC to which the MS of the receiving party belongs encrypting the UD of the PDU of the short message using the CK of the receiving party as the encryption factor through an encryption-decryption module of itself;

the step of the MS of the receiving party decrypting the short message using the CK of the receiving party as a decryption factor after receiving the short message comprises;

after receiving the short message, if judging according to the encryption identifier therein that the short message is an encrypted short message, the MS of the receiving party decrypting the UD of the PDU of the short message using the CK of the receiving party as the decryption factor through an encryption-decryption module of itself.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein,

after receiving the short message transmitted by the SC through the GMSC, if it is judged according to the encryption identifier therein that the short message needs to be encrypted, the MSC to which the MS of the receiving party belongs firstly decrypts the UD of the PDU of the short message using the user identifier of the receiving party as the decryption factor through the encryption-decryption module of itself, and then encrypts the UD of the PDU of the short message using the CK of the receiving party as the encryption factor.

13. A system for implementing short message encryption, comprising a mobile station (MS) of a transmitting party, a mobile switching center (MSC) to which the MS of the transmitting party belongs, an MSC to which an MS of a receiving party belongs, the MS of the receiving party, and the MS and MSC of the transmitting party and the MS and MSC of the receiving party being all configured with encryption-decryption modules, wherein,

the MS of the transmitting party is configured to encrypt a short message to be transmitted using a cipher key (CK) of the transmitting party as an encryption factor through the encryption-decryption module of itself and then send the short message out;

the MSC to which the MS of the transmitting party belongs is configured to decrypt the short message using the CK of the transmitting party as a decryption factor after receiving the short message, and then send the short message to a short message service center (SC) through an interworking message service center (IWMSC);

the MSC to which the MS of the receiving party belongs is configured to encrypt the short message using a CK of the receiving party as an encryption factor through the encryption-decryption module of itself after receiving the short message transmitted by the SC through the GMSC and then send the short message to the MS of the receiving party;

the MS of the receiving party is configured to decrypt the short message using the CK of the receiving party as a decryption factor through the encryption-decryption module of itself after receiving the short message, thereby restoring a content of the short message.

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