Automatic generation of private authentication key for wireless communication systems

• US 5,513,245 A
• Filed: 08/29/1994
• Issued: 04/30/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Anderson, Geoffrey, Akahanc, Masaaki, Doums, Peter, Mizikovsky, Semyon, Yasuda, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Kuntz, Curtis
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chernoff, Michael B.
• Application Number:
  US08/296,891
• Time in Patent Office: 610 Days
• Field of Search: 380/21, 380/23, 380/28, 380/43, 380/44, 380/46, 380/47, 380/48, 380/49, 380/50, 340/825.31, 340/825.34, 455/33.1, 455/33.3, 455/54.1, 379/58, 379/59, 379/61, 379/63
• US Class Current: 455/411
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/80 Wireless network architectures or network communication protocols for wireless network security H04W12/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0876 based on the identity of the terminal or configuration, e.g. MAC address, hardware or software configuration or device fingerprint
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0869 involving random numbers or seeds
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3231 Biological data, e.g. fingerprint, voice or retina network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using biometrical features in a packet data network H04L63/0861
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3271 using challenge-response
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/04 Key management, e.g. using generic bootstrapping architecture [GBA]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/71 Hardware identity

Abstract

Apparatus and method for automatically generating an authentication key (A-Key) in a mobile station wherein the mobile station periodically receives random numbers from a base station, and automatically generates the authentication key from a received random number and from mobile station identification data stored in the mobile station. The mobile station identification data may include the electronic serial number of the mobile station, a user selected value, and a cellular system selected value. In addition, mixing registers may be utilized by an encoding algorithm, such as the CAVE algorithm, for encoding the random numbers and the identification data to automatically generate the mobile station authentication key.

Claims

1. Method of generating a private authentication key in a mobile cellular station having a unique electronic serial number associated therewith and a user selected value, said electronic serial number and said user selected value being transmitted to a cellular service provider and said cellular service provider transmitting a system selected value to said mobile cellular station, said method comprising the steps of:

receiving a random challenge number on a broadcast forward control channel transmitted to said mobile cellular station by a base station;

receiving a unique random number included in a unique challenge authentication order transmitted to said mobile cellular station by said base station;

loading mixing registers at said mobile cellular station with said electronic serial number, said user selected value, said system selected value, said random challenge number and said unique random number;

loading a linear feedback shift register with a value which is a function of the values in said mixing registers;

setting a first offset index for a predetermined algorithm to a value which is a function of said user selected value and said unique random number;

setting a second offset index for said predetermined algorithm to a value which is a function of said system selected value and said unique random number;

running said predetermined algorithm a preselected number of rounds to modify the values in said mixing registers; and

setting said authentication key to a value which is a function of the modified values in said mixing registers.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of storing said electronic serial number in the linear feedback shift register when said linear feedback shift register has been loaded with a null value.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of generating at said mobile cellular station a unique challenge response to said unique challenge authentication order, and transmitting said unique challenge response to said base station for use in said base station to verify a successful authentication key generated by said mobile station.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined algorithm is a CAVE-type algorithm.