Secure dialing in mobile telephone system

• US 5,940,515 A
• Filed: 08/13/1996
• Issued: 08/17/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 08/13/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Intellectual Ventures I LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Mobile Phones UK Limited (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Kasavaraju, Ramesh
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Harshad
• Assistant Examiner(s): CLARK, ROBIN C
• Application Number:
  US08/689,738
• Time in Patent Office: 1,099 Days
• Field of Search: 380/49, 370/329, 370/335, 370/341, 370/342, 370/364, 370/369, 455/579, 455/436, 455/406, 455/511, 455/410
• US Class Current: 380/270
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0414 during transmission, i.e. party's identity is protected against eavesdropping, e.g. by using temporary identifiers, but is known to the other party or parties involved in the communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/02 Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/033 of the user plane, e.g. user's traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/037 of the control plane, e.g. signalling traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/122 Counter-measures against attacks; Protection against rogue devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support

Abstract

A cellular telephonic communication system is provided with privacy in the transmission of a dialed number from a mobile station to a base station. This is accomplished by transmitting from the base station a modified origination message followed by an origination continuation message. In the origination message, the dialed number is omitted. The origination message is transmitted by the access channel, and includes a control bit indicating that the origination message is incomplete and is to be followed by an origination continuation message. The base station responds by assigning forward and reverse traffic channels to the mobile station. The mobile station then employs the reverse traffic channel to transmit the dialed number to the base station. In the traffic channels, the private long code mask is employed for spreading the spectrum of the reverse traffic channel data which includes the dialed number. Thereby, an intruder listening to the telephonic communication cannot determine the identity of the called party because the intruder does not know the spreading code used.

Claims

1. In a cellular communication system for telephonic communication between a base station and a plurality of mobile stations, a method of securely initiating a telephonic communication by a mobile station, comprising the steps of:

transmitting, via, an access channel, a modified origination message from a mobile station to a base station, the modified origination message having a dialed number field set to show an absence of a dialed number, and a More_-- Field set to indicate a following origination continuation message;

placing the dialed number in the origination continuation message;

transmitting the origination continuation message from the mobile station to the base station via a traffic channel; and

providing greater security to said traffic channel than to said access channel.

2. A method according to claim 1 further comprising a step of assigning the traffic channel for communication of the origination continuation message.

3. A method according to claim 2 further comprising a step of communicating, via the base station, with a called party having the dialed number to establish a communication link between the mobile station and the called party.

4. A method according to claim 3 further comprising a step of inserting into the modified origination message a request for a privacy mode, and wherein said step of assigning a traffic channel includes a step of establishing the traffic channel with a feature of privacy mode encryption.

5. A method according to claim 1 further comprising a step of encrypting the dialing number for security from intrusion.

6. In a cellular communication system for telephonic communication between the base station and a plurality of mobile stations, a method of securely initiating a telephonic communication by a mobile station, comprising the steps of:

preparing an origination message for transmission from the mobile station to the base station via an access channel, the origination message being digitally encoded and having bit fields reserved for identification of the mobile station, a dialed number, and a control bit indicating as to whether the origination message is complete with respect to the inclusion of the dialed number;

setting the control bit to indicate that an origination continuation message is to follow the origination message;

setting the dialed number field to indicate the absence of a dialed number;

transmitting from the mobile station to the base station the origination message via the access channel;

assigning a traffic channel to the mobile station for communication with the base station;

transmitting via the traffic channel from the mobile station to the base station an origination continuation message including the dialed digits;

providing greater security to said traffic channel than to said access channel, and

communicating, via the base station, with a called party having the dialed number to establish a communication link between the mobile station and the called party.

7. A method according to claim 6 further comprising a step of inserting into the modified origination message a request for a privacy mode, and wherein said step of assigning a traffic channel includes a step of establishing the traffic channel with a feature of privacy mode encryption.