Preventing misuse of a copied subscriber identity in a mobile communication system

• US 6,427,073 B1
• Filed: 03/16/1999
• Issued: 07/30/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/17/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nokia Solutions and Networks US LLC (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Telecommunications Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Kortesalmi, Jyrki, Pelto, Tapio
• Primary Examiner(s): Hunter, Daniel
• Assistant Examiner(s): LE, LANA N
• Application Number:
  US09/254,969
• Time in Patent Office: 1,232 Days
• Field of Search: 455/410, 455/414, 455/56.1, 455/33.1, 455/23, 455/62, 455/54.1, 455/551, 455/552, 455/422, 455/411, 455/557, 455/558, 379/59, 379/58, 379/62
• US Class Current: 455/414.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/101 Access control lists [ACL]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/71 Hardware identity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/72 Subscriber identity

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and an equipment of preventing the misuse of a copied subscriber identity in a mobile communication system. The use of a subscriber identity is restricted to predetermined terminals, each having an associated equipment identity in such a way that: a number of allowable equipment identities is defined for at least one subscriber identity, and a data base linking said subscriber identities and the equipment identities allowable to them is created; the terminal sends the terminal user subscriber identity and its dedicated equipment identity to the rest of the system; the rest of the system compares whether the equipment identity sent is allowable to the subscriber identity sent; as a response to the equipment identity sent being allowable to the subscriber identity sent, the use of the terminal is permitted, and otherwise the use is denied.

Claims

1. A method of preventing the use of a copied subscriber identity in a telecommunication system comprising at least one controller, several subscriber identities and several terminals, each terminal having an associated equipment identity, the method comprising:

maintaining a set of protected subscriber identities and defining a set of allowable equipment identities for each protected subscriber identity;

sending from a terminal to the controller equipment identity and subscriber identity associated with the terminal;

checking by a controller if the subscriber identity sent is a protected subscriber identity, and if it is, the controller comparing whether the equipment identity sent is allowable to the subscriber identity sent; and

denying by the controller the use of the terminal if the equipment identity sent is not allowable to the subscriber identity sent.

2. The method according to claim 1 further comprising:

defining a subscriber-specific condition for at least some subscriber identities, the subscriber-specific condition indicating if the use of the subscriber identity is denied with non-allowable equipment identities; and

in response to the subscriber-specific condition indicating that the use of the subscriber identity is not denied with non-allowable equipment identities, permitting the use of the terminal irrespective of the equipment identity.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the controller is a mobile services switching center.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the controller is a mobile services switching center.

5. A mobile communication system comprising:

a controller;

a register comprising information on several subscriber identities, each subscriber identity identifying a subscriber;

a plurality of terminals, each terminal having an associated equipment identity and each terminal being adapted to send its equipment identity and subscriber identity of its user to the controller;

logic for preventing the use of a copied subscriber identity, the logic comprising;

memory for linking at least one subscriber identity with a set of equipment identities allowable to the subscriber identity; and

a comparator for comparing whether the equipment identity sent is allowable for the subscriber identity sent and for denying the use of the terminal unless the equipment identity sent is allowable to the subscriber identity sent.

6. The mobile communication system according to claim 5 wherein a subscriber-specific condition for at least one subscriber identity indicates if the use of the subscriber identity is denied with non-allowable equipment identities and the comparator permitting the use of the terminal irrespective of the equipment identity in response to the subscriber-specific condition indicating that the use of the subscriber identity is not denied with non-allowable equipment identities.

7. The mobile communication system according to claim 6, wherein the controller is a mobile services switching center.

8. The mobile communication system according to claim 5, wherein the controller is a mobile services switching center.