Method and system for verifying the authenticity of a first communication participants in a communications network

• US 7,139,550 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2003
• Issued: 11/21/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Munitech IP S.a.r.l. (Marathon Patent Group, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Horn, Guenther, Cuellar, Jorge
• Primary Examiner(s): Eng, George
• Assistant Examiner(s): RAMPURIA, SHARAD K
• Application Number:
  US10/608,188
• Publication Number:
  US 20040006714A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,240 Days
• Field of Search: 455410-411, 380/247, 380270-271, 713182-186, 714/4
• US Class Current: 455/410
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/126 the source of the received data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/40 for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity, e.g. service redundancy protocols, protocol state redundancy or protocol service redirection management of faults, events, alarms or notifications in data switching networks H04L41/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/108 Source integrity

Abstract

In the method and the arrangement for checking the authenticity of a first communication subscriber in a communications network, a first fault information item is formed in the first communication subscriber using a fault detection data item of the first communication subscriber and an information item relating to a random data item. In a second communication subscriber in the communications network, a second fault information item is formed using a fault detection data item of the second communication subscriber and the information relating to the random data item. The authenticity of the first communication subscriber is checked using the first fault information and the second fault information.

Claims

1. A method of checking authenticity of a first communication subscriber in a communication network having first and second communication subscribers, comprising:

forming a first error detection datum at the first communication subscriber;

transmitting an information item concerning a random datum from the first communication subscriber to the second communication subscriber;

forming a second error detection datum of the second communication subscriber;

forming an error information item at the second communication subscriber, using the second error detection datum and the information item concerning the random datum;

transmitting the error information item from the second communication subscriber to the first communication subscriber; and

checking the first and second error detection data at the first communication subscriber using the error information item.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

forming authentication data using the first error detection datum and the information item concerning the random datum; and

transmitting the authentication data from the first communication subscriber to the second communication subscriber.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

reproducing the first error detection datum at the second communication subscriber; and

checking authenticity of the first communication subscriber at the second communication subscriber based on whether the first error detection datum reproduced by the second communication subscriber lies in a predetermined range.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein checking the authenticity comprises:

determining a difference between the first error detection datum formed by the first communication subscriber and the first error detection datum reproduced by the second communication subscriber; and

forming a sequence error, when the difference does not lie in the predetermined range.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein

the sequence error contains the information item concerning the random datum and the second error detection datum, and

the sequence error is transmitted from the second communication subscriber to the first communication subscriber.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein

the sequence error is verified at the first communication subscriber, and

a value of the first error detection datum is changed at the first communication subscriber in dependence on a value of the second error detection datum.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein

the method further comprises determining authentication data using the information item concerning the random datum and the first error detection datum, as changed at the first communication subscriber, and

the authentication data is matched to the information item concerning the random datum.

8. The method according to claim 1, second error detection data is a sequential number.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the information item concerning the random datum is a random number.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first communication subscriber is a service provider and/or the second communication subscriber is a service user in the communication network.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein the service provider is a mobile radio operator of a mobile radio system and/or the service user is a mobile telephone.

12. The method according to claim 1, further comprising changing a valve of the first error detection datum to resynchronize the first and the second error detection data.

13. The method according to claim 2, further comprising:

reproducing the first error detection datum at the second communication subscriber; and

checking authenticity of the first communication subscriber at the second communication subscriber based on whether the first error detection datum reproduced by the second communication subscriber lies in a predetermined range.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein checking the authenticity comprises:

determining a difference between the first error detection datum formed by the first communication subscriber and the first error detection datum reproduced by the second communication subscriber; and

forming a sequence error, when the difference does not lie in the predetermined range.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein

the sequence error contains the information item concerning the random datum and the second error detection datum, and

the sequence error is transmitted from the second communication subscriber to the first communication subscriber.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein

the sequence error is verified at the first communication subscriber, and

a value of the first error detection datum is changed at the first communication subscriber in dependence on a value of the second error detection datum.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein

the method further comprises determining authentication data using the information item concerning the random datum and the first error detection datum, as changed at the first communication subscriber, and

the authentication data is matched to the information concerning the random datum.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the first and second error detection data are sequential numbers.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the information item concerning the random datum is a random number.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein the first communication subscriber is a service provider and the second communication subscriber is a service user in the communication network.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein the service provider is a mobile radio operator of a mobile radio system and the service user is a mobile telephone.

22. The method according to claim 21, further comprising changing a valve of the first error detection datum to resynchronize the first and the second error detection data.

23. A system to check authenticity in a communication network, comprising:

a first communication subscriber to form a first error detection datum, and to transmit an information item concerning a random datum;

a second communication subscriber to receive the information item concerning a random datum from the first communication subscriber, to form a second error detection datum of the second communication subscriber, to form an error information item using the information item concerning the random datum and the second error detection datum and to transmit the error information item to the first communication subscriber, for the first communication subscriber to check the second error detection datum and the first error detection datum using the error information item.

24. A system for checking authenticity in a communication network having first and second communication subscribers, comprising:

means for forming a first error detection datum for the first communication subscriber;

means for transmitting an information item concerning a random datum, from the first communication subscriber to the second communication subscriber;

means for forming a second error detection datum for the second communication subscriber;

means for forming an error information item using the information item concerning the random datum and the second error detection datum;

means for transmitting the error information item from the second communication subscriber to the first communication subscriber; and

means for checking the first and second error detection data at the first communication subscriber, using the error information item.