Method for detecting security error in mobile telecommunications system and device of mobile telecommunications

• US 8,243,931 B2
• Filed: 08/04/2008
• Issued: 08/14/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/10/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Yi, Seung-June, Park, Sung-Jun, Lee, Young-Dae, Chun, Sung-Duck
• Primary Examiner(s): Song, Hosuk
• Application Number:
  US12/667,860
• Publication Number:
  US 20110263221A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,471 Days
• Field of Search: 380/270, 713/150, 713160-163, 713167-171, 713/181, 726 2- 3, 726 11- 14
• US Class Current: 380/270
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1004 to protect a block of data words, e.g. CRC or checksum G06F11/1076 takes precedence; security arrangements for protecting computers or computer systems against unauthorized activity G06F21/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0061 Error detection codes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/28 using route fault recovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/552 by ensuring the integrity of packets received through redundant connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/555 Error detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/123 received data contents, e.g. message integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/22 Parsing or analysis of headers
• 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 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/106 Packet or message integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/18 Management of setup rejection or failure
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/19 Connection re-establishment

Abstract

A method and apparatus for detecting a security error at a PDCP layer of an LTE (Long Term Evolution) system, a mobile communication system, are disclosed.

Conditions for determining a security failure are defined. A receiving side PDCP layer determines whether HFN de-synchronization, namely, a security failure, has occurred by using particular conditions (namely, conditions for determining the security failure). If it is determined that the security failure has occurred, the receiving side PDCP layer informs an RRC layer to re-establish an RB or perform a PDCP RESET procedure to re-set security configuration of a transmitting side and the receiving side.

Claims

1. A method for reporting a security failure in a mobile communication system, the method comprising:

receiving at least one data unit in a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer of a receiver;

performing integrity verification on the at least one data unit in the PDCP layer;

identifying whether a security failure exists with regard to the at least one data unit while performing the integrity verification; and

reporting the security failure to a radio resource control (RRC) layer of the receiver if the security failure is identified to exist with regard to the at least one data unit, wherein the RRC layer performs a re-establishment procedure upon receiving the security failure report,

wherein the re-establishment procedure comprises at least re-establishing a radio bearer (RB), re-establishing an RRC connection, resetting a security configuration with respect to a particular RB, or re-establishing the PDCP layer.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein re-establishing the PDCP layer comprises resetting the PDCP layer.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying whether the security failure exists with regard to the at least one data unit while performing the integrity verification comprises:

counting a number of error data units among the at least one data unit received;

comparing the number of error data units counted to a reference value; and

determining the security failure exists if the number of error data units counted reaches the reference value.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein counting the number of error data units among the at least one data unit received comprises:

removing a header of the at least one data unit received;

deciphering the header-removed at least one data unit; and

increasing a counter value representing the number of error data units when an error data unit is determined to exist, wherein the counter value is compared to the reference value to determine if the security failure exists.

5. The method of claim 3, further comprising performing a security configuration recovery process if the number of error data units counted reaches the reference value.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the security configuration recovery process comprises performing a reset procedure of the PDCP layer.

7. The method of claim 3, wherein the error data units are in a consecutive order.

8. The method of claim 3, wherein the reference value differs according to a radio bearer (RB).

9. The method of claim 3, wherein a data unit error is determined when a message authentication code-integrity (MAC-I) value of the at least one data unit received is different from an expected message authentication code-integrity (XMAC-I) value generated by the PDCP layer.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising discarding the at least one data unit if the security failure is identified to exist with regard to the at least one data unit.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one data unit comprises control plane data.

12. A packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity of a receiver in a mobile communication system, the PDCP entity comprising:

a header removing module for removing a header of at least one data unit received;

a deciphering module for deciphering the header-removed at least one data unit; and

an integrity verification module for performing integrity verification on the at least one data unit, and for identifying whether a security failure exists with regard to the at least one data unit while performing the integrity verification,

wherein the security failure is reported to a radio resource control (RRC) layer of the receiver if the integrity verification module identifies the existence of the security failure with regard to the at least one data unit, wherein the RRC layer performs a re-establishment procedure upon receiving the security failure report,

wherein the re-establishment procedure comprises at least re-establishing a radio bearer (RB), re-establishing an RRC connection, resetting a security configuration with respect to a particular RB, or re-establishing the PDCP layer.

13. The PDCP entity of claim 12, wherein the at least one data unit is discarded if the integrity verification module identifies the existence of the security failure with regard to the at least one data unit.