Mobile device and method with secure network messaging for authorized components

• US 9,491,564 B1
• Filed: 07/22/2016
• Issued: 11/08/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Headwater Research LLC (Greg Raleigh)
• Original Assignee: Headwater Partners I LLC (Greg Raleigh)
• Inventors: Raleigh, Gregory G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Rudy, Andrew Joseph
• Application Number:
  US15/217,538
• Publication Number:
  US 20160330567A1
• Time in Patent Office: 109 Days
• Field of Search: 455/411, 455/414.1, 455/432.1, 370/252, 709/219, 709/224, 709/226, 709/229
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/177 Initialisation or configuration control processor initialisation G06F9/4405
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06315 Needs-based resource requirements planning or analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06375 Prediction of business process outcome or impact based on a proposed change
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/32 using wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0207 Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0283 Price estimation or determination
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0284 Time or distance, e.g. usage of parking meters or taximeters
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/14 Charging , metering or billing arrangements for data wireline or wireless communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1407 Policy-and-charging control [PCC] architecture
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0806 for initial configuration or provisioning, e.g. plug-and-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0876 Aspects of the degree of configuration automation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0893 Assignment of logical groups to network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0894 : Policy-based network configuration management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5003 : Managing SLA; Interaction between SLA and QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5025 : by proactively reacting to service quality change, e.g. by reconfiguration after service quality degradation or upgrade
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5054 : Automatic deployment of services triggered by the service manager, e.g. service implementation by automatic configuration of network components
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/20 : Traffic policing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2408 : for supporting different services, e.g. a differentiated services [DiffServ] type of service
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/046 : Interoperability with other network applications or services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0236 : Filtering by address, protocol, port number or service, e.g. IP-address or URL
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/04 : for providing a confidential data exchange among entities communicating through data packet networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 : wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 : for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0853 : using an additional device, e.g. smartcard, SIM or a different communication terminal cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving additional secure or trusted devices H04L9/3234
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0892 : by using authentication-authorization-accounting [AAA] servers or protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 : for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/20 : for managing network security; network security policies in general filtering policies H04L63/0227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/145 : avoiding end of session, e.g. keep-alive, heartbeats, resumption message or wake-up for inactive or interrupted session
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 : User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 : involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 : Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 : Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/564 : Enhancement of application control based on intercepted application data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/63 : Routing a service request depending on the request content or context
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/32 : including means for verifying the identity or authority of a user of the system or for message authentication, e.g. authorization, entity authentication, data integrity or data verification, non-repudiation, key authentication or verification of credentials
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3247 : involving digital signatures
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/00 : Arrangements for metering, time-control or time indication ; Metering, charging or billing arrangements for voice wireline or wireless communications, e.g. VoIP
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/49 : Connection to several service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/58 : based on statistics of usage or network monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/61 : based on the service used
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/66 : Policy and charging system
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/80 : Rating or billing plans; Tariff determination aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8055 : Selecting cheaper transport technology for a given service
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/88 : Provision for limiting connection, or expenditure
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0188 : Network monitoring; statistics on usage on called/calling number
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/00 : Security arrangements; Authentication; Protecting privacy or anonymity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/02 : Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]
• 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 12/08 : Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/37 : Managing security policies for mobile devices or for controlling mobile applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/08 : Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/02 : Traffic management, e.g. flow control or congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0215 : based on user or device properties, e.g. MTC-capable devices services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC] H04W4/70; wireless resource selection or allocation plan definition based on terminal or device properties H04W72/51
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0268 : using specific QoS parameters for wireless networks, e.g. QoS class identifier [QCI] or guaranteed bit rate [GBR] negotiating SLA or negotiating QoS H04W28/24
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/12 : using signalling between network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 : Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 : Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/18 : Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/20 : Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 : Accounting or billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/50 : Service provisioning or reconfiguring
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/14 : using user query or user detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 : Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0453 : Resources in frequency domain, e.g. a carrier in FDMA
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/02 : Processing of mobility data, e.g. registration information at HLR [Home Location Register] or VLR [Visitor Location Register]; Transfer of mobility data, e.g. between HLR, VLR or external networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 : Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/20 : Transfer of user or subscriber data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/04 : Large scale networks; Deep hierarchical networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/042 : Public Land Mobile systems, e.g. cellular systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 : WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 : adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 : Access point devices
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/80 : Management or planning

Abstract

A mobile device has an inter-process software communication (IPC) bus that provides secure communication between a device link agent and software component processes. The software processes are allowed to access the bus based on access authorization information from a secure server that identifies those components. The device link object maintains a secure message link to a message link server that receives messages from plural network functions, identified for delivery to respective software components on the mobile device, and conveys them to the device link agent. For the authorized software components, the link agent delivers received messages to the component processes.

Claims

1. A mobile end-user device comprising:

a wireless modem configurable to exchange data via a connection to a wireless network;

an inter-process software communication bus providing secure communication between an executing device link agent and respective executing processes for a plurality of software components, wherein providing secure communication comprises receiving access authorization information from a secure server, and allowing access to the bus only for software components identified by the access authorization information; and

the device link agent, configured to

maintain a secure message link through the wireless network and an Internet network to a message link server, the message link server operating a message service that receives messages over a network from a plurality of network functions,

receive secure messages from the message link server over the secure message link, the received messages identified for delivery to multiple ones of the software components, and including message content received by the message link server from multiple ones of the network functions, and

for software components identified by the access authorization information, route messages identified for delivery to a given one of those software components via the inter-process software communication bus to a software process corresponding to the given software component.

2. The mobile end-user device of claim 1, wherein the access authorization information provided by the secure server for a given one of the software components comprises a signature.

3. The mobile end-user device of claim 1, wherein the software components include a first device component that receives message content in a first format, and a second device component that receives message content in a second format different than the first format.

4. The mobile end-user device of claim 3, further comprising a user interface, wherein the first device component is a user service interface agent, and the first format comprises a notification message, the user service interface agent configured to display the notification message on the user interface.

5. The mobile end-user device of claim 4, the user service interface agent further configured to obtain a user input as a response to the display of the notification message, and deliver the user input to an agent on the device.

6. The mobile end-user device of claim 3, wherein the first device component is a policy control agent, and the first format contains service settings and/or configuration information.

7. The mobile end-user device of claim 1, wherein the received secure messages are encrypted, the device link agent further configured to decrypt the received secure messages prior to delivering those messages to respective software processes.

8. The mobile end-user device of claim 7, wherein the encrypted messages are transported to the device link agent using one or more of encryption on a transport services stack, IP (Internet Protocol) layer encryption, and tunneling.

9. The mobile end-user device of claim 1, wherein the device link agent executes in a secure execution environment, and at least one of the software components executes outside of the secure execution environment.

10. The mobile end-user device of claim 1, wherein the device link agent is further configured to receive, from one or more of the authorized software components, upload messages, each of the upload messages identifying a corresponding one of the network functions to which the device respective software component has requested delivery, the device link agent transmitting the upload messages to the network message server over the secure message link, for delivery by the network message server to the respective identified network elements.

11. The mobile end-user device of claim 10, the device link agent further configured to buffer one or more of the upload messages for transmission to the network message server at a time selected by a heartbeat mechanism.

12. The mobile end-user device of claim 1, wherein at least one of the secure messages received from the network message server comprises multiple identifier/data pairs.

13. The mobile end-user device of claim 2, wherein the given one of the software components is identified by a secure unique identifier.

14. A method of operating a mobile end-user device having a wireless modem to connect to a wireless network, the method comprising:

receiving access authorization information from a secure server;

operating an inter-process software communication bus to provide secure communication between an executing device link agent and respective executing processes for a plurality of software components, the secure communication comprising allowing access to the bus only for software components identified by the access authorization information;

maintaining a secure message link from the device link agent through the wireless network and an Internet network to a message link server, the message link server operating a message service that receives messages over a network from a plurality of network functions;

receiving secure messages at the device link agent from the message link server over the secure message link, the received messages identified for delivery to multiple ones of the software components, and including message content received by the message link server from multiple ones of the network functions; and

for software components identified by the access authorization information, routing messages identified for delivery to a given one of those software components via the inter-process software communication bus from the device link agent to a software process corresponding to the given software component.