Smart card personnalization with local generation of keys

• US 9,923,716 B2
• Filed: 08/14/2013
• Issued: 03/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: El Mghazli, Yacine, Shikfa, Abdullatif
• Primary Examiner(s): Korsak, Oleg
• Assistant Examiner(s): KANAAN, SIMON P
• Application Number:
  US14/417,572
• Publication Number:
  US 20150215121A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,679 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/80 Wireless network architectures or network communication protocols for wireless network security H04W12/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0844 with user authentication or key authentication, e.g. ElGamal, MTI, MQV-Menezes-Qu-Vanstone protocol or Diffie-Hellman protocols using implicitly-certified keys
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/04 Key management, e.g. using generic bootstrapping architecture [GBA]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/35 Protecting application or service provisioning, e.g. securing SIM application provisioning

Abstract

For personalizing a smart card (SC) coupled with a communication device (CD) of a user being a subscriber of a first telecommunication network (TN1) and wishing to become a subscriber of a second telecommunication network (TN2), a first international identity (IMSI_1) and a first authentication key (AK_1) being stored in the smart card (SC), the smart card receives a message (MesP) from an application server (AS) connected to the first telecommunication network and the second telecommunication network, the message (MesN) comprising a personalization command (ComP) and an admin code (ACas), after that the application server has received a request (Req) of subscription change comprising an identifier (1dMNO2) of the second telecommunication network (TN2) and has established a secured session with a personalization server (PS) of the second telecommunication network (TN2) identified by the identifier (1dMNO2), and interprets the personalization command (ComP) to establish a secure session with the personalization server (PS) via the application server (AS), if the admin code (ACas) is valid. The smart card negotiates with the personalization server to agree on an second authentication key, by exchanging messages containing values derived from random secrets, receives a message (Mes3) containing an second international identity (IMSI_2) from the personalization server (PS), and replaces the first international identity (IMSI_1) and the first authentication key (AK_1) by the second international identity and the second authentication key.

Claims

1. A method for personalizing a smart card coupled with a communication device of a user being a subscriber of a first telecommunication network, a first international identity and a first authentication key being stored in the smart card, the method comprising:

receiving, at the smart card, a first message from an application server connected to the first telecommunication network and a second telecommunication network, the first message comprising a personalization command and an admin code, the admin code being a unique code for accessing or modifying the smart card;

interpreting, at the smart card, the personalization command to establish a secure session with a personalization server of the second telecommunication network via the application server if the admin code is valid;

negotiating, at the smart card, with the personalization server to agree on a second authentication key by exchanging messages based on a Diffie-Hellman protocol, wherein the messages contain values derived from random secrets, the second authentication key being computed in the smart card and in the personalization server based on a function that takes as input at least the random secrets;

receiving, at the smart card, a second message that contains a second international identity from the personalization server; and

replacing, at the smart card, the first international identity and the first authentication key with the second international identity and the second authentication key.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the negotiation between the smart card and the personalization server comprises:

sending, at the smart card, a third message that contains a first value derived from a first random secret to the personalization server; and

receiving, at the smart card, a fourth message that contains a second value derived from a second random secret from the personalization server, and computing the second authentication key as a function of a third value derived from the second value and the first random secret.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein a request of subscription change is sent to the application server by the communication device or by an entity of the second telecommunication network after user agreement.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the request of subscription change comprises an identifier of the smart card and an identifier of the second telecommunication network.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein an application in the smart card checks if the admin code received in the first message is compatible with an admin code initially stored in the smart card to determine if the admin code is valid.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the messages are encrypted short messages.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the messages are decomposed in many messages.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the messages contain data packets sent to the smart card through a service node and a gateway node of the second telecommunication network via the secured session.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the communication device comprises a mobile phone, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a smart phone, or an automatic counter of water, gas, or electricity belonging to a company in the energy sector.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the secure session is based on Internet Protocol security (IPsec).

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the personalization server comprises a processing unit dedicated to computing authentication keys.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first message comprises the personalization command, the admin code and an identifier of the personalization server.

13. A smart card coupled with a communication device of a user being a subscriber of a first telecommunication network, a first international identity and a first authentication key being stored in the smart card, the smart card being adapted to:

receive a first message from an application server connected to the first telecommunication network and a second telecommunication network, the first message comprising a personalization command and an admin code, the admin code being a unique code for accessing or modifying the smart card;

interpret the personalization command to establish a secure session with a personalization server of the second telecommunication network via the application server if the admin code is valid;

negotiate with the personalization server to agree on a second authentication key by exchanging messages based on a Diffie-Hellman protocol, wherein the messages contain values derived from random secrets, the second authentication key being computed in the smart card and in the personalization server based on a function that takes as input at least the random secrets;

receive a second message that contains a second international identity from the personalization server; and

replace the first international identity and the first authentication key with the second international identity and the second authentication key.

14. An application server for personalizing a smart card coupled with a communication device of a user being a subscriber of a first telecommunication network, a first international identity and a first authentication key being stored in the smart card, the application server being connected to the first telecommunication network and a second telecommunication network, the application server being adapted to:

receive a request of subscription change comprising an identifier of the second telecommunication network and an identifier of the smart card;

establish a secured session with a personalization server of the second telecommunication network identified by the identifier of the second telecommunication network; and

send a first message comprising a personalization command and an admin code in order that the smart card

interprets the personalization command to establish a secure session with the personalization server via the application server if the admin code is valid, the admin code being a unique code for accessing or modifying the smart card;

negotiates with the personalization server to agree on a second authentication key by exchanging messages based on a Diffie-Hellman protocol, wherein the messages contain values derived from random secrets, the second authentication key being computed in the smart card and in the personalization server based on a function that takes as input at least the random secrets;

receives a second message that contains a second international identity from the personalization server; and

replaces the first international identity and the first authentication key with the second international identity and the second authentication key.

15. A personalization server for personalizing a smart card coupled with a communication device of a user being a subscriber of a first telecommunication network, a first international identity and a first authentication key being stored in the smart card, the personalization server being connected to a second telecommunication network, the personalization server being adapted to:

establish a secure session with the smart card via an application server connected to the first and second telecommunication networks if an admin code received in a first message sent from the application server to the smart card is valid, the admin code being a unique code for accessing or modifying the smart card;

negotiate with the smart card to agree on a second authentication key by exchanging messages based on a Diffie-Hellman protocol, wherein the messages contain values derived from random secrets, the second authentication key being computed in the smart card and in the personalization server based on a function that takes as input at least the random secrets; and

send a second message that contains a second international identity to the smart card that is able to replace the first international identity and the first authentication key with the second international identity and the second authentication key.

16. A non-transitory computer readable storage information medium readable by a data processing device having computer readable instructions encoded therein, said computer readable instructions adapted to be executed in an application server for personalizing a smart card coupled with a communication device of a user being a subscriber of a first telecommunication network, a first international identity and a first authentication key being stored in the smart card, the application server being connected to the first telecommunication network and the second telecommunication network, said computer readable instructions adapted to be executed to implement a method, comprising:

receiving a request of subscription change comprising an identifier of the second telecommunication network and an identifier of the smart card;

establishing a secured session with a personalization server of the second telecommunication network identified by the identifier of the second telecommunication network; and

sending a first message comprising a personalization command and an admin code in order that the smart card

interprets the personalization command to establish a secure session with the personalization server via the application server if the admin code is valid, the admin code being a unique code for accessing or modifying the smart card;

negotiates with the personalization server to agree on a second authentication key by exchanging messages based on a Diffie-Hellman protocol, wherein the messages contain values derived from random secrets, the second authentication key being computed in the smart card and in the personalization server based on a function that takes as input at least the random secrets;

receives a second message that contains a second international identity from the personalization server; and

replaces the first international identity and the first authentication key with the second international identity and the second authentication key.

17. A non-transitory computer readable storage information medium readable by a data processing device adapted to be executed in a personalization server for personalizing a smart card coupled with a communication device of a user being a subscriber of a first telecommunication network, a first international identity and a first authentication key being stored in the smart card, the personalization server being connected to the second telecommunication network, said computer readable instructions adapted to be executed to implement a method, comprising:

establishing a secure session with the smart card via an application server connected to the first and second telecommunication networks if an admin code received in a first message sent from the application server to the smart card is valid, the admin code being a unique code for accessing or modifying the smart card;

negotiating with the smart card to agree on a second authentication key by exchanging messages based on a Diffie-Hellman protocol, wherein the messages contain values derived from random secrets, the second authentication key being computed in the smart card and in the personalization server based on a function that takes as input at least the random secrets; and

sending a second message that contains a second international identity to the smart card that is able to replace the first international identity and the first authentication key with the second international identity and the second authentication key.