Obfuscating the locations of access points and femtocells

• US 9,836,613 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2013
• Issued: 12/05/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/02/2013
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Edge, Stephen William, Aldana, Carlos Horacio
• Primary Examiner(s): Perez, Julio
• Application Number:
  US14/042,721
• Publication Number:
  US 20140331329A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,527 Days
• Field of Search: 4554561, 455 121, 455427
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0244 Accuracy or reliability of position solution or of measurements contributing thereto
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/606 by securing the transmission between two devices or processes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2111 Location-sensitive, e.g. geographical location, GPS
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/003 locating network equipment

Abstract

Methods and apparatuses are presented for obfuscating the locations of terrestrial wireless transceivers, including wireless access points and femtocells. According to some embodiments, a method may receive, by a mobile device, data for a terrestrial wireless transceiver, wherein the data includes location coordinates of the terrestrial wireless transceiver, and wherein the location coordinates include an error term. Additionally, the method may include determining the error term based on the data. Furthermore, the method may include determining a corrected location of the terrestrial wireless transceiver by removing the error term from the location coordinates. In some instances, the data can further include a unique identifier associated with the terrestrial wireless transceiver, and wherein the error term is further determined based on the unique identifier.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by a mobile device, data for a terrestrial transceiver, wherein the data includes a unique identifier comprising a MAC address or a cell ID and the data includes location coordinates of the terrestrial transceiver that have been modified with a predetermined obfuscation term, the predetermined obfuscation term causing the location coordinates of the terrestrial transceiver to be less accurate than the location coordinates of the terrestrial transceiver would be without the predetermined obfuscation term;

determining, by the mobile device, the predetermined obfuscation term, the determining comprising;

determining one or more binary values using the unique identifier, and

multiplying the one or more binary values by a known scaling factor to calculate the predetermined obfuscation term;

removing, by the mobile device, the predetermined obfuscation term from the location coordinates of the terrestrial transceiver to determine a corrected location of the terrestrial transceiver;

calculating, by the mobile device, a location of the mobile device based at least in part on the corrected location of the terrestrial transceiver; and

providing, by the mobile device, the location of the mobile device to an application on the mobile device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the predetermined obfuscation term further comprises transforming bits in the location coordinates of the terrestrial transceiver, based on a known ciphering key or known transformation method.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the data further includes a location of a second terrestrial transceiver, and wherein determining the predetermined obfuscation term further comprises:

determining, by the mobile device, a mapping table, wherein the mapping table includes association information about the terrestrial transceiver and the second terrestrial transceiver; and

calculating the predetermined obfuscation term based on the mapping table and the location of the second terrestrial transceiver,

wherein the corrected location of the terrestrial transceiver comprises the location of the second terrestrial transceiver based on the mapping table.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the predetermined obfuscation term further comprises:

receiving information from a location server associated with the mobile device and a first server; and

determining the predetermined obfuscation term based on the received information.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the predetermined obfuscation term further comprises:

receiving broadcast information from the terrestrial transceiver; and

determining the predetermined obfuscation term based on the broadcast information.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the data further includes a serving network ID or a provider ID, and wherein the determining the predetermined obfuscation term is further based on the serving network ID or the provider ID.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the predetermined obfuscation term further comprises:

storing, by the mobile device, a known ciphering key; and

altering bits associated with the received data, wherein the altering is based on the known ciphering key.

8. A mobile device comprising:

memory;

a transceiver configured to receive data for a terrestrial transceiver, wherein the data includes a unique identifier comprising a MAC address or a cell ID and the data includes location coordinates of the terrestrial transceiver that have been modified with a predetermined obfuscation term, the predetermined obfuscation term causing the location coordinates of the terrestrial transceiver to be less accurate than the location coordinates of the terrestrial transceiver would be without the predetermined obfuscation term; and

one or more processors configured to;

determine the predetermined obfuscation term, the determining comprising;

determining one or more binary values using the unique identifier, and

multiplying the one or more binary values by a known scaling factor to calculate the predetermined obfuscation term;

remove the predetermined obfuscation term from the location coordinates of the terrestrial transceiver to determine a corrected location of the terrestrial transceiver;

calculate a location of the mobile device based at least in part on the corrected location of the terrestrial transceiver; and

provide the location of the mobile device to an application on the mobile device.

9. The mobile device of claim 8, wherein determining the predetermined obfuscation term further comprises transforming bits in the location coordinates of the terrestrial transceiver, based on a known ciphering key or known transformation method.

10. The mobile device of claim 8, wherein the data further includes a location of a second terrestrial transceiver, and wherein the one or more processors is further configured to:

determine a mapping table, wherein the mapping table includes association information about the terrestrial transceiver and the second terrestrial transceiver; and

calculate the predetermined obfuscation term based on the mapping table and the location of the second terrestrial transceiver,

wherein the corrected location of the terrestrial transceiver comprises the location of the second terrestrial transceiver based on the mapping table.

11. The mobile device of claim 8, the one or more processors further configured to:

receive information from a location server associated with the mobile device and a first server; and

determine the predetermined obfuscation term based on the received information.

12. The mobile device of claim 8, wherein the transceiver further configured to receive broadcast information from the terrestrial transceiver, and wherein the one or more processors is further configured to:

determine the predetermined obfuscation term based on the broadcast information.

13. The mobile device of claim 8, wherein the data further includes a serving network ID or a provider ID, and wherein the determining the predetermined obfuscation term is further based on the serving network ID or the provider ID.

14. The mobile device of claim 8, wherein the memory is configured to store a known ciphering key, and wherein the one or more processors is further configured to:

alter bits associated with the received data, wherein the altering is based on the known ciphering key.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause one or more computing devices included in a mobile device to:

receive data for a terrestrial transceiver, wherein the data includes a unique identifier comprising a MAC address or a cell ID and the data includes location coordinates of the terrestrial transceiver that have been modified with a predetermined obfuscation term, the predetermined obfuscation term causing the location coordinates of the terrestrial transceiver to be less accurate than the location coordinates of the terrestrial transceiver would be without the predetermined obfuscation term;

determine the predetermined obfuscation term, the determining comprising;

determining one or more binary values using the unique identifier, and

multiplying the one or more binary values by a known scaling factor to calculate the predetermined obfuscation term;

remove the predetermined obfuscation term from the location coordinates of the terrestrial transceiver to determine a corrected location of the terrestrial transceiver;

calculate a location of the mobile device based at least in part on the corrected location of the terrestrial transceiver; and

provide the location of the mobile device to an application on the mobile device.

16. An apparatus comprising:

means for receiving data for a terrestrial transceiver, wherein the data includes a unique identifier comprising a MAC address or a cell ID and the data includes location coordinates of the terrestrial transceiver, and wherein the location coordinates of the terrestrial transceiver include a predetermined obfuscation term, the predetermined obfuscation term included with the location coordinates of the terrestrial transceiver upon transmittal in order to obfuscate the location of the terrestrial transceiver;

means for determining the predetermined obfuscation term based on the data including means for determining one or more binary values using the unique identifier and means for multiplying the one or more binary values by a known scaling factor to calculate the predetermined obfuscation term;

means for removing the predetermined obfuscation term from the location coordinates of the terrestrial transceiver to determine a corrected location of the terrestrial transceiver;

means for calculating a location of the apparatus based at least in part on the corrected location of the terrestrial transceiver; and

means for providing the location of the apparatus to an application on the apparatus.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the means for determining the predetermined obfuscation term further includes means for transforming bits in the location coordinates of the terrestrial transceiver, based on a known ciphering key or known transformation method.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the data further includes a location of a second terrestrial transceiver, and wherein the means for determining the predetermined obfuscation term further comprises:

means for determining a mapping table, wherein the mapping table includes association information about the terrestrial transceiver and the second terrestrial transceiver; and

means for calculating the predetermined obfuscation term based on the mapping table and the location of the second terrestrial transceiver,

wherein the corrected location of the terrestrial transceiver comprises the location of the second terrestrial transceiver based on the mapping table.

19. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the means for determining the predetermined obfuscation term further comprises:

means for receiving information from a location server associated with the apparatus and a first server; and

means for determining the predetermined obfuscation term based on the received information.

20. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the means for determining the predetermined obfuscation term further comprises:

means for receiving broadcast information from the terrestrial transceiver; and

means for determining the predetermined obfuscation term based on the broadcast information.

21. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the data further includes a serving network ID or a provider ID, and wherein the determining the predetermined obfuscation term is further based on the serving network ID or the provider ID.

22. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the means for determining the predetermined obfuscation term further comprises:

means for storing a known ciphering key; and

means for altering bits associated with the received data, wherein the altering is based on the known ciphering key.

23. A method comprising:

receiving a request for location coordinates of a terrestrial transceiver;

providing, to a mobile device, the location coordinates of the terrestrial transceiver that have been modified with a predetermined obfuscation term, the predetermined obfuscation causing the location coordinates of the terrestrial transceiver to be less accurate than the location coordinates of the terrestrial transceiver would be without the predetermined obfuscation term; and

providing, to the mobile device, correction data, wherein the correction data includes a unique identifier comprising a MAC address or a cell ID and wherein the correction data is used to generate a corrected location of the terrestrial transceiver by removing, from the location coordinates of the terrestrial transceiver, the predetermined obfuscation term based on determining one or more binary values using the unique identifier and multiplying the one or more binary values by a known scaling factor to calculate the predetermined obfuscation term.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein removing the predetermined obfuscation term is further based on transforming bits in the location coordinates of the terrestrial transceiver, based on a known ciphering key.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein removing the predetermined obfuscation term is further based on:

broadcast information transmitted from the terrestrial transceiver; and

generating the predetermined obfuscation term based on the broadcast information.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein the correction data further includes a serving network ID or a provider ID, and wherein removing the predetermined obfuscation term is based further on the serving network ID or the provider ID.

27. The method of claim 23, wherein the correction data further comprises a known ciphering key;

and

the predetermined obfuscation term is removed based further on altering bits based on the known ciphering key.

28. An apparatus comprising:

a terrestrial transceiver configured to;

receive a request for location coordinates of the terrestrial transceiver;

provide, to a mobile device, the location coordinates of the terrestrial transceiver, wherein the location coordinates of the terrestrial transceiver include a predetermined obfuscation term, the predetermined obfuscation term included with the location coordinates of the terrestrial transceiver in order to obfuscate the location of the terrestrial transceiver; and

provide, to the mobile device, correction data, wherein the correction data includes a unique identifier comprising a MAC address or a cell ID and wherein the correction data is used to generate a corrected location of the terrestrial transceiver by removing the predetermined obfuscation term from the location coordinates of the terrestrial transceiver based on determining one or more binary values using the unique identifier and multiplying the one or more binary values by a known scaling factor to calculate the predetermined obfuscation term.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein removing the predetermined obfuscation term is further based on transforming bits in the location coordinates of the terrestrial transceiver, based on a known ciphering key.

30. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein removing the predetermined obfuscation term is further based on:

broadcast information transmitted from the terrestrial transceiver; and

generating the predetermined obfuscation term based on the broadcast information.

31. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the correction data further includes a serving network ID or a provider ID, and wherein removing the predetermined obfuscation term is based further on the serving network ID or the provider ID.

32. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the correction data further comprises a known ciphering key;

and

the predetermined obfuscation term is removed based further on altering bits based on the known ciphering key.

33. An apparatus comprising:

means for receiving a request for location coordinates of a terrestrial transceiver;

means for providing, to a mobile device, the location coordinates of the terrestrial transceiver, wherein the location coordinates of the terrestrial transceiver include a predetermined obfuscation term, the predetermined obfuscation term included with the location coordinates of the terrestrial transceiver in order to obfuscate the location of the terrestrial transceiver; and

means for providing, to the mobile device, correction data, wherein the correction data includes a unique identifier comprising a MAC address or a cell ID and wherein the correction data is used to generate a corrected location of the terrestrial transceiver by removing the predetermined obfuscation term from the location coordinates of the terrestrial transceiver based on determining one or more binary values using the unique identifier and multiplying the one or more binary values by a known scaling factor to calculate the predetermined obfuscation term.

34. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause one or more computing devices to:

receive a request for location coordinates of a terrestrial transceiver;

provide, to a mobile device, the location coordinates of the terrestrial transceiver, wherein the location coordinates of the terrestrial transceiver include a predetermined obfuscation term; and

provide, to the mobile device, correction data, wherein the correction data includes a unique identifier comprising a MAC address or a cell ID and wherein the correction data is used to generate a corrected location of the terrestrial transceiver by removing the predetermined obfuscation term from the location coordinates of the terrestrial transceiver based on determining one or more binary values using the unique identifier and multiplying the one or more binary values by a known scaling factor to calculate the predetermined obfuscation term.