Restricting use of mobile subscriptions to authorized mobile devices

Abstract

An authentication capability is depicted and described. A user device (UD) attempts to attach to a network. The UD includes a mobile equipment (ME) portion and a network authentication module (NAM) having a mobile subscription associated therewith. The network has a network device associated therewith. Cryptographic processing of an authentication challenge parameter is performed on both the network device and the ME of the UD in order to generate a modified authentication challenge parameter. The network device uses the modified authentication challenge parameter to compute one or more parameters related to authentication. The ME of the UD provides the modified authentication challenge parameter to the NAM of the UD, which uses the modified authentication challenge parameter to compute one or more parameters related to authentication. The authentication capability supports authentication of the mobile subscription of the NAM of the UD when the UD attempts to attach to the network.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.