US 2016/0366175 A1Published application

Security key derivation in dual connectivity

AssigneeSun Patent Trust

InventorsPrateek Basu Mallick, Joachim Loehr

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Abstract

The invention relates to methods for establishing a secure communication link between a mobile station and a secondary base station in a mobile communication system. The invention is also providing mobile communication system for performing these methods, and computer readable media the instructions of which cause the mobile communication system to perform the methods described herein. Specifically, the invention suggests that in response to the detected or signaled potential security breach, the master base station increments a freshness counter for re-initializing the communication between the mobile station and the secondary base station; and the mobile station and the secondary base station re-initialize the communication there between. The re-initialization is performed under the control of the master base station and further includes deriving a same security key based on said incremented freshness counter, and establishing the secure communication link utilizing the same, derived security key.

Claims21

Dependent claims

A method for establishing a secure communication link between a mobile station and a secondary base station in a mobile communication system comprising the mobile station, a master and the secondary base station, the mobile station being initialized for communication with the master and the secondary base station,

detecting, by the master or by the secondary base station, a potential security breach including:
a condition where a sequence counter of packet data units of an established secure communication link between the mobile station and the secondary base station is to wrap-up since initialization of the communication between the mobile station and the secondary base station, and
a condition where a communication link identification is to be reused for establishing the secure communication link with the secondary base station since initialization of the communication between the mobile station and the secondary base station;
and, in case the potential security breach is detected by the secondary base station, signaling the detected security breach to the master base station;
incrementing, by the master base station, in response to the detected or signaled potential security breach, a freshness counter for re-initializing the communication between the mobile station and the secondary base station;
and
re-initializing, by the mobile station and by the secondary base station, the communication there between, the re-initializing step being performed under the control of the master base station and further includes deriving a same security key based on said incremented freshness counter, and establishing the secure communication link utilizing the same, derived security key.

4 more elements

A mobile communication system for establishing a secure communication link between a mobile station and a secondary base station, the mobile communication system comprising the mobile station, a master and the secondary base station, the mobile station being initialized for communication with the master and the secondary base station, wherein:

the master and/or the secondary base station are configured to detect a potential security breach including:
a condition where a sequence counter of packet data units of an established secure communication link between the mobile station and the secondary base station is to wrap-up since initialization of the communication between the mobile station and the secondary base station, and
a condition where a communication link identification is to be reused for establishing the secure communication link with the secondary base station since initialization of the communication between the mobile station and the secondary base station;
the secondary base station is configured to, in case of detecting the potential security breach, signal the detected security breach to the master base station;
the master base station is configured to increment in response to the detected or signaled potential security breach, a freshness counter for re-initializing the communication between the mobile station and the secondary base station;
and
the mobile station and the secondary base station are further configured to re-initialize the communication there between, the re-initialization being performed under the control of the master base station and includes deriving a same security key based on said incremented freshness counter, and establishing the secure communication link utilizing the same, derived security key.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 15/121,357Filed 3 Mar 2015
Priority: EP 14001067.921 Mar 2014
Published: 15 Dec 2016
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification11 codes

H04L 63/1441
For detecting or protecting against malicious traffic: countermeasures against malicious traffic
H04L 63/06
Network architectures or network communication protocols for network security: for supporting key management in a packet data network
H04L 63/068
For supporting key management in a packet data network: using time-dependent keys, e.g. periodically changing keys
H04L 63/1416
By monitoring network traffic: event detection, e.g. attack signature detection

Family

US 10,116,685 B2Related patent
US 2016/0366175 A1This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

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