Identity request control for user equipment
AssigneesAlcatel-Lucent USA Inc., Nokia Technologies Oy
InventorsSuresh P. Nair, Anja Jerichow
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Techniques are provided for protecting the privacy of user equipment during identity request operations in a communication system. In one example, a method includes receiving a current identity request at given user equipment of a communication system. The method further includes making a determination at the given user equipment whether or not to respond to the current identity request in a manner requested based on a count of previous identity requests received by the given user equipment.
Claims20
A method comprising:
- sending an attach request from a given user equipment to a mobility management element of a communication system, the attach request comprising a protected identifier of the given user equipment, the protected identifier of the given user equipment comprising at least one of:
- a pseudonym of a subscription identifier of the given user equipment and an encrypted version of the subscription identifier of the given user equipment;
- receiving, at the given user equipment, a current identity request for the protected identifier of the given user equipment responsive to the mobility management element failing to locate the subscription identifier of the given user equipment using the protected identifier in at least one of the attach request and a response to a previous identity request;
- and
- determining at the given user equipment whether or not to respond to the current identity request in a manner requested based on a count of previous identity requests received by the given user equipment;
- wherein the given user equipment comprises a processor and memory configured to execute the above steps.
An apparatus comprising:
- given user equipment in a communication system configured to:
- send an attach request from the given user equipment to a mobility management element of the communication system, the attach request comprising a protected identifier of the given user equipment, the protected identifier of the given user equipment comprising at least one of:
- a pseudonym of a subscription identifier of the given user equipment and an encrypted version of the subscription identifier of the given user equipment;
- receive, at the given user equipment, a current identity request for the protected identifier of the given user equipment responsive to the mobility management element failing to locate the subscription identifier of the given user equipment using the protected identifier in at least one of the attach request and a response to a previous identity request;
- and
- determine at the given user equipment whether or not to respond to the current identity request in a manner requested based on a count of previous identity requests received by the given user equipment;
- wherein the given user equipment comprises a processor and memory configured to execute the above operations.
An article of manufacture comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having embodied therein executable program code that when executed by a processor causes the processor to:
- send an attach request from a given user equipment to a mobility management element of a communication system, the attach request comprising a protected identifier of the given user equipment, the protected identifier of the given user equipment comprising at least one of:
- a pseudonym of a subscription identifier of the given user equipment and an encrypted version of the subscription identifier of the given user equipment;
- receive, at the given user equipment, a current identity request for the protected identifier of the given user equipment responsive to the mobility management element failing to locate the subscription identifier of the given user equipment using the protected identifier in at least one of the attach request and a response to a previous identity request;
- and
- determine at the given user equipment whether or not to respond to the current identity request in a manner requested based on a count of previous identity requests received by the given user equipment.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.