Controlling network behavior to suppress information leakage

Abstract

The network may have energy saving behavior that specifically has a risk of leaking information about the location of the user equipment. A user device may generate and send privacy preference information related to network behavior to a network. The network may then modify the behavior that the network considers that information about the user equipment may be leaked, where the user equipment has indicated that enhancement of privacy is desired.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Various example embodiments relate to leakage of information to third parties due to network behavior in a radio access technology network, such as by carrier or cell deactivation. Background Art

[0002] Various energy-saving techniques may be applied in RAT (Radio Access Technology) networks. Such energy-saving techniques may include placing some or all components of some network nodes in low-power mode, which may involve cell activation and deactivation. As energy-saving techniques on the network side become increasingly sophisticated, information about user equipment may be leaked inadvertently. For example, activation / deactivation of a small cell may allow a third party to infer information related to the location and / or trajectory of a mobile user, and in this way, the privacy of the UE (User Equipment) may be compromised by energy-saving techniques on the network side.

[0003] It would be desirable to be able to limit or at least provide some control over the information that is leaked. Summary of the invention

[0004] The scope of protection sought by various embodiments of the invention is set out by the independent claims. Examples and features described in this specification that do not fall within the scope of the independent claims, if any, should be interpreted as examples that aid in understanding the various embodiments of the invention.

[0005] According to various but not necessarily all embodiments, there is provided an apparatus comprising: a generating circuit configured to generate privacy preference information related to a network behavior for the apparatus; and a transmitter configured to send the privacy preference information to a network node within a 3GPP communication network.

[0006] It has been recognised that the behaviour of a network with respect to a device, such as a user equipment within the network, may result in information about the device being leaked and inadvertently available to a third party. There may be certain circumstances where such information leakage is particularly undesirable. This has been addressed by providing circuitry configured to generate privacy preference information relating to network behaviour and send it to a network node within a 3GPP communications network. This provides the network with information about circumstances in which it may be desirable to modify any behaviour with respect to the device that may leak information.

[0007] A network behavior may be any network behavior whereby information about the location of a device may leak, which inadvertently becomes available to a third party. This may include network energy conservation behavior, including activation and deactivation of network nodes or carriers within network nodes as devices move in and out of cells or request services from cells where these network nodes support radio coverage.

[0008] In some example embodiments, the privacy preference information comprises a plurality of privacy preferences, at least one preference of the plurality of preferences relating to at least one of: an activity of the device; a location of the device; or a time.

[0009] The privacy preference information may simply include an indication of a desire for enhanced privacy. Alternatively, it may include multiple privacy preferences, where at least one privacy preference is related to an activity of the device, a location of the device, and / or a time. The privacy preference information may simply indicate a need for enhanced privacy, or it may indicate a desired level of privacy. It may relate to one or more locations, one or more time periods, or one or more activities performed by the device.

[0010] In some embodiments, the privacy preference information includes a plurality of privacy preferences related to a plurality of: an activity of the device; a location of the device; or a time.

[0011] Although the privacy preference information may be sent to a network node in a variety of forms, in some example embodiments, the apparatus includes a user equipment, and the user equipment is configured to generate and send the privacy preference information to the network as part of UEAssistanceInformation, an RRC (Radio Resource Control) message, and / or a MAC (Medium Access Control) Control Element (CE).

[0012] In some example embodiments, an apparatus comprises a user interface configured to display a request for privacy preferences to a user and to receive input from the user; and a generating circuit configured to generate privacy preference information in response to the user input.

[0013] In some example embodiments, the user interface is configured to display a request for a plurality of privacy preferences relating to at least one of: activity of the device; location of the device; or time.

[0014] In some example embodiments, the network node comprises a serving network node supporting provision of radio coverage in a cell.

[0015] In some example embodiments, the cell may be a capacity cell, and in some example embodiments, the cell may be a coverage cell.

[0016] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises circuitry configured to determine a requirement for enhanced privacy; the circuitry for generating and the transmitter configured to generate and transmit the privacy preference information in response to the determining circuitry determining the requirement for enhanced privacy.

[0017] According to various but not necessarily all embodiments, an apparatus is provided that includes control circuitry configured to modify a behavior of the apparatus in response to receiving privacy preference information indicating a preference for enhanced privacy for a user device.

[0018] In some example embodiments, an apparatus comprises a receiver for receiving privacy preference information.

[0019] In some example embodiments, the apparatus includes a power saving circuit configured to control the apparatus to reduce energy consumption by performing power saving behavior, the control circuit controlling the power saving circuit to modify the behavior of the apparatus relative to the user device in response to receiving privacy preference information indicating a preference for enhanced privacy for the user device.

[0020] In some example embodiments, an apparatus includes a network node configured to support radio coverage in a cell; the network node includes a data storage for storing privacy preference information for a user device; wherein the energy saving circuit is configured to reduce energy consumption of the apparatus when it is determined that the load caused by the user device in the cell is low, and to increase energy consumption when an increase or potential increase in load from the user device is detected, and the energy saving circuit is configured to modify the energy saving behavior by delaying the increase in energy consumption when an increase or potential increase in load from the user device that has received privacy preference information indicating enhanced privacy is detected.

[0021] In some example embodiments, the privacy preference information includes an indication of times when enhanced privacy for the user device is desired, and the control circuitry is configured to modify behavior of the apparatus with respect to the user device during the indicated times and not to modify behavior with respect to the user device during other times.

[0022] In some example embodiments, the privacy preference information includes an indication of at least one activity of the user device, the at least one activity requiring enhanced privacy when performed, and the control circuitry is configured to modify the behavior of the apparatus with respect to the user device when the activity is performed and not to modify the behavior when the activity is not performed.

[0023] In some example embodiments, an apparatus comprises a network node configured to support providing radio coverage in a cell, the apparatus further comprising: a receiver configured to receive privacy preference information from a user equipment.

[0024] In some example embodiments, an apparatus comprises a network node configured to support providing radio coverage in a cell, the apparatus further comprising: a receiver configured to receive privacy preference information from the network node within a 3GPP communication network.

[0025] In some example embodiments, the control circuitry is configured to determine, before modifying the behavior, whether the apparatus is likely to perform steps that may leak information about the user equipment and where to control the apparatus to modify the behavior.

[0026] In some example embodiments, the control circuitry is configured to generate an indication requesting the user device not to send privacy preference information and send the indication to the user device in response to determining that the apparatus is unlikely to perform steps that may leak information (e.g., during high load intervals where the network will not trigger energy saving features that may compromise privacy regardless of the privacy preference).

[0027] In some example embodiments, the indication to the user equipment may include at least one indication of a predetermined time or a predetermined location at which the user equipment should not send the privacy preference information.

[0028] In some example embodiments, the indication to the user equipment may be sent as a signal to a group of user equipment.

[0029] According to various but not necessarily all embodiments, a method is provided that includes: generating privacy preference information related to a network behavior of a device; and sending the privacy preference information to a network node within a 3GPP network.

[0030] In some example embodiments, the method further comprises displaying a request for privacy preferences to a user; receiving user input and generating privacy preference information in response to the user input.

[0031] In some example embodiments, the method further comprises: determining a requirement for enhanced privacy; and generating and sending privacy preference information in response to determining the requirement for enhanced privacy.

[0032] According to various but not necessarily all embodiments, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor on a device, cause the device to perform at least the following steps: generating privacy preference information related to network behavior for the device; and sending the privacy preference information to a network node within a 3GPP network.

[0033] According to various but not necessarily all embodiments, there is provided an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the apparatus to at least perform: generating privacy preference information related to network behavior for the apparatus; and sending the privacy preference information to a network node within a 3GPP network.

[0034] According to various but not necessarily all embodiments, there is provided an apparatus comprising: means for generating privacy preference information related to network behavior for the apparatus; and means for sending the privacy preference information to a network node within a 3GPP communication network.

[0035] In some example embodiments, a determination circuit configured to determine a requirement for enhanced privacy comprises means for determining the requirement for enhanced privacy.

[0036] In some example embodiments, a user interface includes components for displaying information and components for receiving user input.

[0037] According to various but not necessarily all embodiments, there is provided an apparatus comprising: a control component for modifying a behavior of the apparatus in response to receiving privacy preference information indicating a preference for enhanced privacy for a user device.

[0038] In some example embodiments, a data store comprises means for storing.

[0039] In some example embodiments, power saving circuitry includes components for reducing energy consumption of a device.

[0040] According to various but not necessarily all embodiments, a method is provided that includes receiving privacy preference information indicating a preference for enhanced privacy for a user device; and modifying a behavior of an apparatus in response to the information.

[0041] In some example embodiments, the step of modifying the behavior of the apparatus comprises modifying the energy saving behavior of the apparatus in response to receiving privacy preference information indicating a preference for enhanced privacy for the user equipment.

[0042] In some example embodiments, a method is performed on a network node configured to support radio coverage in a cell; the method also includes: storing privacy preference information for a user equipment in a data storage device; and when it is determined that the load caused by the user equipment in the cell is low, reducing energy consumption of the device, and when an increase or potential increase in load from the user equipment is detected, increasing energy consumption, and when an increase or potential increase in load from the user equipment is detected that indicates enhanced privacy, the behavior is modified by delaying the increase in energy consumption.

[0043] In some example embodiments, the privacy preference information comprises an indication of times when enhanced privacy of the user device is desired, the step of modifying the behavior of the apparatus with respect to the user device being performed during the indicated times and not during other times.

[0044] In some example embodiments, the privacy preference information includes an indication of at least one activity of the user device, the at least one activity not requiring enhanced privacy when performed, a step of modifying the behavior of the apparatus with respect to the user device being performed when the activity is not performed, and the step not being performed when the activity is performed.

[0045] In some example embodiments, the method further comprises receiving privacy preference information from a user device.

[0046] In other example embodiments, the method includes receiving privacy preference information from a network node within the 3GPP network.

[0047] According to various but not necessarily all embodiments, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor on an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following operations: receive privacy preference information indicating a preference for enhanced privacy for a user device; and modify a behavior of the apparatus in response to the information.

[0048] According to various but not necessarily all embodiments, there is provided an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: receive privacy preference information indicating a preference for enhanced privacy for a user device; and modify a behavior of the apparatus.

[0049] According to various but not necessarily all embodiments, there is provided a non-transitory computer readable medium including program instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following operations: Generate privacy preferences related to online behavior information; and The information is forwarded for sending to a network node within the 3GPP communication network.

[0050] According to various but not necessarily all embodiments, there is provided a non-transitory computer readable medium including program instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following operations: In response to receiving privacy preference information indicating a preference for enhanced privacy for the user equipment generating the control signal to modify a behavior of the network node.

[0051] Further particular and preferred aspects are set out in the accompanying independent and dependent claims. Features of the dependent claims may be combined with features of the independent claims as appropriate, and in combinations other than those explicitly set out in the claims.

[0052] Where an apparatus feature is described as being operable to provide a function, it will be understood that this includes apparatus features that provide that function or that are adapted or configured to provide that function. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0053] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0054] Figure 1 An example signal flow between a user equipment and a network is shown;

[0055] Figure 2A and B schematically illustrate an example of UE assistance information signaling according to an example embodiment;

[0056] Figure 3 An example of RF (radio frequency) sensing in a wireless system is shown.

[0057] Figure 4 shows how network behavior can provide leakage of information about the location of user devices;

[0058] Figure 5 shows signaling according to an example embodiment;

[0059] Figure 6 schematically illustrates a user equipment and a network node according to an example embodiment;

[0060] Figure 7 a flowchart schematically illustrating steps in a method performed at a user equipment according to an example embodiment; and

[0061] Figure 8 A flow chart schematically illustrates steps in a method performed at a network node according to an example embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0062] Before discussing example embodiments in greater detail, an overview will first be provided.

[0063] Various ways of saving energy in the network NW are being considered, and energy saving can be achieved using the following ways: In the case of empty / low load in 5G NSA deployments, infrequent synchronization signal block (SSB) transmissions may be considered, for example, using a 160ms SSB period. • Discontinuous Transmission (DTX) technology is a promising solution to save network energy by switching on / off radio units (eg power amplifiers) when no transmission is taking place. Other components may be turned off, such as transmit antenna elements and corresponding baseband circuitry. - Carrier or cell deactivation (ie cell switching off), which allows shutting down a cell, a frequency layer or most of the hardware components of a RAN site.

[0064] A potential disadvantage of some NW energy saving procedures is that they may affect the behavior of the UE and they may leak information about the UE location to third parties.

[0065] 3GPP has specified a set of power saving parameters for UE in UE-NR-Capability IE, one of which is UEAssistanceInformation. UEAssistanceInformation can be requested and retrieved by gNB through RRC (Radio Resource Control) signaling, such as Figure 1 shown.

[0066] UEAssistanceInformation may contain various preference settings (carrier frequency list, DRX, bandwidth, number of component carriers, number of layers, scheduling waiting time, preferred RRC state, etc.) The network node gNB may take these preferences into account when determining the best energy saving solution to satisfy the UE.

[0067] In some example embodiments, the UE may provide additional information along with the UEAssistanceInformation in some cases, which indicates the privacy requirements of the user equipment. This may be in the form of a single bit indicating whether privacy is important, or may be several bits indicating the level of importance, or may provide further details such as where privacy is important, or when privacy is important. Alternatively and / or additionally, the privacy level may be associated with the activity, performance, or current operating conditions of the UE.

[0068] These privacy preferences are generated based on the recognition of the fact that some energy saving techniques or other behaviors of network nodes may actually leak information about the UE.

[0069] Enhanced energy efficiency of wireless networks can be gained through cell deactivation, which allows the amount of energy consumed by RAN (Radio Access Network) sites / gNBs to be reduced. This includes normal gNBs, and possibly closed subscriber group (CSG) cells such as femto cells, for example in someone's home. The problem is that as power savings vary in the network, the sequence of energy saving actions can be observed by a third party (e.g., a malicious device), and the observed sequence of energy saving actions may therefore too closely match / mirror the UE, such that it effectively "leaks" the victim UE (or a group of e.g., attached UEs) location information to e.g. one or more adversaries.

[0070] In certain situations / contexts, conventional Cell Sleep Mode (CSM) methods of transitioning a cell into / out of Cell Sleep Mode may "leak" too much information about "likely" subscriber locations / activities.

[0071] This leakage is enabled since any UE / terminal subscriber can monitor what cells are present in the area and thus notice when a cell enters / leaves cell dormant mode (as seen from SSB / SIB1 synchronization signal blocks / system information block patterns etc.) For example, there may be a device / application / software that performs monitoring of cell availability / presence via a scanner / sniffer / analyser type of equipment.

[0072] A malicious device can detect possible locations / activities at that location by monitoring changes in cell sleep modes. For example, when a UE or a group of UEs arrives at a particular location, this will typically cause the cell at that location to exit its cell sleep mode. Potentially, some adversaries (e.g., via an application and / or device from some third party, perhaps driven by AI artificial intelligence) may monitor observations of changes in the cell sleep mode and use them to detect that the UE may have arrived at that location. The opposite behavior may also apply, where when a UE leaves (or multiple UEs leave) an area, then local cells in that area may enter cell sleep mode, so that an adversary (e.g., via an application and / or device from some third party) may observe when the cell enters cell sleep mode to infer that a given (multiple) UE may have left the area.

[0073] There are many possible example situations / scenarios, but the following are just a few non-limiting examples.

[0074] Example of arriving and then leaving a scene: When the network load is relatively low (eg late at night, or in entertainment areas during weekdays, etc.), the (capacity) cell is placed in energy saving / cell sleep mode. Or in more suburban or rural areas, hotspot / capacity / performance cells (eg, to enable teleworking) are more often in cell sleep mode except when people are at home.

[0075] One or more UEs (e.g., public safety UEs or normal UEs) arrive at these non-limiting example cell coverage locations, causing the cell to exit energy saving / cell dormancy mode. This enables network energy saving prior to the activation, and the UEs at the cell location to communicate with a closer gNB at a higher data rate and less UE power, e.g., by reducing the UE's transmit power, better MCS, etc.

[0076] However, the above can be problematic because it enables an adversary (using a simple UE / wireless monitoring application / (e.g. IoT) device in the area) to collect that cell sleep mode change information, and potentially (even forwarding it to one or more bad actors / adversaries at other locations), to infer that the UE (see further security / privacy examples below) is now (potentially) at that location. (Herein referred to as "monitoring UE location" or "remotely monitoring UE location").

[0077] Examples of protection / security / privacy: The adversary can infer that the Public Safety UE has now (probably) arrived at that location even if it is at another location: In one non-limiting example, if the arriving UE in the above example is a public safety / police UE, this may prevent the police from being able to arrive "quietly" without prior notice of the "suspect" at the location. The adversary can infer that the victim UE(s) are now (potentially) arriving (or leaving) that location even if they are at another location (already associated with that UE or UEs, e.g. his / her home): In one non-limiting example, where the UE associated with the location is a stalking victim, an ex-partner / spouse, a victim of domestic violence, a child in a custody dispute or... a person with a protective order, etc., and an adversary / "bad actor" / abuser / etc. may utilize this information to "track / monitor" the arrival and departure of that person or persons. In another non-limiting example, this might enable someone to monitor without "lawful authorization," such as the arrival and departure (or perhaps even a convoy / motorcade route) of one or more individuals (such as government officials, military personnel, etc.). By combining this monitoring information with, for example, social media information (eg, AIML training), tracking of similar examples can be further enabled. The advertising (or tracking company that sells tracking information to e.g. advertisers) entity can infer that the victim UE(s) are now (potentially) arriving at (or leaving) that location (already associated with that UE or UEs, e.g. his / her home) even if they are at another location: In another non-limiting example, in this case, this may enable some targeted advertising to end subscribers in the area, where these subscribers have fairly limited ability to avoid this surveillance by advertisers, by leveraging knowledge about the activities of these subscribers.

[0078]

[0013] Also in a similar problem as described above, there exists an "away" scenario, where the network could potentially leak information about the away time of one or more UEs (eg, from a location associated with the one or more UEs, such as their home).

[0079] The above problem situation becomes more problematic when the cell sleep mode is reduced to a smaller location, for example, CSM (cell sleep mode) sleeps / stops transmitting on a specific SSB / beam / in a specific direction.

[0080] This may be still more problematic, since the coverage area of ​​a beam is typically smaller than the coverage area of ​​a cell and may then leak even more geo-specific information.

[0081] Additionally, current systems can additionally leak information about the direction of movement of a subscriber or group of subscribers (e.g., North / South / East / West) and even trajectory routes, where subsequently (series of) activated beams / cells can provide additional information to any entity / adversary / advertiser, thereby monitoring the implicit UE location / mobility.

[0082] Embodiments propose means for selectively controlling / limiting / mitigating these types of attacks during cell sleep mode transitions when / where (most) needed, while still enabling network and UE energy conservation.

[0083] Embodiments provide for enhanced privacy support during network energy saving modes. This is achieved in some embodiments by network nodes selectively incorporating an intentional level of uncertainty / obfuscation during energy saving processes. This can be done selectively based on the privacy preferences of the mobile device. In particular, the mode is intended to suppress data leakage related to device location, which can be associated with a cell sleep mode (CSM) transition.

[0084] An embodiment provides a device configured to generate privacy preference information related to network behavior and send the privacy preference information to a network node within a 3GPP network. The information can be terminated at a network node within the 3GPP network and used by the network node to control network behavior related to, for example, network energy saving strategies and decisions. The information can be sent to the network node using an RRC or MAC CE message. The privacy preference information can be a single bit indicating a desired enhanced privacy, and / or it can include an indication of a desired privacy level, and / or an indication of a location, time, and / or activity (scope) for which enhanced privacy is required. In some embodiments, the information can be sent as UEAssistanceInformation in a variety of ways.

[0085] In response to the user input privacy preference information may be determined. The user interface may display a request for the user's privacy preferences, and the (multiple) user inputs may generate the privacy preference information. This may be generated within the user equipment, or the network node may interpret the privacy preference information and generate the network node's own privacy preference information. The information may be sent to the network node, which may be a serving network node supporting radio coverage in the cell where the user equipment is located.

[0086] The user device may generate the privacy preference information in response to a user request or in response to circuitry within the device determining a desire for enhanced privacy.

[0087] In response to a history of network energy conservation observations, the privacy preference information may be determined. In another embodiment, the user equipment may indicate an elevated privacy preference on behalf of the UE at at least one of the following locations and / or times: the UE is known to be associated with the location / time (e.g., home), and the network proactively makes energy conservation decisions in response to changes in the UE's location and / or activity at the location / time in the past (e.g., late at night at home, or when there is less background load, when energy conservation decisions change are more typical).

[0088] The privacy preference information may be determined based on the current location and time of the UE. In another embodiment, the user device may indicate an increased privacy preference on behalf of the UE at a location and / or time at which the user previously indicated via the UE user interface that the user would prefer increased privacy, e.g., within half a mile of their home location, within half an hour of their arrival or departure time, and / or more than a threshold number of safety-related incidents have been previously reported (e.g., to law enforcement).

[0089] In some embodiments, the user equipment may receive a signal from the network node prohibiting it from sending privacy preference information, and in this case the user equipment may generate the information but not send it until it determines that the prohibition has expired.

[0090] The device to which the privacy preference information is sent is a network node in the communication network. The device may be a coverage cell or a capacity cell network node.

[0091] The network node may modify its behavior in response to an indication indicating a preference for enhanced privacy for a user. The behavior that the network node will modify is a behavior that may cause information about the location of the user equipment to be leaked to a third party. The behavior may include energy-saving behavior, in which a cell is activated or deactivated, or in which a portion of a cell (such as a carrier or beam within a cell) is activated or deactivated. The modification of the behavior may include a time delay for the occurrence of the behavior, or may include not performing the behavior (the behavior does not occur at all). The network node may store privacy preference information for the user equipment in a data store. In the case where the privacy preference information indicates time, location and / or activity, the network node will modify its behavior in response to these criteria. The network node may receive the privacy preference information directly from the user equipment itself, or the network node may receive the privacy preference information from another network node (e.g., from another cell or network node that cannot locally / fully perform the required behavior). In some cases, the control circuit within the network node may determine whether the device is scheduled to perform steps that may leak information about the user equipment, and only modify its behavior in this case. In the case where the network node will not perform these steps, then in some cases, the network node may send a signal to the user equipment indicating that the network node does not want to receive further signals about privacy preferences from the user equipment. This may be within a predetermined time or within a predetermined area. In this way, the network node suppresses / prohibits the sending of privacy preferences in cases where such privacy preferences will not affect the behavior of the network node, thereby reducing signaling and power consumption. In some embodiments, in cases where such privacy preferences would require additional energy (by reducing the opportunity for energy saving), the network node suppresses / prohibits the sending of such privacy preferences from devices whose subscription and / or device type is not allowed to cause such additional energy consumption, for example based on UE subscription type or for public safety UEs. In some cases, the indication to the user equipment may be sent to the user equipment individually, or it may be sent as a signal to a (specific) group of user equipment.

[0092] Figure 1 Schematically illustrates how the UE may send UEAssistanceInformation to the serving network node once the UE has connected to the serving network node. The UEAssistanceInformation may include privacy preference information about whether the UE requires enhanced privacy. The privacy preference information may include different levels of privacy required, and the privacy preference information may include the time when enhanced privacy is required and / or the location where enhanced privacy is required and / or the ongoing activities where enhanced privacy may be required.

[0093] Figure 2A An example of modification to the existing UEAssistanceInformation IE to support user configurable privacy preferences is shown.

[0094] As shown in this non-limiting example, the UAI may be modified using the Privacy Preferences-r18 IE, where the Privacy Preferences-r18 may include -timeBasedPrivacy oFor example, the privacy level is increased at night compared to during the day. -LocationBasedPrivacy o For example, to increase the level of privacy at locations frequently visited by the user (eg, home) and / or locations associated with the UE.

[0095] There may be different levels of privacy settings (e.g. Figure 2B 1 to 4), indicating different strengths or severity of privacy requirements.

[0096] Figure 2B An example of modification to the existing UEAssistanceInformation IE to support user configurable privacy preferences is shown.

[0097] As shown in this non-limiting example, the UAI may be modified using the Privacy Preferences-r18 IE, where the Privacy Preferences-r18 may include timeBasedPrivacy For example, a higher privacy level at night than during the day. LocationBasedPrivacy For example, the privacy level is higher at locations that users frequently visit. sensingBasedPrivacy. RF awareness may be a key feature of 6G networks (integrated sensing and communication), e.g., a user may not want the network to take (and share) his / her RF images at high resolution (in a specific context).

[0098] In another embodiment, the privacy preference of the UE may indicate a preference of the UE regarding privacy of an RF profile of a managed entity associated with the UE. In one example, the UE indicates a privacy preference regarding limiting storage and sharing of an RF profile of a managed entity associated with the UE. The RF profile may be derived from RF fingerprinting based on radio measurements, the radio measurements indicating radio transmission characteristics associated with the UE. In this embodiment, in response to receiving the UE privacy preference, the modified network behavior includes at least one of the following: - Restrict / suppress sharing of RF profiles of the RF hosting entity associated with the UE - Limit the duration of / suppress storage of the RF profile of the RF hosting entity associated with the UE

[0099] In this regard, 5G features such as higher frequencies, higher bandwidths, and beamforming have enabled further aggressive positioning goals, including a wide range of accuracy from meter-level to centimeter-level. For example, AI / ML-based positioning schemes for the NR air interface may be more effective in NLOS (non-line-of-sight channel) scenarios, while traditional methods (e.g., TDOA (time difference of arrival), AOA / AOD (angle of arrival / angle of departure), multi-RTT round-trip time, etc.) may be more applicable for positioning estimation in LOS scenarios. One promising application of AI / ML in positioning and channel prediction is "RF fingerprinting", where RF measurements are collected and analyzed to map multiple measurements to a positioning reference model that reflects the device environment. A model can be acquired through extensive RF measurements in all possible locations in the coverage area. The model can be part of a digital twin of the environment and / or used for supervised learning.

[0100] User communications and positioning may be determined through measurements of signals between a user equipment (UE) and multiple transmit receive points (TRPs) of a network node.

[0101] However, in the "hosting entity" case, the UE may be located inside a car (e.g., in the driver's pocket), or may be part of a truck (e.g., as an IOT device), or a piece of machinery in a factory (e.g., a forklift), etc. In this case, the UE moves in the same trajectory as the entity it is associated with, and these entities are referred to herein as the UE's hosting entity. If the UE is associated with a "hosting entity" (such as a car or truck), RF communication and positioning accuracy [based on measurements of signals between UE antennas and gNB antennas (e.g., RSRP (reference signal received power), ToA, LOS / NLOS, .. .)] may be degraded due to changes in channel conditions caused by the hosting entity associated with the UE.

[0102] Figure 3 An example of RF sensing in a wireless system with a car and a truck having gNB 50A, gNB 50B, UEA 10A, and UEB 10B in the respective vehicles is shown. In this case, it is the truck (also referred to as the hosting entity of the UEB), not just the UEB handset, that blocks or attenuates the gNB1 signal to / from the UEA in the car. Figure 3In the example, UEB 10B moves with a truck (e.g., inside, adjacent to, in front of, behind, inside or outside a convoy). Knowing the RF characteristics / profile of the entity hosted by UEB is helpful. As the truck moves with UEB, gNB1 50A and the adjacent gNB2 50B can leverage the truck’s penetration loss and the size of the truck (i.e., the truck’s RF profile / UEB 10B’s hosting entity) to predict the NLOS (non-line-of-sight channel) condition of the car / UE-A and take preemptive actions, such as switching to a different TRP (total radiated power) to locate UE_, to improve the energy efficiency and accuracy of positioning and communications with UEA and UEB.

[0103] Each privacy type can be turned on or off individually.It is worth noting that the above message formats should be considered as exemplary rather than limiting.

[0104] Figure 4 An example wireless system with a coverage cell B, two capacity cells C1 and C2, a UE, and two (cooperating) malicious devices A1 and A2 (also called adversaries) is shown. Cell B provides coverage of the area and is always on in this example, while capacity cells C1 and C2 provide additional data bandwidth for mobile users, but can be turned on or off based on instructions from cell B / depending on UE load. Adversary nodes A1 and A2 are "sniffers" (possibly just regular UE devices) that operate in promiscuous mode and are able to monitor, capture and analyze the availability of RF / overhead / etc. (cell IDs) of C1 and C2 to derive sensitive information about the victim UE, possibly with the help of AI / ML.

[0105] like Figure 4 As shown, the victim UE follows a path (dashed arrow) from the coverage area of ​​C1 to the coverage area of ​​C2. Initially C1 is turned on to provide additional data capacity to the UE, and C2 is turned off to save energy. As the UE moves away from C1 and approaches C2, cell B can send a power saving command to turn off C1 and turn on C2. At the same time, adversaries A1 and A2 can detect the cell power on / off events at C1 and C2 through their own measurements, and may therefore be able to associate the victim UE with each gNB cell location.

[0106] Embodiments propose that intentional uncertainty may be incorporated into the sequence of on / off events in C1 and C2, e.g., turning C2 on earlier than an arbitrary period of time or turning C1 off later than an arbitrary period of time, so that an adversary cannot (e.g.) closely associate C1 and / or C2 signaling changes with the movement of privacy-sensitive / victim UEs. Obviously, introducing a small uncertainty may reduce some effectiveness of energy saving, but this may be reasonable in certain scenarios as needed (and may even be recovered, for example, by a high-level service to which a UE (or UE group) may subscribe to request enhanced privacy protection).

[0107] The signaling flow of the embodiment is Figure 5 Initially, the UE sends a privacy preference report to the coverage cell indicating whether it requires enhanced privacy and, in some cases, the level of enhanced privacy and the time / location / activity when it is required. The coverage cell, in response to receiving the report, provides the privacy preference in the energy saving decision and then sends an energy saving procedure with built-in uncertainty to the capacity cell if enhanced privacy is required.

[0108] like Figure 4 As shown, in a coverage area, the coverage cells remain turned on and are always available to UEs, while one or more capacity cells may be turned off to provide energy saving, but may also be turned on to provide additional capacity for UEs.

[0109] Embodiments propose that the UE may send a privacy preference report message to the coverage (or other) cell to indicate the UE's preference for privacy protection in the case of a power saving procedure.

[0110] Utilizing the privacy preference from the UE, the coverage cell may take specific measures to disassociate the power saving steps in the capacity cell according to the privacy preference in the presence of the UE, such as by adding a certain level of uncertainty, which may include but is not limited to: - Adding a random time period (eg using a random variable) so that the power-on time of a capacity cell (one or more beams) can start a non-deterministic time period earlier (or later) before the "true" turn-on time. - Adding a random time period (eg using a random variable) so that the capacity cell is switched off a non-deterministic time period later (or earlier) after the "true" switch-off time. - Randomly turn on or off capacity cells (one or more beams) for non-deterministic time periods to "fool" the adversary and prevent the adversary from "learning". - Aggregating / grouping more UEs in the energy saving process makes it more difficult for an adversary to associate CSM (Cell Sleep Mode) power on / off with one specific CSM privacy sensitive UE in a group of UEs. - Do not use energy saving procedures for this UE.

[0111] The privacy preference from the UE may be communicated in UE Assistance Information (UAI) and using the UAI signaling framework.

[0112] Figure 6 A user device 10 and a network node 50 according to an embodiment are shown. The user device 10 includes a generating circuit 20 configured to generate privacy preferences related to network behavior for the device. It also includes a transmitter 40 for sending the information. The user device 10 also includes a user interface 30, which includes a display 31 for displaying questions about the user's privacy preferences to the user and an input device 32 for the user to respond to these questions and input their preferences. The generating circuit 20 will generate privacy preference information in response to these inputs. The user device 10 may also include a determining circuit 25 for determining whether there is a requirement for enhancement of privacy, and in response thereto, the privacy preference questions may be displayed to the user through the display 31.

[0113] The user equipment 10 also has receiving circuitry 42 for receiving signals from network nodes, and these signals may include a signal indicating that transmission of privacy preference information is currently prohibited, in which case the user equipment will not send this information, and in some cases will not generate this information.

[0114] In this embodiment, the user equipment 10 is within a cell of a network node 50. The network node 50 includes a control circuit 52 configured to control the network node 50 to modify its behavior in response to the network node receiving privacy preference information from the user equipment. In this embodiment, the network node 50 includes an energy saving circuit 60 configured to reduce the energy consumption of the network node by deactivating or activating the node and in some cases by deactivating or activating parts of the node. In this embodiment, the control circuit 52 is configured to control the energy saving circuit 60 to modify the energy saving behavior of the network node in response to the network node receiving privacy preference information from the user equipment 10 or from another network node at the receiving circuit 70, thereby suppressing the leakage of information about the user equipment location 10. In this regard, the privacy preference information may indicate a time period when such modified behavior should occur and / or may specify to the user equipment a location and / or activity that may trigger the behavior. The network node 50 includes a data storage 72 for storing the privacy preference information it receives.

[0115] In some embodiments, the network node 50 includes a determination circuit 64 configured to determine whether the network is likely to exhibit energy-saving behavior, perhaps a cell is very busy and is unlikely to deactivate any part of it for a period of time. In the event that the determination circuit determines that it is unlikely to exhibit energy-saving behavior soon, in some embodiments, the network node 50 may use a transmission circuit 74 to send an indication to the user equipment not to send privacy preference information in the near future or within a predetermined time period. In response to receiving the information, the user equipment 10 may not send privacy preference information within a predetermined time period.

[0116] Alternatively and / or additionally, the determination circuit 25 of the user equipment 50 may be configured to determine whether the network may exhibit energy-saving behavior, possibly from the cell history and / or latency observed by one or more UEs, indicating that the cell may be very busy and unlikely to deactivate any part of it for a period of time. In the event that the determination circuit 25 determines that this is the case, in some embodiments, the user equipment 50 may choose not to send privacy preference information for a period of time or within a predetermined time period.

[0117] Figure 7 A flow chart illustrating the steps performed at a user device for a method according to an embodiment is shown. In step D5, the user device determines whether there is a need for enhanced privacy. This is an optional step and may not occur. If it is determined that there is no need, the user device will continue to monitor to see when there is a need. If it is determined that there is a need, the user device will display a request for user privacy preferences at step S10. The user device will receive these user privacy preferences at step S20, and will then determine at step D25 whether a signal has been received that prohibits sending privacy preference information from the network. If not, it will proceed to step S30, at which the user device will generate privacy preference information, and at step S40, the user device will send the privacy preference information to the network. It should be noted that D25 can be performed between steps S30 and S40. If a signal has been received that prohibits sending privacy preference information, the user device will determine whether the signal is still valid, and only if it is determined that the signal is no longer valid, will it proceed to S30 at step D35.

[0118] Figure 8A flow chart illustrating example steps that may be performed at a network node is shown. In an initial step D55, the network determines whether a signal indicating a privacy preference of a user device has been received. If so, in step D65 the network determines whether the network node is scheduled to perform steps that may leak information. If so, then in step S80, the network node will modify its behavior during the time, location and / or activity specified in the privacy preference. If the network node is not scheduled to perform steps that may leak information, then in some embodiments, in step S70, it may send a signal to the user device that prohibits the transmission of the privacy preference.

[0119] In summary, embodiments may include the following aspects: The UE assistance information conveys to the gNB the required level of privacy associated with a specific cell / location / time / context that should not be compromised by the CSM transition. This can include any combination of the following: a) New message / profile whereby the UE can request that its data activity / arrival does not (primarily) trigger network exit (or entry into cell dormant mode) b) UE assistance / configuration may indicate: i) The relative priority of CSM privacy vs. UE energy saving (and radio performance) (which is more important) ii) The relative priority of CSM privacy vs. gNB energy saving (and radio performance) (which one is more important) iii) The relative priority of CSM privacy versus energy conservation (and wireless performance) at specific location(s), time(s), or other context(s) iv) The relative priority of CSM privacy versus energy saving (and wireless performance) in situations where emergency levels or events are elevated. For example, if there is an ETWS (Earthquake and Tsunami Warning System) or a 911 call, then c) Multiple levels (e.g., more than 2) of the above relative priorities may be appropriate, since more (complete) privacy may not be possible unless (significant) additional energy is expended. i) Therefore, in order to provide an appropriate compromise between those competing objectives, multiple levels are provided. d) UE assistance / configuration may additionally (in one or more of the above contexts) result in: i) CSM Privacy On - decouples CSM transition time from arrival of UE (or multiple UEs) / Association of activities (e.g., modifying autonomous cell sleep mode adjustments to disguise / provide requested privacy in context) (1) For example, this can be selected dynamically based on UE specific circumstances, (i) By location / geofence, UE type, UE activity (see below), etc. (ii) Additionally, the context for the above request may also include that the request is generated by: (1) Privileged UE, for example, public safety UE (2) UE makes a 911 call (3) UE under ETWS alert (4) PSAP (Public Safety Access Point), e.g., service (5) For example, you need to enable / disable the cell sleep mode privacy setting in the area (6) For example, if there is a silent alarm or someone attempts to call 911 surreptitiously, the dispatcher may not allow exiting cell sleep mode. ii) CSM privacy off (e.g., enabling autonomous cell sleep mode adjustment) (1) For example, this can be sent dynamically by UE specific situation, location, geo-fence, UE type, etc. e) A new message / profile whereby a UE may request that the UE's RF profile associated with the hosting entity is not shared with other network node(s) and / or UE(s). f) New message / profile, whereby a UE may request that the UE's RF profile associated with the hosting entity not be stored for more than a certain time.

[0120] At the gNB, in response to one or more received privacy information (relative priority of UAI / CSM privacy and energy saving (and / or radio performance)), it is determined whether the cell dormant mode is utilized in / for this particular context.

[0121] Use of the information at the gNB may include one or more of the following actions: a) If the cell / beam is only used by a single user or very few users, the gNB can react / adapt to the request of the UE / UEs. b) The gNB utilizes modified autonomous cell sleep mode adjustment to disguise / obfuscate / de-associate the energy saving procedures from UE location discovery in order to provide the requested CSM privacy (priority) level in the context. i) For example, entering / exiting cell sleep mode earlier / later and possibly at additional randomized times (1) Although this may result in some additional energy usage and / or some potentially non-optimal wireless performance (e.g., throughput), the strategy is incrementally responsive to the extent to which sleep mode privacy is desired, and over what geographic and / or time span. c) The impact of this modification method i) Decide when / what cells are removed from the CSM ii) This could include additional randomization to the CSM strategy (1) Open early or late or when not needed (2) In response to UE activity, different cell(s) or additional cell(s) are selected to return from cell dormancy mode in order to further disguise the exact location of the subscriber(s) activity that triggered the exit from cell dormancy mode. iii) Provide new masquerading modes for cells where the cell is only “visible” to selected / trusted UEs, (this may use some cell configuration where additional cell information / capabilities / support is Hide and / or block, for example: (a) Avoiding advertising cells via normal signaling (at least for untrusted UEs) may be available, for example, and may include: (i) Operation as a closed subscriber group cell (ii) Use cell configuration "hiding" (used for Wi-Fi AP SSID hiding) (b) Utilize more limited beams to provide coverage only when / where needed, and possibly avoid allowing less trusted UEs to determine that the cell is no longer in the CSM. (i) Avoid Tx, where there is a suspicion of “untrusted” (e.g., NB-IoT / RedCap monitor / possible adversary) device is located at (or when) (and is awake and monitoring / not in DTX). (ii) Ignore UE Txs that are unlikely to be authentic, e.g., those that are not 1. Already connected (victim UE) and being HOed to the cell. 2. Not using a specific pre-agreed PRACH 3. Tx from (multiple) trusted locations d) As another example, i) In the above example of police arriving at a particular location, the cell exiting cell sleep mode may be delayed until the police have announced their presence at the location, e.g., knocking on a door / executing a search warrant. ii) In the above example of a "vulnerable person" arriving or leaving home, the geofencing solution may delay the cell exiting cell sleep mode until the geofencing solution confirms that they have arrived or left for more than some threshold time, or otherwise meets some geofencing requirement. e) If, in addition to (the relative priority of CSM privacy versus UE energy), the UE UAI also provides (the relative priority of CSM privacy versus radio performance), the gNB: (1) More CSMs can be used in this context, so that if CSM privacy is most important, there is more energy saving overall: (a) CSM privacy and UE energy saving have a high relative priority (b) (and the relative priority of CSM privacy vs. wireless performance) (2) A similar or smaller number of CSMs may be used in this context, but if CSM privacy is important, the timing of CSM entry / exit is randomized to provide the requested CSM privacy level, but wireless performance is also a higher priority: (a) The relative priority of CSM privacy and UE energy saving is high (and the relative priority of CSM privacy and radio performance is low) f) Where the gNB can further mask the CSM exit by only allowing cells in the CSM to start reception on UL without starting new DL Tx. g) Where the gNB can further mask CSM entry, by only (initially) allowing cells in CSM to start transmitting on DL on some specific beam / SSB to prevent “rival” devices in that cell, but not in that exact beam coverage, from (immediately) discovering CSM exit. (1) Each beam CSM may have such a tradeoff: if there is an adversary UE in the beam, more private information may be leaked. (2) However, the gNB can further mask the CSM entry / exit by entering / exiting CSM on some other / random beams / SSBs to further mask the privacy information to be protected from possible “adversary” devices under those beams. (a) In a non-preferred embodiment gNB, this can further invoke Tx on more and more channels. h) Where the gNB can further mask CSM entry based on relative priority in locations where the gNB has previously observed (static e.g. IoT) devices (or has some observing applications) - as those devices and / or applications may (inadvertently) enable the adversary.

[0122] Embodiments may provide: -A new approach to add intentional uncertainty to energy-saving measures of existing technical practices. o The prior art energy saving procedures are very strongly linked to the UE, which may be a privacy vulnerability that an adversary user can exploit by analyzing the interaction patterns between the gNB and the UE related to the energy saving procedures. o An adversary can be an eavesdropper with malicious intent. An adversary can be a passive device and not explicitly intrude into the network (e.g., hackers, distributed denial of service attacks), but it still poses a threat to the network and the service experience of mobile users. o Embodiments attempt to provide new solutions to this security / privacy threat via passive eavesdropping / snooping, possibly with the help of AI / ML. - A new privacy preference message from the UE to the coverage cell is introduced in an embodiment. o Several aspects of privacy (related to time, location, and perception) with different privacy level settings are proposed. o This message can be part of UEAssistanceInformation and utilize the existing signaling framework.

[0123] benefit: - Better privacy protection during power saving procedures, i.e., making it more difficult for adversary devices to infer the preferred privacy information of mobile users by randomizing the association between UE behavior and power saving procedures. - Leverage the existing UEAssistanceInformation framework. - The method proposed in the embodiments (i.e., adding uncertainty to the energy saving process) is not limited to cell on / off (i.e., power domain), it is applicable to a wide range of user-specific energy saving measures, which lead to changes in user behavior in the time domain (e.g., DRX, DTX), frequency domain (e.g., change of carrier / BWP) and spatial domain (e.g., change of beam width, number of layers).

[0124] Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the steps of various above-mentioned methods can be performed by a programmed computer.Herein, some embodiments are also intended to encompass program storage devices, such as digital data storage media, which are machine or computer readable and encode machine executable or computer executable instruction programs, wherein the above-mentioned instructions perform some or all steps of the above-mentioned methods.Program storage devices can be, for example, digital memories, magnetic storage media such as disks and tapes, hard drives, or optically readable digital data storage media.Embodiments are also intended to encompass computers programmed to perform the steps of the above-mentioned methods.Contrary to the limitation on data storage persistence (e.g., RAM vs. ROM), the term non-transient as used herein is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, rather than signal).

[0125] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) implemented in hardware circuits only (such as implemented in analog circuits and / or digital circuits only), and (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as (where applicable): (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuits and software / firmware, and (ii) any portion of hardware processor(s) (including digital signal processor(s)), software and memory(s) with software that work together to enable a device (such as a mobile phone or server) to perform various functions, and (c) Hardware circuits and or processor(s), such as microprocessor(s) or portions of microprocessor(s), that require software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when not required for operation.

[0126] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of the term in this application, including any claims. As another example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of only a hardware circuit, or a processor (or multiple processors), or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers (for example and if applicable to a particular claim element) a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0127] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described in the preceding paragraphs with reference to various examples, it should be appreciated that modifications to the examples given can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as claimed.

[0128] Features described in the preceding description may be used in combinations other than the combinations explicitly described.

[0129] Although functions have been described with reference to certain features, those functions may be performable by other features whether described or not.

[0130] Although features have been described with reference to certain embodiments, those features may also be present in other embodiments whether described or not.

[0131] While an effort has been made in the foregoing description to highlight those inventive features regarded as particularly important, it is to be understood that the applicant claims protection for any patentable feature or combination of features mentioned above and / or shown in the accompanying drawings whether or not particular emphasis has been placed thereon.

Claims

1. A device comprising: generating circuitry configured to generate privacy preference information related to network behavior for the device; as well as The transmitter is configured to send the privacy preference information to a network node in the communication network.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the privacy preference information comprises a plurality of privacy preferences, at least one preference of the plurality of preferences being related to at least one of: an activity of the device; a location of the device; or a time. 3 . The device of claim 2 , wherein the privacy preference information comprises privacy preferences related to location discovery of the device.

4. An apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the apparatus comprises a user equipment and the user equipment is configured to generate and send the privacy preference information as part of UEAssistanceInformation.

5. An apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the privacy preference information indicates a privacy level, and wherein the apparatus is configured to select the privacy level among a plurality of privacy levels.

6. The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the transmitter is configured to transmit the privacy preference information to a coverage cell that manages energy saving of at least one capacity cell within a coverage area of ​​the coverage cell.

7. The apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the privacy preference information indicates a preference for privacy protection in the context of an energy saving process.

8. An apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the apparatus further comprises a determination circuit configured to determine a requirement for enhanced privacy; and The generating circuit and the transmitter are configured to generate and transmit the privacy preference information in response to the determining circuit determining the requirement for enhanced privacy.

9. An apparatus comprising: The control circuit is configured as follows: receiving, from a user device, privacy preference information indicating a preference for enhanced privacy for the user device; as well as A network energy saving strategy of the device is modified based on the privacy preference information.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the apparatus comprises a power saving circuit configured to control the apparatus to reduce energy consumption by performing power saving behavior, the control circuit controlling the power saving circuit to disassociate the power saving step in the capacity cell from the location of the user equipment in response to receiving the privacy preference information indicating the preference for enhanced privacy for the user equipment.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, the apparatus comprising a network node configured to support providing radio coverage in a coverage cell and in at least one capacity cell in a coverage area of ​​the coverage cell; The network node comprises a data store for storing the privacy preference information for the user equipment; wherein The energy saving circuit is configured to reduce energy consumption of the capacity cell when it is determined that the load caused by the user equipment in the capacity cell is low, and to increase energy consumption in the capacity cell when an increase or potential increase in load from the user equipment is detected. The energy saving circuit is configured to modify the energy saving behavior by delaying the increase in the energy consumption when an increase or potential increase in load from the user equipment that has received privacy preference information indicating enhanced privacy is detected.

12. An apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the privacy preference information includes an indication of a time when enhanced privacy of the user device is required, and the control circuit is configured to modify the energy saving policy of the apparatus with respect to the user device during the indicated time and not to modify the energy saving policy with respect to the user device during other times.

13. An apparatus according to any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the privacy preference information includes an indication of at least one activity of the user device, the at least one activity does not require enhanced privacy when executed, and the control circuit is configured to modify the behavior of the apparatus with respect to the user device when the activity is not executed, and not to modify the behavior when the activity is executed.

14. The apparatus according to any one of claims 9 to 13, wherein the apparatus comprises a network node configured to support providing radio coverage in a cell, the apparatus further comprising: A receiver is configured to receive the privacy preference information from a user device.

15. The apparatus according to any one of claims 9 to 14, wherein the apparatus comprises a network node configured to support providing radio coverage in a cell, the apparatus further comprising: A receiver is configured to receive the privacy preference information from a network node within a 3GPP communication network.

16. An apparatus according to any one of claims 9 to 15, wherein the control circuit is configured to determine whether the apparatus is scheduled to perform a step that may leak information about the user equipment before modifying the behavior, and in this case control the apparatus to modify the step.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the control circuit is configured to, in response to determining that the apparatus is not scheduled to perform a step that may leak information, generate and send an indication to the user device to request that the user device not send privacy preference information at one of: a predetermined time or a predetermined location.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the indication of the user equipment can be sent as a signal to a group of user equipments.

19. A method comprising: generating, by a user device, privacy preferences associated with network behavior information for the user device; as well as The privacy preference information is sent by the user equipment to a network node in the communication network.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the privacy preference information comprises a plurality of privacy preferences, at least one privacy preference of the plurality of preferences being related to at least one of: an activity of the user device; a location of the user device; or a time.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the privacy preference information comprises privacy preferences related to location discovery of the user equipment.

22. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 21, wherein the user equipment generates and sends the privacy preference information as part of UEAssistanceInformation.

23. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 22, wherein the privacy preference information indicates a privacy level, and wherein the user device selects the privacy level among a plurality of privacy levels.

24. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 23, wherein the user equipment sends the privacy preference information to a coverage cell, the coverage cell managing energy saving of at least one capacity cell within a coverage area of ​​the coverage cell.

25. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 24, wherein the privacy preference information indicates a preference for privacy protection in the case of an energy saving process.

26. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 25, wherein the user equipment: Identify requirements for enhanced privacy; and Responsive to the determining the requirement for enhanced privacy, the privacy preference information is generated and sent.

27. A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor on a device, cause the device to at least perform the steps of the method according to any one of claims 19 to 27.

28. A method comprising: receiving, by a network node from a user equipment, privacy preference information indicating a preference for enhanced privacy for the user equipment; as well as A network energy saving strategy of the network node is modified based on the privacy preference information.

29. The method according to claim 28, further comprising, by the network node: performing control to reduce energy consumption in the network by performing energy saving behavior on at least one capacity cell within the coverage area of ​​the coverage cell, and In response to receiving the privacy preference information indicating the preference for enhanced privacy for the user equipment, the controlling is performed to disassociate energy saving steps in the at least one capacity cell from a location of the user equipment.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the network node comprises a data store for storing the privacy preference information for the user equipment, the method further comprising, by the network node: When it is determined that the load caused by the user equipment in the capacity cell of the at least one capacity cell is low, the energy consumption of the capacity cell is reduced, and when an increase or potential increase in the load from the user equipment is detected, the energy consumption in the capacity cell is increased, and the energy saving circuit is configured to modify the energy saving behavior by delaying the increase of the energy consumption when an increase or potential increase in the load from the user equipment that has received the privacy preference information indicating enhanced privacy is detected.

31. A method according to any one of claims 28 to 30, wherein the privacy preference information includes an indication of a time when enhanced privacy of the user equipment is required, the method further comprising modifying the energy saving policy of the network node with respect to the user equipment during the indicated time and not modifying the energy saving policy with respect to the user equipment during other times.

32. A method according to any one of claims 28 to 31, wherein the privacy preference information comprises an indication of at least one activity of the user device, the at least one activity not requiring enhanced privacy when performed, the method comprising: When the activity is not being executed, the energy saving policy of the apparatus with respect to the user equipment is modified, and when the activity is being executed, the behavior is not modified.

33. The method according to any one of claims 28 to 32, further comprising: Before modifying the energy saving strategy, it is determined whether the network node is scheduled to perform a step that may leak information about the user equipment, and in this case the network node is controlled to modify the step.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein in response to determining that the network node is not scheduled to perform a step that may leak information, generating and sending an indication to the user equipment to request that the user equipment not send privacy preference information at one of the following: a predetermined time or a predetermined location.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the indication to the user equipment is sent as a signal to a group of user equipment.

36. A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor on a device, cause the device to perform at least the steps of the method according to any one of claims 28 to 35.

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