Media access control layer security

Abstract

The present disclosure proposes a solution regarding MAC layer security. In particular, two types of TBs are introduced, where the first type of TBs include information that needs protection on lower layers, and the second type of TBs include information that does not need protection on lower layers. For the first type of TBs, encryption protection is applied to the lower layers (e.g., MAC layer) that constitute the TBs. No protection is applied to the lower layers of the second type of TBs. In this way, attacks exploiting the lack of protection of MAC CEs can be prevented.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Various exemplary embodiments of this disclosure are generally related to the telecommunications field, and particularly to methods, apparatuses, devices, and computer-readable storage media for media access control (MAC) layer security. Background Technology

[0002] Mobile security protects portable computing devices and the networks they connect to from threats and vulnerabilities associated with wireless computing. Encryption protection of services over the wireless interface is one of the most critical security requirements for mobile networks. Therefore, it has been specified in different ways since second-generation (2G) communication systems. For example, in 2G communication systems, circuit switching involves encryption at the physical layer, and 2G packet switching includes encryption at the Logical Link Control (LLC) layer between the User Equipment (UE) and the Serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Support Node (SGSN). In third-generation (3G) communication systems, Integrity Protection (IP) was introduced for Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages, which is performed at the RRC layer; and encryption was introduced for RRC and user plane services, with Acknowledgment (AM) and Unacknowledged (UM) modes at the RLC layer and Transparent (TM) mode at the Media Access Control (MAC) layer. Furthermore, fourth-generation (4G) communication systems introduced encryption of the control plane (CP) and user plane (UP) at the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, as well as IP encryption of the CP at the PDCP layer. Additionally, fifth-generation (5G) communication systems introduced encryption of the CP and UP at the PDCP layer and IP encryption. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In a first aspect of this disclosure, a first apparatus is provided. The first apparatus includes at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus to: acquire protection information indicating which control information and data require security protection at a first protocol layer; based on the acquired protection information, determine whether to apply security protection at the first protocol layer to at least one first protocol data unit at the first protocol layer or at least one second protocol data unit at a second protocol layer; if it is determined that security protection at the first protocol layer should be applied to at least one first protocol data unit at the first protocol layer or at least one second protocol data unit at the second protocol layer, apply the security protection; generate a transport block based on the protection information, the transport block including at least one of the following: at least one first protocol data unit at the first protocol layer requiring protection and at least one second protocol data unit at the second protocol layer requiring protection, wherein the first protocol layer is lower than the second protocol layer, wherein the transport block further includes information indicating whether security protection is applied to one or more protocol data units at the first protocol layer; and transmit the transport block to a second apparatus.

[0004] In a second aspect of this disclosure, a second apparatus is provided. The second apparatus includes at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second apparatus to: acquire protection information indicating which control information and data require security protection at a first protocol layer; receive from a first apparatus a transport block comprising one or more protocol data units, wherein the transport block includes information indicating whether security protection is applied to the one or more protocol data units at the first protocol layer; determine, based on the protection information, whether a protocol data unit among the one or more protocol data units requires security protection; determine, based on the information indicating that security protection is applied to the one or more protocol data units, whether security protection is applied to the protocol data units among the one or more protocol data units; and process the protocol data unit based on the determination.

[0005] In a third aspect of this disclosure, a method is provided. The method includes: acquiring protection information indicating which control information and data require security protection at a first protocol layer; determining, based on the acquired protection information, whether to apply security protection at the first protocol layer to at least one first protocol data unit at the first protocol layer or at least one second protocol data unit at a second protocol layer; if it is determined that security protection at the first protocol layer should be applied to at least one first protocol data unit at the first protocol layer or at least one second protocol data unit at the second protocol layer, then applying the security protection; generating a transport block based on the protection information, the transport block comprising at least one of the following: at least one first protocol data unit at the first protocol layer requiring protection and at least one second protocol data unit at the second protocol layer requiring protection, wherein the first protocol layer is lower than the second protocol layer, wherein the transport block further includes information indicating whether security protection is applied to one or more protocol data units at the first protocol layer; and transmitting the transport block to a second device.

[0006] In a fourth aspect of this disclosure, a method is provided. The method includes: acquiring protection information indicating which control information and data require security protection at a first protocol layer; receiving from a first means a transport block comprising one or more protocol data units, wherein the transport block includes information indicating whether security protection is applied to the one or more protocol data units at the first protocol layer; determining, based on the protection information, whether protocol data units among the one or more protocol data units require security protection; determining, based on the information indicating that security protection is applied to the one or more protocol data units to which it is applied, whether security protection is applied to the protocol data units among the one or more protocol data units; and processing the protocol data units based on the determination.

[0007] In a fifth aspect of this disclosure, a first apparatus is provided. The first apparatus includes components for acquiring protection information indicating which control information and data require security protection at a first protocol layer; components for determining, based on the acquired protection information, whether to apply security protection at the first protocol layer to at least one first protocol data unit at the first protocol layer or at least one second protocol data unit at a second protocol layer; components for applying security protection if it is determined that security protection at the first protocol layer is applied to at least one first protocol data unit at the first protocol layer or at least one second protocol data unit at the second protocol layer; components for generating a transport block based on the protection information, the transport block comprising at least one of the following: at least one first protocol data unit at the first protocol layer requiring protection and at least one second protocol data unit at the second protocol layer requiring protection, wherein the first protocol layer is lower than the second protocol layer, wherein the transport block further includes information indicating whether security protection is applied to one or more protocol data units at the first protocol layer; and components for transmitting the transport block to a second apparatus.

[0008] In a sixth aspect of this disclosure, a second apparatus is provided. The second apparatus includes: means for acquiring protection information indicating which control information and data require security protection at a first protocol layer; means for receiving from a first apparatus a transport block comprising one or more protocol data units, wherein the transport block includes information indicating whether security protection is applied to one or more protocol data units at the first protocol layer; means for determining, based on the protection information, whether protocol data units in the one or more protocol data units require security protection; means for determining, based on the information indicating that security protection is applied to one or more protocol data units, whether security protection is applied to protocol data units in the one or more protocol data units; and means for processing the protocol data units based on the determination.

[0009] In a seventh aspect of this disclosure, a computer-readable medium is provided. The computer-readable medium includes instructions stored thereon for causing a device to perform at least the method according to the third aspect.

[0010] In an eighth aspect of this disclosure, a computer-readable medium is provided. The computer-readable medium includes instructions stored thereon for causing a device to perform at least the method according to the fourth aspect.

[0011] It should be understood that the summary portion is not intended to identify key or essential features of the embodiments of this disclosure, nor is it intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. Other features of this disclosure will become readily apparent from the following description. Attached Figure Description

[0012] Some exemplary embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0013] Figure 1 The diagram illustrates the overall architecture used to separate the gNB centralized unit (CU) control plane (CP) and the gNB-CU user plane (UP);

[0014] Figure 2 The illustration shows an example communication environment in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0015] Figure 3 The diagram illustrates the wireless interface protocol stack.

[0016] Figure 4 The diagram illustrates a MAC protocol data unit (PDU).

[0017] Figure 5A The illustration shows a signaling diagram for MAC layer security according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 5B The illustration shows a signaling diagram for MAC layer security according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0019] Figures 6A to 6E Accordingly, schematic diagrams of transport blocks (TBs) according to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated;

[0020] Figure 7 The illustration shows a flowchart of a method implemented at a first device according to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0021] Figure 8 The illustration shows a flowchart of a method implemented at a second device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0022] Figure 9 A simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated; and

[0023] Figure 10 A block diagram of an example computer-readable medium according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0024] Throughout the accompanying drawings, the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements. Detailed Implementation

[0025] The principles of this disclosure will now be described with reference to some exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described for illustrative purposes only and to assist those skilled in the art in understanding and implementing this disclosure, and do not constitute any limitation on the scope of this disclosure. The embodiments described herein can be implemented in various other ways besides those described below.

[0026] In the following description and claims, unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains.

[0027] In this disclosure, references to "an embodiment," "embodiment," and "example embodiment," etc., indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment must include that particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Furthermore, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Moreover, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, those skilled in the art will understand that, whether explicitly described or not, combining it with other embodiments to affect such a feature, structure, or characteristic is within the knowledge of those skilled in the art.

[0028] It should be understood that although the terms "first," "second," etc., preceding nouns in this document may be used to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another and do not restrict the order of the nouns. For example, without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiments, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0029] As used herein, “at least one of the following: ” and “at least one of the following: ” and similar wording (where the list of two or more elements is connected by “and” or “or”) means at least any one of these elements, or at least any two or more of these elements, or at least all of these elements.

[0030] As used herein, unless explicitly stated otherwise, “responding to A” does not mean that the step is performed immediately after “A” occurs, but may include one or more intermediate steps.

[0031] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments. The singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” used herein also include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Further understanding, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “has,” “having,” “includes,” and / or “including” as used herein specify the presence of the stated features, elements, and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0032] As used in this application, the term "circuit system" may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) Pure hardware circuit implementation (such as implementation using only analog and / or digital circuit systems), and (b) A combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as (if applicable): (i) A combination of (multiple) analog and / or digital hardware circuits and software / firmware, and (ii) Any part of a hardware processor (including multiple digital signal processors), software, and memory (multiple processors) having software, which work together to enable a device (such as a mobile phone or server) to perform various functions, and (c) (Multiple) hardware circuits and / or (multiple) processors, such as (multiple) microprocessors or a portion thereof, which require software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but may be absent when operation is not required.

[0033] The definition of "circuit system" applies to all uses of the term in this application, including in any claim. As another example, as used in this application, the term "circuit system" also covers only hardware circuitry or a processor (or processors) or a portion of hardware circuitry or a processor and its accompanying software and / or firmware. For example, if applicable to a particular claim element, the term "circuit system" also covers baseband integrated circuits or processor integrated circuits for mobile devices, or similar integrated circuits in servers, cellular network devices, or other computing or network devices.

[0034] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that conforms to any suitable communication standard, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-A Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High-Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), etc. Furthermore, communication between terminal devices and network devices in a communication network can be performed according to any suitable generation of communication protocol, including but not limited to first-generation (1G), second-generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third-generation (3G), fourth-generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth-generation (5G), sixth-generation (6G) communication protocols and / or any other currently known or to be developed in the future. Embodiments of this disclosure can be applied to various communication systems. Given the rapid development of communications, there will naturally be communication technologies and systems that can be used to embody future types of communication technologies and systems. This should not be construed as limiting the scope of this disclosure to the systems described above.

[0035] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communications network through which terminal devices access the network and receive services. A network device can refer to a base station (BS) or access point (AP), such as a Node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), an NR NB (also known as a gNB), a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a Radio Header (RH), a Remote Radio Header (RRH), a relay, an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) node, a low-power node (such as a femtosecond or picosecond), a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or non-terrestrial network device (such as satellite network equipment, low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, and geostationary orbit (GEO) satellites), an aircraft network device, etc., depending on the terminology and technology applied. In some example embodiments, the Radio Access Network (RAN) split architecture includes a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) at the IAB donor node. An IAB node includes a mobile terminal (IAB-MT) portion that behaves as a UE to its parent node, and the DU portion of the IAB node behaves as a base station to the next-hop IAB node.

[0036] The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. As an example and not a limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE), subscriber station (SS), portable subscriber station, mobile station (MS), or access terminal (AT). Terminal devices can include, but are not limited to, mobile phones, cellular phones, smartphones, Voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, tablets, wearable terminal devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, desktop computers, image capture terminal devices (such as digital cameras), gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback devices, in-vehicle wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop embedded devices (LEE), laptop mounted devices (LME), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer premises equipment (CPE), Internet of Things (IoT) devices, watches or other wearable devices, head-mounted displays (HMDs), vehicles, drones, medical devices and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial devices and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in industrial and / or automated processing chain environments), consumer electronics devices, devices operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. The terminal device may also correspond to the mobile terminal (MT) portion of an IAB node (e.g., a relay node). In the following description, the terms "terminal device," "communication device," "terminal," "user equipment," and "UE" are used interchangeably.

[0037] As used herein, the terms “resource,” “transmission resource,” “resource block,” “physical resource block” (PRB), “uplink resource,” or “downlink resource” can refer to any resource used to perform communication, such as communication between a terminal device and a network device, including time-domain resources, frequency-domain resources, spatial-domain resources, code-domain resources, or any other combination of time-domain resources, frequency-domain resources, spatial-domain resources, and / or code-domain resources used to implement communication. In the following, unless explicitly stated otherwise, resources in the frequency and time domains will be used as examples of transmission resources to describe some exemplary embodiments of this disclosure. It should be noted that the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure are equally applicable to other resources in other domains.

[0038] As used herein, the term "Media Access Control (MAC) layer" can refer to a sublayer of the Data Link Layer in the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) reference model used for data transmission. The MAC layer provides two main services to higher layers: data transmission and radio resource allocation. The Radio Link Control (RLC) layer can expect data transmission and transmission opportunity notifications from lower layers, such as the MAC sublayer. The term "Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer" as used herein can refer to a protocol layer that, in 5G networks, typically lies between the RLC and RRC (Radio Resource Control) layers for the control plane, and between the RLC and SDAP (Service Data Adaptation Protocol) layers for the user plane. The PDCP layer is responsible for providing header compression, a technique used to reduce the size of protocol headers sent over the radio interface by removing redundant information, allowing more data to be sent within a given bandwidth. The term "Physical Layer" can refer to the lowest layer in the OSI model. The term "Access Layer (AS)" as used herein can refer to the layer in the UE where the protocol stack resides and is responsible for controlling the radio interface between the UE and the network. AS provides functions such as radio resource control, radio bearer control, and security.

[0039] As used herein, the term "transport block (TB)" can refer to a data packet transmitted between the MAC layer and the physical layer. In 5G, a transport block includes a MAC PDU, meaning a MAC PDU is equivalent to a transport block. Therefore, in this application, the terms "transport block" and "MAC PDU" have essentially the same meaning. The term "MAC control element (MAC CE)" as used herein can refer to a MAC structure carrying control information. The term "protocol data unit (PDU)" as used herein can refer to the basic unit exchanged between entities communicating using a specified network protocol.

[0040] As used herein, the term "encryption" can refer to a process used to protect the confidentiality of transmitted user data. It involves the encryption of the data. The term "integrity protection (IP)" as used herein can refer to the functionality that ensures the authenticity and integrity of user data by preventing various attacks, such as message replay, data tampering, etc.

[0041] As mentioned above, several cryptographic protection techniques have been proposed. For example, in 2G circuit switching, all services are encrypted at the physical layer. Without IP encryption, this is no longer suitable. Considering channel structure and data rate, this approach also encrypts lower layers, but this is not suitable for modern networks. In 2G packet switching, encryption occurs at the LLC layer between the UE and SGSN, focusing on protecting UP data. This is not suitable for today's network architecture and protocol stack.

[0042] Furthermore, 3G provides integrity protection for RRC messages, which is performed at the RRC layer. Encryption for RRC and user plane services is performed at the RLC layer for RLC AM and UM, and at the MAC layer for RLC TM. No IP is provided to lower layers. The 3G RAN architecture includes radio network control that terminates network-side security. This component has been removed from the architecture since 4G.

[0043] 4G and 5G have implemented encryption and integrity protection at the PDCP layer, making all lower layers vulnerable to attack. Specifically, it presents "Basic Principles and Tracing of Security Decisions in LTE / SAE," considering attack threats to lower layers. For example, the threat of forging or impersonating MAC layer Buffer State Reports (BSRs) has been identified. It is suggested that such attacks are difficult to execute and can only cause denial-of-service (DoS). Typically, providing encryption for the MAC layer is considered, but it is concluded that this is not necessary. This decision may have been reasonable when designing the 4G security architecture. However, adhering to this decision and design in 5G is debatable, as a growing body of security research has been published, revealing meaningful attacks on lower layers controlling communications.

[0044] Furthermore, no solution alters the protocol layer on which protection is applied; therefore, it remains at the PDCP layer, similar to 4G. Additionally, according to the example solution, it applies a key at the physical layer to transform the Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) of the Transport Block (TB). Its purpose is to detect the presence of spoofed relay base stations. This is not strong integrity protection because it allows modification of the TB without altering the CRC before the transformation. The function used to calculate the CRC is not a cryptographic hash function, thus allowing for such modification. In particular, attackers have considerable freedom to insert content into the TB, including additional MAC CEs and padding. Therefore, altering the message in a desired manner and maintaining the original CRC may not be difficult. In summary, this solution does not provide cryptographic protection for lower layers.

[0045] Based on an example solution, a MAC is proposed to provide encrypted protection for such "data plane signaling messages." The MAC can use the algorithm specified for PDCP in LTE. The key to be used in the MAC can be derived from the eNB. The solution uses the frame number, which is known to both the sender and receiver MACs, as the sole input to the encryption algorithm. This provides a 2.91-hour non-repeating input. The eNB refreshes the key before this time has elapsed. However, encryption can only be applied if the exact (sub)frame in which the message was sent is known. When the MAC CE or RLC PDU is a sub-PDU of a larger MAC PDU, the frame must be calculated accordingly. This approach may not meet real-time requirements. A 4-byte MAC-I (Message Authentication Code for Integrity) is required per message, which is a significant overhead for short MAC CEs. When a message is repeated, encryption and integrity protection must be recalculated for the new frame, and real-time requirements must be met again.

[0046] According to another example solution, an observation is proposed that includes a MAC CE containing an activation bitmap indicating the cell to be used in the carrier aggregation configuration. Although the configuration itself is sent only in encrypted form and is unknown to an attacker, it is possible to identify the walking path of a victim subscriber on campus with a certain degree of accuracy simply by monitoring the cell activation MAC CE.

[0047] Much research on wireless interface vulnerabilities utilizes readily available open-source software tools and affordable radio frequency (RF) hardware. Since the decisions regarding LTE security were made, these tools have seen significant advancements and / or substantial price reductions. This trend makes it increasingly easier for attackers to launch wireless interface attacks. This trend is expected to continue and even accelerate.

[0048] With 6G on the horizon, more control processes are expected to be handled at the MAC layer. Meanwhile, superior security and trustworthiness are key value indicators for future 6G networks. This makes protecting MAC CEs crucial. Note that it's not necessary to protect every MAC CE. There can be types of MAC CEs that are not easily abused by attackers, and therefore can be transmitted without protection. "Severe abuse" refers to attacks that achieve more than a transient local DoS (which is inherently possible for a local attacker, for example, by simply generating noise to block a successful wireless transmission).

[0049] Furthermore, it remains unclear how to provide appropriate password protection for all information requiring password protection in an efficient manner, so as to keep the impact on overall throughput and latency sufficiently low to meet the corresponding requirements of the 6G wireless interface while using sufficient hardware resources to execute the protocol software. Figure 1The illustrated 3GPP 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) architecture presents another challenge. Specifically, in the 5G RAN architecture, PDCP and RRC are centralized unit (CU) tasks within the gNB-CP, while RLC, MAC, and physical layer (PHY) are distributed unit (DU) tasks. Many RRC modifications only require changes to the protocol data held by the DU. In this case, applying protection through the PDCP layer in the gNB-CU-CP adds additional latency to the process, as data must be relayed from the DU back to the CU where the protection is applied before it can be sent to the UE. The challenge in this setup is how to eliminate this additional latency and enable faster UE configuration changes directly from the gNB-DU without contacting the gNB-CU-CP.

[0050] According to an example embodiment of this disclosure, a solution for MAC layer security is proposed. Specifically, two types of TBs are introduced, wherein a first type of TB includes information requiring protection at lower layers, and a second type of TB includes only information that does not require protection at lower layers. For the first type of TB, cryptographic protection is applied to the lower layers (e.g., the MAC layer) that make up the TB. The first type of TB is used for certain higher-layer and certain lower-layer control messages that require protection. No protection is applied to the lower layers of the second type of TB. The second type of TB is used for services that do not require protection, such as certain lower-layer control messages or user plane services, which can be protected at certain higher protocol layers. In this way, attacks exploiting the lack of protection in the MAC CE can be prevented. As previously mentioned, a TB can be understood as a MAC PDU; that is, alternatively, two types of MAC PDUs are introduced above.

[0051] Figure 2 An example communication environment 100 is illustrated in which exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. In the communication environment 100, the first device 110 and the second device 120 can communicate with each other.

[0052] The first device 110 may be a terminal device, such as a UE. The second device 120 may be a network device, such as a gNB. The first device 110 may be in cell 102, which is one of the serving cells. Alternatively, the first device 110 may be a network device, such as a gNB, and the second device 120 may be a terminal device, such as a UE.

[0053] In the following description, for illustrative purposes, some exemplary embodiments are depicted in which the first device 110 operates as a terminal device and the second device 120 operates as a network device. However, in some exemplary embodiments, the operations described in connection with a terminal device may be implemented at a network device or other devices, and the operations described in connection with a network device may be implemented at a terminal device or other devices.

[0054] In some example embodiments, if the first device 110 is a terminal device and the second device 120 is a network device, the link from the second device 120 to the first device 110 is called a downlink (DL), and the link from the first device 110 to the second device 120 is called an uplink (UL). In the DL, the second device 120 is a transmitting (TX) device (or transmitter), and the first device 110 is a receiving (RX) device (or receiver). In the UL, the first device 110 is a TX device (or transmitter), and the second device 120 is an RX device (or receiver).

[0055] Communication in communication environment 100 can be implemented according to any suitable communication protocol(s), including but not limited to cellular communication protocols such as first-generation (1G), second-generation (2G), third-generation (3G), fourth-generation (4G), fifth-generation (5G), and sixth-generation (6G), wireless local area network communication protocols such as IEEE 802.11, and / or any other protocols currently known or to be developed in the future. Furthermore, communication can utilize any suitable wireless communication technology, including but not limited to: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), Time Division Duplex (TDD), Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), Discrete Fourier Transform Spread Spectrum OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM), and / or any other technologies currently known or to be developed in the future.

[0056] Figure 3 The diagram shows that it can be used Figure 2 The wireless interface control plane protocol stack implemented in the communication environment 100 shown. For example... Figure 3 As shown, the wireless interface protocol stack in the first device 110 may include: a Non-Access Stratum (NAS) layer, an RRC layer, a PDCP layer, an RLC layer, a MAC layer, and a PHY layer. The wireless interface control plane protocol stack in the second device 120 may include: an RRC layer, a PDCP layer, an RLC layer, a MAC layer, and a PHY layer.

[0057] In some solutions, lower-layer information may be unprotected due to the decision to perform encryption and IP at the PDCP layer. This can include PHY layer information such as Downlink Control Information (DCI) on the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), Uplink Control Information (UCI) on the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), MAC CE, RLC control PDUs, and MAC and RLC protocol headers. PDCP control PDUs may also be unprotected. The headers of PDCP data PDUs can be protected for integrity.

[0058] PDCP data PDUs may not include header fields indicating the protection status, i.e., whether the message is encrypted and / or protected for integrity. Receive PDCP can always be correctly configured to process received messages correctly. For example, if PDCP is configured to decrypt received messages, it can apply decryption to all received messages without checking whether the message was actually encrypted.

[0059] In some solutions, protection can be applied at the granularity of the bearer (e.g., Signaling Radio Bearer (SRB) and Data Radio Bearer (DRB)). Most of these bearers can have a fixed protection policy, i.e., protection begins from the first PDU transmitted in the bearer if encryption and / or IP are applied. A notable exception is SRB1, which is used to transmit RRC messages between the UE and the eNB / gNB. SRB1 can be initiated without protection, and security is later activated via the RRC Security Mode Command (SMC) procedure.

[0060] Figure 4 The diagram illustrates the MAC PDU 400 in the 5G standard. Figure 4 As shown, MAC PDU 400 may include several MAC sub-PDUs. MAC sub-PDUs may include MAC CEs or MAC Service Data Units (SDUs). MAC SDUs are RLC PDUs, which may be RLC control PDUs or RLC data PDUs. RLC data PDUs encapsulate PDCP PDUs, which may be PDCP control PDUs or PDCP data PDUs. PDCP data PDUs encapsulate RRC PDUs containing RRC messages or SDAP PDUs containing UP data. A single MAC PDU may include a MAC CE and either an RRC message or UP data. MAC sub-PDUs include header fields, but no other MAC PDU header fields. MAC PDU 400 can be transmitted as transport blocks (TBs) between the MAC layer and the physical layer, and over the air.

[0061] Exemplary embodiments of this disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 5AThe illustration depicts a signaling flow 500 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The signaling flow 500 relates to a first device 510 acting as a transmitter / transmitter and a second device 520 acting as a receiver. In one example embodiment, the first device 510 may... Figure 2 The first device 110 is implemented or included in the first device 110 (e.g., the MAC layer of the first device 110), and the second device 520 can be implemented in the first device 110. Figure 2 The second device 120 is implemented therein. Alternatively, the first device 510 can be implemented at location 120. Figure 2 The second device 520 is implemented at the first device 110 or is included in the first device 100 (e.g., the MAC layer of the first device 110).

[0062] First device 510 acquires (5010) protection information indicating which control information and data require security protection at the first protocol layer. Second device 520 also acquires (5010') this protection information. In one example embodiment, if first device 510 is a UE and second device 520 is a gNB, then second device 520 can send the protection information to first device 510. That is, first device 510 can receive protection information from second device 520. Alternatively, if first device 510 is a gNB and second device 520 is a UE, then first device 510 can send protection information to second device 520. That is, second device 520 can receive protection information from first device 510. In some other example embodiments, the protection information can be predefined.

[0063] The first device 510 determines (5012) based on the acquired protection information whether to apply security protection at the first protocol layer to at least one first PDU at the first protocol layer or at least one second PDU at the second protocol layer. The first protocol layer is lower than the second protocol layer, meaning that in the wireless interface protocol stack, the first protocol layer is below the second protocol. For example, as... Figure 3 As shown, the MAC layer is below the RCL layer.

[0064] The first device 510 applies (5014) security protection based on this determination. For example, if the first device 510 determines based on the protection information that a PDU (such as a first PDU or a second PDU) requires security protection, then the first device 510 may apply security protection to the PDU. Alternatively, if the first device 510 determines based on the protection information that a PDU (such as a first PDU or a second PDU) does not require security protection, then the first device 510 may not apply security protection to the PDU.

[0065] The first device 510 generates (5015) a transport block (TB) based on protection information. The TB includes at least one of at least one first PDU at a first protocol layer requiring protection and at least one second PDU at a second protocol layer requiring protection. For example, the first PDU may refer to a MAC CE. The second PDU may refer to a MAC SDU, i.e., an RLC PDU. Thus, for example, a PDU may be a MAC sub-PDU, which may contain a MAC CE, a MAC SDU (=RLC PDU), or padding. The TB also includes information indicating one or more PDUs to which security protection is applied. In this way, it paves the way for more sensitive processes at the MAC layer, as envisioned for 6G. Furthermore, it provides security for RLC and PDCP control messages and headers, as well as for RRC messages, thereby protecting the entire CP protocol stack.

[0066] In some example embodiments, the first protocol layer may refer to a lower layer. For example, the first protocol layer may be the MAC layer. Note that the first protocol layer may refer to other lower layers. Alternatively, the second protocol layer may refer to a higher layer. For example, the second protocol layer may be the RRC layer or the RLC layer. It should be noted that the second protocol layer may refer to other higher layers.

[0067] The generated (5015) TB includes information indicating whether security protection is applied to one or more protocol data units at the first protocol layer. In one example embodiment, the generated (5015) TB may include a header containing an indication of whether the TB is a first-type TB or a second-type TB. For example, the header of a first-type TB may include a field containing a count value assigned to the TB and a field storing a Message Authentication Code for Integrity (MAC-I) for encrypted calculation. In one example embodiment, the first device 510 may calculate the MAC-I over the entire TB (excluding the MAC-I field). In another example embodiment, the first device 510 may then encrypt the entire TB except for the indication field and the count or sequence number field. In some example embodiments, encryption algorithms specified for 5G may be used, such as Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) for counter mode encryption (referred to as NR Encryption Algorithm 2 (NEA2) in the 3GPP 5G specification) and Message Authentication Code for Integrity based on AES cryptography (CMAC) (referred to as NR Integrity Algorithm 2 (NIA2) in the 3GPP 5G specification).

[0068] In some example embodiments, if the protection information indicates that security protection is required at the first protocol layer, the first device 510 may generate a first type of TB. In one example embodiment, information indicating whether security protection is applied to one or more protocol data units is included in the TB but not within the one or more protocol data units. For example, if the information indicates that security protection is applied to one or more protocol data units, at least one of the transport block count or sequence number may be included in the transport block but outside the one or more protocol data units.

[0069] Figure 6A The diagram illustrates the first type of TB 600. (As shown...) Figure 6A As shown, TB 600 may include an indication 611 indicating that security protection is applied to Protocol Data Unit 612. TB 600 may also include a field 613 for a count value or sequence number for TB 600. The sequence number may be a part of the count value. For example, the complete count may be included in the TB of the first type, but only the sequence number (SN) including some of the least significant bits of the count value. For example, the count value may include a 32-bit integer, but only its 10 least significant bits may be included as a sequence number in TB 600. In this way, some space in the TB can be saved, but the receiver can still reconstruct the count and use it as input for decryption and integrity verification. In some other example embodiments, TB 600 may include an Integrity Message Authentication Code (MAC-I) field 614. TB 600 may include Protocol Data Unit 612. Protocol Data Unit 612 may carry a MAC CE and higher-level PDUs, and its construction may be as follows. Figure 4 As shown.

[0070] Alternatively, information indicating whether security protection is applied to one or more protocol data units may be included in each of the one or more protocol data units. In one example embodiment, at least one of a count value or a sequence number of the protocol data unit may be included in each of the one or more protocol data units. For example, the indication, the field for the count value or sequence number of the protocol data unit, and the MAC-I field may be part of the protocol data unit. For example, as Figure 6B As shown, TB 600' may include a protocol data unit 612', which includes an indication 611 indicating that security protection is applied to the protocol data unit 612, a field 613 for a counter value or sequence number for the protocol data unit 612, and a MAC-I field 614.

[0071] In some example embodiments, if the protection information indicates that no security protection is required at the first protocol layer, the first device 510 may generate a second type of TB. Figure 6C The diagram illustrates the second type of TB 610. (As shown...) Figure 6C As shown, TB 610 may include an indication 621 indicating that security protection is not applied to protocol data unit 622. TB 610 may also include protocol data unit 622, the structure of which is as follows: Figure 4 As shown. Alternatively, this indication can be outside the protocol data unit. For example, as Figure 6D As shown, TB 610' may include a protocol data unit 622', which includes an indication 621 indicating that security protection is not applied to the protocol data unit 622.

[0072] In some example embodiments, all protected PDUs can be placed together, thus forming a "protected area" within the TB. In this case, for example, the indication may only include the offset of the protected area within the TB in which it begins, and its length. Figure 6E A schematic diagram of an example of TB is shown. For example, such as Figure 6E As shown, TB 630 may include an indication 631 indicating whether security protection is applied to some MAC sub-PDUs, a counter field 633, a protected region start 635 and a protected region length 636 (i.e., the offset of the protected region in the TB in which it begins, and its length), (a plurality of) unprotected MAC sub-PDUs 637, (a plurality of) protected MAC sub-PDUs 638 and MAC-I 634.

[0073] In some example implementations, User Plane (UP) services can be protected at a higher layer. For example, UP can be protected at the PDCP layer. It should be noted that if a new network architecture is adopted, where UP security no longer terminates in the same entity as AS CP security, a new protocol between the UE and an entity in the RAN or core network can provide protection. UP services can be transmitted in a second type of TB.

[0074] In one example embodiment, the first device 510 may set information indicating whether security protection is applied to a protocol data unit (TB) as a count value of the TB. Alternatively, the first device 510 may set this information as a sequence number of the TB. In other words, there may be no explicit field for this indication. For example, field 611 may be absent in TB 600 / 600', field 621 may be absent in TB 610 / 610', and field 631 may be absent in TB 630. In this case, in some example embodiments, if the first device 510 determines, based on the protection information, that security protection is not applied to each protocol data unit in one or more protocol data units, the first device 510 may be included in the TB, and the count value or sequence number not in one or more protocol data units (i.e., the count value is considered the information) is set to equal a first predefined value, which indicates that security protection is not applied to each protocol data unit in one or more protocol data units. Alternatively, if the first device 510 determines that security protection is not applied to protocol data units in one or more protocol data units, the first device 510 may set the information included in the protocol data unit to a count value or a sequence number of the protocol data unit. In this case, the count value or sequence number of the protocol data unit may be set to a first predefined value. For example, if the count value or sequence number is set to "0", it can be explicitly indicated that security protection is not applied to the protocol data unit. Furthermore, if the count value is not sent in the TB, but only the sequence number is sent, it is necessary to skip count value > 0 and sequence number = 0 to ensure that sequence number = 0 always indicates count = 0, so the first device 510 knows that no security protection is applied. Alternatively, if the count value or sequence number is set to a value greater than 0, it can be explicitly indicated that some form of security protection is applied to the protocol data unit.

[0075] First device 510 and second device 520 can perform AS security activation by exchanging (5020) signaling. In an example embodiment, if first device 510 is a UE and second device 520 is a gNB, second device 520 can generate a first MAC CE including a security mode command and send the first MAC CE including the security mode command to first device 510. After receiving the first MAC CE including the security mode command, first device 510 can then generate a second MAC CE including an acknowledgment of the security mode command to second device 520. First device 510 can apply integrity protection to the second MAC CE and set a count value to a second predefined value. First device 510 can send the second MAC CE to second device 520. In this case, second device 520 can determine whether integrity protection is applied to the second MAC CE. If integrity protection is applied, second device 520 can perform AS security activation after receiving the second MAC CE including an acknowledgment of the security mode command. Second device 520 can determine that integrity protection is applied to the transport block and the count value is set to the second predefined value.

[0076] Alternatively, if the first device 510 is a gNB and the second device 520 is a UE, the first device 510 can generate a first MAC CE including a security mode command. The first device 510 can apply integrity protection to the first MAC CE and set a count value to a second predefined value. The first device 510 can send the first MAC CE to the second device 520. After receiving the first MAC CE, the second device 520 can determine whether integrity protection has been applied to the first MAC CE. In this case, if integrity protection has been applied to the first MAC CE, the second device 520 can generate and send a second MAC CE including an acknowledgment of the security mode command to the first device 510. The first device 510 can perform AS security activation after receiving the second MAC CE. Alternatively, the security mode command and corresponding acknowledgment can be exchanged via RRC signaling.

[0077] After receiving or sending a security mode command, the first device 510 can apply integrity protection to the TB. In this case, the first device 510 can set the count value to a second predefined value, such as "1". In other words, the TB with count = 1 can be protected for integrity but is not encrypted.

[0078] Alternatively, after transmitting the first MAC CE or the second MAC CE, the first device 510 may apply integrity protection and encryption to one of the following: TB, at least one first protocol data unit at the first protocol layer requiring protection, or at least one second protocol data unit at the second protocol layer. In this case, the first device 510 may set the count value to be greater than a second predefined value.

[0079] In some example embodiments, the MAC can only perform encryption and decryption, but not integrity protection. In other words, the first device 510 can only apply encryption to the TB without applying integrity protection. This can be advantageous if it turns out that the suitable hardware on which the MAC can be deployed is unable to perform both encryption and IP protection under the real-time processing requirements of the MAC.

[0080] On both directions (uplink and downlink), separate counts maintained by the first device 510 can be used. This requires that, in addition to the count, the directional bits for the two directions must also be included in the initialization vector of the encryption algorithm. In some example embodiments, a count value > 0 can be used by the first device 510 in an incrementing manner. TBs are not necessarily reordered in the received MAC. When protecting TBs, the count value can be used as the initialization vector of the cryptographic algorithm. In this way, stream ciphers that allow efficient encryption (such as AES in counter mode) can be applied, and the uniqueness of each cipher stream can be ensured (an important cryptographic requirement). The count value can also be used to detect packet replay. In some example embodiments, due to potential out-of-order behavior, the second device 520 can maintain a specific window of acceptable count values.

[0081] First device 510 sends (5025) TB to second device 520. In other words, second device 520 receives (5025) TB from first device 510. In some example embodiments, when sending (5025) TB to second device 520, the physical layer of first device 510 may add other information. For example, a CRC may be added. In one example embodiment, if the indication indicates that security protection is not applied to the protocol data unit, then first device 510 may send TB without security protection regardless of access layer security activation.

[0082] In one example embodiment, services that do not require security protection can be transmitted in a second type of TB. For example, before or after AS security activation, the first device 510 can transmit another TB without security protection. As another example, services that do not require security protection can be transmitted in a first type of TB. For example, a first type of TB that needs to be transmitted can also accommodate, for example, a MAC CE that does not require protection, and therefore the MAC CE is also included therein. Even user plane services (e.g., IP packets containing only TCP acknowledgment messages) can be included in a first type of TB.

[0083] The second device 520 determines (5026) whether the protocol data units included in the TB require security protection based on the protection information. The second device 520 also determines (5028) whether security protection is applied to the protocol data units included in the TB.

[0084] The second device 520 processes (5030) TB based on this determination. For example, if a protocol data unit that requires security protection according to the protection information is received without security protection, the second device 520 may discard the protocol data unit. Alternatively, if a protocol data unit that requires security protection according to the protection information is received with security protection, the second device 520 may further process (e.g., decode or decrypt) the protocol data unit.

[0085] For example, if AS security is not activated and the indication specifies that security protection is applied to the protocol data unit, the second device 520 may discard the TB. Alternatively, the second device 520 may store the TB and process it after security is activated.

[0086] According to the reference Figure 5AThe described example embodiment can have two types of TBs: Msec-TBs (i.e., the first type of TB), which contain information requiring protection at lower layers; and ordinary TBs (i.e., the second type of TB), which contain information not requiring protection at lower layers. Specifically, for Msec-TBs, cryptographic protection is applied to the lower layers that make up the TB (the MAC layer in modern networks). Msec-TBs can be used for certain higher-layer and certain lower-layer control messages that require protection. The sender can assign a unique integer value, a "count," to each TB, which can be used as the sole input to the encryption algorithm or for replay protection. Furthermore, no protection is applied to the lower layers of ordinary TBs. They are used for services that do not require protection, such as certain lower-layer control messages or user plane services, which can be protected at a higher protocol layer. Additionally, each TB has a header that indicates whether it is an Msec-TB or an ordinary TB. The header of an Msec-TB may also include a field containing the count value assigned to that TB and a field storing the MAC-I for cryptographic calculations. When the connection between the UE and the network is being established, security is not yet activated, so only ordinary TBs are exchanged. Subsequently, security is activated through a process involving a first downlink Msec-TB with a count of 1 (and specific content) sent by the network, followed by a first uplink Msec-TB with a count of 1 (and specific content) sent by the UE as an acknowledgment. A policy is specified in the lower-layer control message, defining which message types can always be used without protection. Such messages can be sent in the form of a normal TB at any time before, during, and after security activation. Unprotected control messages and data that require protection according to the specified policy but are received in a normal TB will be discarded. This disclosure allows for secure UE configuration modifications via MAC. This enables rapid configuration management and changes in the gNB-DU.

[0087] According to the example embodiments of this disclosure, attacks exploiting the lack of protection of MAC CEs can be prevented. Furthermore, it paves the way for more and more sensitive processes to be implemented at the MAC layer, as envisioned for 6G. Additionally, security can be provided for RLC and PDCP control messages and headers, as well as for RRC messages, thereby protecting the entire CP protocol stack. Moreover, in the CU-DU split of a base station, CP security can be terminated by the MAC layer in the DU, so the DU can decrypt and understand received RRC information without the CU's involvement, and can encrypt and send RRC information without the CU's involvement. Simultaneously, this does not expose the UP to attacks against the DU (which could be at risk due to a lack of physical protection), as it allows UP security to terminate in the CU, or in another entity in a future 6G RAN or core network. MAC CEs that do not require protection according to the specified protection policy can be sent unprotected at any time, even during and after security activation.

[0088] refer to Figure 5B The illustration depicts a signaling flow 501 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, reference may be made to... Figure 2 The signaling flow 501 is discussed, for example, by using the first device 110 and the second device 120.

[0089] The first device 110 and the second device can send (5105) a second type of TB to each other.

[0090] In some example embodiments, AS security can be built upon previously established NAS security. For instance, when no AS security context exists and the first device 110 is connected to cell 102, unprotected MAC and RRC messages can be exchanged until the second device 120 obtains the (5110') key K from the core network. gNB As the root key for AS security. AS security can then be activated by the current RRC SMC process. During this process, in both the first device 110 and the second device 120, the RRC can configure PDCP to apply security. This method is applicable to... Figure 5B The embodiment described herein uses RRC to configure MAC instead of PDCP to apply security. The two RRC commands in this process (Security Mode Command (SMCommand) sent by the second device 120 and Security Mode Completion (SMComplete) sent by the first device 110 as confirmation) can be sent in both directions within a TB of count = 1 and can be protected by integrity but not encrypted.

[0091] Alternatively, if the SMC process is performed via the exchange of MAC CEs, i.e., the new MAC CE includes the same or similar information as the RRCSMCommand, and a MAC CE acting as an acknowledgment, then the first type of TB with count = 1 can be used to send these new MAC CEs.

[0092] For example, the second device 120 can send (5115) a TB with a count of 1 to the first device 110, which includes an SMCommand MAC CE. This TB may be integrity protected but not encrypted. The first device can send (5120) another TB with a count of 1 to the second device 120, which includes an SMComplete MAC CE. This other TB may be integrity protected but not encrypted. A second type of TB can also be sent during AS security activation.

[0093] After AS security activation, the second device 120 can send (5125) a TB with a count > 1 to the first device 110. This TB can be protected and encrypted. The first device 110 can send (5130) another TB with a count > 1 to the second device 120. This other TB can be protected and encrypted. A second type of TB can also be sent after AS security activation.

[0094] Figure 7 A flowchart of an example method 700 implemented at a first device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. For discussion purposes, the first device may be... Figure 2 The first device 110 or Figure 2 The second device 120 in the middle.

[0095] At frame 710, the first device acquires protection information that indicates which control information and data require security protection at the first protocol layer.

[0096] At frame 720, the first device determines, based on the acquired protection information, whether to apply security protection at the first protocol layer to at least one first protocol data unit at the first protocol layer or at least one second protocol data unit at the second protocol layer.

[0097] At box 730, if it is determined that security protection at the first protocol layer is to be applied to at least one first protocol data unit at the first protocol layer or at least one second protocol data unit at the second protocol layer, then the first device applies security protection.

[0098] At block 740, the first device generates a transport block based on protection information. The transport block includes at least one of the following: at least one first protocol data unit at a first protocol layer requiring protection and at least one second protocol data unit at a second protocol layer requiring protection. The first protocol layer is lower than the second protocol layer. The transport block also includes information indicating whether security protection is applied to one or more protocol data units at the first protocol layer.

[0099] At frame 750, the first device sends a transmission block to the second device.

[0100] In some example embodiments, information indicating whether security protection is applied to one or more protocol data units is included in each of the one or more protocol data units, or information indicating whether security protection is applied to one or more protocol data units is included in a transport block and is not within one or more protocol data units.

[0101] In some example embodiments, if the information indicates that security protection is applied to one or more protocol data units, at least one of the count value or sequence number of the transport block is included in the transport block and outside the one or more protocol data units, or if the information indicates that security protection is applied to one or more protocol data units, at least one of the count value or sequence number of the protocol data unit is included in each of the one or more protocol data units, and wherein the sequence number is part of the count value.

[0102] In some example embodiments, method 700 further includes: based on determining that security protection is not applied to each of the one or more protocol data units, setting information to be included in the transport block and outside the one or more protocol data units to at least one of the following: a count value of the transport block or a sequence number of the transport block, and wherein the count value or sequence number is equal to a first predefined value indicating that security protection is not applied to each of the one or more protocol data units.

[0103] In some exemplary embodiments, method 700 further includes: based on determining that security protection has not been applied to protocol data units in one or more protocol data units according to protection information, setting the information included in the protocol data unit to at least one of the following: a count value of the protocol data unit or a sequence number of the protocol data unit, and wherein the count value or sequence number is equal to a first predefined value indicating that security protection has not been applied to protocol data units in one or more protocol data units.

[0104] In some example embodiments, method 700 further includes: generating a first media access control element including a security mode command; applying integrity protection to the first media access control element; setting a count value to a second predefined value; sending the first media access control element to a second device; and performing access layer security activation after receiving a second media access control element including confirmation of the security mode command from the second device.

[0105] In some example embodiments, method 700 further includes: after receiving a first media access control element including a security mode command from a second device, generating a second media access control element including an acknowledgment of the security mode command; applying integrity protection to the second media access control element; setting a count value to a second predefined value; and sending the second media access control element to the second device.

[0106] In some example embodiments, method 700 further includes: after transmitting a first media access control element including a security mode command or after transmitting a second media access control element including confirmation of the security mode command, applying integrity protection and encryption to one of the following: a transport block, or at least one first protocol data unit at a first protocol layer requiring protection, or at least one second protocol data unit at a second protocol layer requiring protection; and setting a count value greater than a second predefined value.

[0107] In some example embodiments, method 700 further includes: after access layer security is activated, sending another transport block without security protection to the second device.

[0108] In some example embodiments, the first device is a terminal device and the second device is a network device, or the first device is a network device and the second device is a terminal device, and the first protocol layer is a media access control layer and the second protocol layer is a radio resource control layer or a radio link control layer.

[0109] Figure 8 A flowchart of an example method 800 implemented at a second device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. For discussion purposes, the second device may be... Figure 2 The first device 110 or Figure 2 The second device 120 in the middle.

[0110] At frame 810, the second device acquires protection information that indicates which control information and data require security protection at the first protocol layer.

[0111] At block 820, the second device receives a transport block from the first device comprising one or more protocol data units. The transport block includes information indicating whether security protection is applied to one or more protocol data units at the first protocol layer.

[0112] At box 830, the second device determines, based on protection information, whether a protocol data unit in one or more protocol data units requires security protection.

[0113] At box 840, the second device determines whether the security protection is applied to one or more protocol data units based on the information indicating that the security protection is applied to one or more protocol data units.

[0114] At frame 850, the second device processes the protocol data unit based on this determination.

[0115] In some example embodiments, method 800 further includes: discarding the protocol data unit based on the determination that a protocol data unit requiring security protection according to the protection information is received without security protection.

[0116] In some example embodiments, method 800 further includes: based on the determination that a protocol data unit requiring security protection according to protection information is received with security protection, decoding or decrypting the protocol data unit.

[0117] In some example embodiments, method 800 further includes: after receiving a first media access control element including a security mode command from a first device, determining whether integrity protection is applied to the first media access control element; and if integrity protection is applied to the first media access control element, sending a second media access control element including an acknowledgment of the security mode command to the first device.

[0118] In some example embodiments, method 800 further includes: generating a first media access control element including a security mode command; sending the first media access control element to a first device; receiving a second media access control element from the first device including an acknowledgment of the security mode command; determining whether integrity protection is applied to the second media access control element; and if integrity protection is applied to the second media access control element, performing access layer security activation.

[0119] In some example embodiments, a first device capable of performing any of method 700 (e.g., Figure 2 The first device 110 or the second device 120 may include a component for performing the corresponding operation of method 700. This component can be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component can be implemented in a circuit system or a software module. The first device can be implemented as... Figure 2 The first device 110 or the second device 120 is included therein.

[0120] In some example embodiments, the first device includes: components for acquiring protection information indicating which control information and data require security protection at a first protocol layer; components for determining, based on the acquired protection information, whether to apply security protection at the first protocol layer to at least one first protocol data unit at the first protocol layer or at least one second protocol data unit at the second protocol layer; components for applying security protection if it is determined that security protection at the first protocol layer is applied to at least one first protocol data unit at the first protocol layer or at least one second protocol data unit at the second protocol layer; components for generating a transport block based on the protection information, the transport block including at least one of the following: at least one first protocol data unit at the first protocol layer requiring protection and at least one second protocol data unit at the second protocol layer requiring protection, wherein the first protocol layer is lower than the second protocol layer, wherein the transport block further includes information indicating whether security protection is applied to one or more protocol data units at the first protocol layer; and components for transmitting the transport block to a second device.

[0121] In some example embodiments, information indicating whether security protection is applied to one or more protocol data units is included in each of the one or more protocol data units, or information indicating whether security protection is applied to one or more protocol data units is included in a transport block and is not within one or more protocol data units.

[0122] In some example embodiments, if the information indicates that security protection is applied to one or more protocol data units, at least one of the count value or sequence number of the transport block is included in the transport block and outside the one or more protocol data units, or if the information indicates that security protection is applied to one or more protocol data units, at least one of the count value or sequence number of the protocol data unit is included in each of the one or more protocol data units, and wherein the sequence number is part of the count value.

[0123] In some example embodiments, the first device further includes: based on determining that security protection is not applied to each of the one or more protocol data units, setting information to be included in the transport block and outside the one or more protocol data units to at least one of the following: a count value of the transport block or a sequence number of the transport block, and wherein the count value or sequence number is equal to a first predefined value indicating that security protection is not applied to each of the one or more protocol data units.

[0124] In some example embodiments, the first device further includes: based on determining that security protection has not been applied to protocol data units in one or more protocol data units according to protection information, setting the information included in the protocol data unit to at least one of the following: a count value of the protocol data unit or a serial number of the protocol data unit, and wherein the count value or serial number is equal to a first predefined value indicating that security protection has not been applied to protocol data units in one or more protocol data units.

[0125] In some example embodiments, the first device further includes: components for generating a first media access control element including a security mode command; components for applying integrity protection to the first media access control element; components for setting a count value to a second predefined value; components for sending the first media access control element to the second device; and components for performing access layer security activation after receiving a second media access control element including confirmation of the security mode command from the second device.

[0126] In some example embodiments, the first device further includes: components for generating a second media access control element including an acknowledgment of the security mode command after receiving a first media access control element including a security mode command from the second device; components for applying integrity protection to the second media access control element; components for setting a count value to a second predefined value; and components for sending the second media access control element to the second device.

[0127] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further includes: a component for applying integrity protection and encryption to one of the following after transmitting a first media access control element including a security mode command or after transmitting a second media access control element including confirmation of the security mode command: a transport block, or at least one first protocol data unit at a first protocol layer requiring protection, or at least one second protocol data unit at a second protocol layer requiring protection; and setting a count value greater than a second predefined value.

[0128] In some example embodiments, the first device further includes a component for sending another transport block without security protection to the second device after access layer security activation.

[0129] In some example embodiments, the first device is a terminal device and the second device is a network device, or the first device is a network device and the second device is a terminal device, and the first protocol layer is a media access control layer and the second protocol layer is a radio resource control layer.

[0130] In some example embodiments, a second means capable of performing any of method 800 (e.g., Figure 2 The first device 110 or the second device 120 may include a component for performing the corresponding operation of method 800. This component can be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component can be implemented in a circuit system or a software module. The second device can be implemented as... Figure 2 The first device 110 or the second device 120 is included therein.

[0131] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus includes components for acquiring protection information indicating which control information and data require security protection at a first protocol layer; components for receiving from the first apparatus a transport block comprising one or more protocol data units, wherein the transport block includes information indicating whether security protection is applied to one or more protocol data units at the first protocol layer; components for determining, based on the protection information, whether protocol data units in the one or more protocol data units require security protection; components for determining, based on the information indicating that security protection is applied to one or more protocol data units; and components for processing the protocol data units based on the determination.

[0132] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further includes a component for discarding the protocol data unit based on the determination that a protocol data unit requiring security protection according to protection information is received without security protection.

[0133] In some example embodiments, the second device further includes: a component for determining whether integrity protection is applied to the first media access control element after receiving a first media access control element including a security mode command from the first device; and a component for sending a second media access control element including an acknowledgment of the security mode command to the first device if integrity protection is applied to the first media access control element.

[0134] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further includes: components for generating a first media access control element including a security mode command; components for sending the first media access control element to the first apparatus; components for receiving a second media access control element including an acknowledgment of the security mode command from the first apparatus; components for determining whether integrity protection is applied to the second media access control element; and components for performing access layer security activation if integrity protection is applied to the second media access control element.

[0135] In some example embodiments, the second means further includes components for performing additional operations in some example implementations of method 800, first means 110, or second means 120. In some example embodiments, the components include at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause execution of the second means.

[0136] Figure 9 This is a simplified block diagram of a device 900 suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure. The device 900 can be provided to implement a communication device, for example, such as... Figure 2 The first device 110 or the second device 120 shown. As shown, the device 900 includes one or more processors 910, one or more memories 920 coupled to the processors 910, and one or more communication modules 940 coupled to the processors 910.

[0137] Communication module 940 is used for bidirectional communication. Communication module 940 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communication with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interface can represent any interface required for communication with other network elements. In some example embodiments, communication module 940 may include at least one antenna.

[0138] Processor 910 can be of any type suitable for a local technology network, and by way of non-limiting example, can include one or more of the following: general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, microprocessor, digital signal processor (DSP), and processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. Device 900 can have multiple processors, such as application-specific integrated circuit chips that are time-dependent on a clock synchronized with the main processor.

[0139] Memory 920 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 924, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disk, compact disc (CD), digital video disc (DVD), optical disc, laser disc, and other magnetic and / or optical storage devices. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 922 and other volatile memories that do not persist during power outages.

[0140] Computer program 930 includes computer-executable instructions that are executed by an associated processor 910. The instructions of program 930 may include instructions for performing operations / actions of some example embodiments of this disclosure. Program 930 may be stored in memory (e.g., ROM 924). Processor 910 can perform any suitable actions and processes by loading program 930 into RAM 922.

[0141] The exemplary embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented by program 930, such that device 900 can execute the reference Figures 2 to 8 Any process discussed in this disclosure. Exemplary embodiments of this disclosure may also be implemented in hardware or a combination of software and hardware.

[0142] In some example embodiments, program 930 may be tangibly contained in a computer-readable medium, which may be included in device 900 (such as memory 920) or other storage device accessible to device 900. Device 900 may load program 930 from the computer-readable medium into RAM 922 for execution. In some example embodiments, the computer-readable medium may include any type of non-transitory storage medium, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. The term "non-transitory" as used herein refers to a limitation on the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not tactile), rather than a limitation on the persistence of data storage (e.g., RAM and ROM).

[0143] Figure 10 An example of a computer-readable medium 1000, which may be in the form of a CD, DVD, or other optical storage disc, is shown. A program 930 is stored on the computer-readable medium 1000.

[0144] Generally, the various embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented using hardware or dedicated circuitry, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects can be implemented using hardware, while others can be implemented using firmware or software that can be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of this disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other graphical representation, it should be understood that, as non-limiting examples, the blocks, apparatuses, systems, techniques, or methods described herein can be implemented using hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuitry or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0145] Some exemplary embodiments of this disclosure also provide at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium, such as a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as instructions included in a program module, that execute in a device on a target physical or virtual processor to perform any of the methods described above. Typically, a program module includes routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc., that perform a particular task or implement a particular abstract data type. In various embodiments, the functionality of a program module can be combined or split among program modules as needed. The machine-executable instructions of a program module can execute within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, a program module can reside on both local and remote storage media.

[0146] Program code used to perform the methods of this disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. This program code may be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that when executed by the processor or controller, the program code causes the functions / operations specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may be executed entirely on a machine, partially on a machine, as a stand-alone software package, partially on a machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0147] In the context of this disclosure, computer program code or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus, or processor to perform the various processes and operations described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer-readable media, etc.

[0148] Computer-readable media can be computer-readable signal media or computer-readable storage media. Computer-readable media can include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, apparatuses, or devices, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of computer-readable storage media will include electrical connections having one or more wires, portable computer floppy disks, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical fibers, portable optical disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0149] Furthermore, although operations are described in a specific order, this should not be construed as requiring the operations to be performed in the specific order shown or sequentially, or to perform all of the shown operations to obtain the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, while several specific implementation details are included in the foregoing discussion, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of this disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, certain features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, unless explicitly stated otherwise, various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented individually or in any suitable sub-combination in multiple embodiments.

[0150] Although this disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological actions, it should be understood that the disclosure as defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or actions described above. Rather, the specific features or actions described above are disclosed as exemplary forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A first device, comprising: At least one processor; as well as At least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first device to: Obtain protection information, which indicates which control information and data require security protection at the first protocol layer; Based on the acquired protection information, determine whether to apply the security protection at the first protocol layer to at least one first protocol data unit at the first protocol layer or at least one second protocol data unit at the second protocol layer; If it is determined that the security protection at the first protocol layer is to be applied to at least one first protocol data unit at the first protocol layer or at least one second protocol data unit at the second protocol layer, then the security protection is applied. A transport block is generated based on the protection information, the transport block including at least one of the following: at least one first protocol data unit at the first protocol layer that needs protection and at least one second protocol data unit at the second protocol layer that needs protection, wherein the first protocol layer is lower than the second protocol layer, and wherein the transport block further includes: information indicating whether the security protection is applied to one or more protocol data units at the first protocol layer; as well as The transmission block is sent to the second device.

2. The first apparatus of claim 1, wherein the information indicating whether the security protection is applied to the one or more protocol data units is included in each of the one or more protocol data units, or The information indicating whether the security protection is applied to the one or more protocol data units is included in the transport block, but not within the one or more protocol data units.

3. The first apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein if the information indicates that the security protection is applied to the one or more protocol data units, at least one of the count value or sequence number of the transport block is included in the transport block and outside the one or more protocol data units, or If the information indicates that the security protection is applied to the one or more protocol data units, then at least one of the count value or sequence number of the protocol data unit is included in each of the one or more protocol data units, and The serial number is a part of the count value.

4. The first device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first device is configured to: Based on the determination that the security protection is not applied to each of the one or more protocol data units, the information included in the transport block but not in the one or more protocol data units is set to at least one of the following: a count value of the transport block or a sequence number of the transport block, wherein the count value or the sequence number is equal to a first predefined value indicating that the security protection is not applied to each of the one or more protocol data units.

5. The first device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first device is configured to: Based on the determination that the security protection was not applied to the protocol data units in the one or more protocol data units according to the protection information, The information included in the protocol data unit is set to at least one of the following: a count value of the protocol data unit or a serial number of the protocol data unit, wherein the count value or the serial number is equal to a first predefined value indicating that the security protection is not applied to the protocol data unit in the one or more protocol data units.

6. The first apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first apparatus is a network device and the second apparatus is a terminal device, the first apparatus being configured to: Generate a first media access control element that includes security mode commands; Integrity protection is applied to the first media access control element; Set the count value to a second predefined value; Send the first media access control element to the second device; as well as After receiving a second media access control element from the second device, which includes confirmation of the security mode command, access layer security activation is performed.

7. The first apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first apparatus is a terminal device and the second apparatus is a network device, the first apparatus being configured to: After receiving a first media access control element including a security mode command from the second device, a second media access control element including confirmation of the security mode command is generated. Integrity protection is applied to the second media access control element; Set the count value to a second predefined value; as well as Send the second media access control element to the second device.

8. The first device according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the first device is configured to: After transmitting the first Media Access Control (MAC) element including the security mode command, or after transmitting the second MAC element including the acknowledgment of the security mode command, integrity protection and encryption are applied to one of the following: the transport block, or the at least one first protocol data unit at the first protocol layer requiring protection, or the at least one second protocol data unit at the second protocol layer requiring protection; and Set the count value to be greater than the second predefined value.

9. The first device according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the first device is configured to: After the access layer security is activated, another transport block without security protection is sent to the second device.

10. The first device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first device is a terminal device and the second device is a network device, or wherein the first device is a network device and the second device is a terminal device, and The first protocol layer is the Media Access Control layer, and the second protocol layer is the Radio Resource Control layer.

11. A second device, comprising: At least one processor; as well as At least one memory, the at least one memory storing instructions, the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, causing the second device to: Obtain protection information, which indicates which control information and data require security protection at the first protocol layer; Receive a transport block comprising one or more protocol data units from a first device, wherein the transport block includes information indicating whether the security protection is applied to the one or more protocol data units at the first protocol layer; Based on the protection information, determine whether the protocol data unit in the one or more protocol data units requires the security protection; Based on the information indicating that the security protection is applied to one or more protocol data units, determine whether the security protection is applied to the protocol data unit in the one or more protocol data units; as well as The protocol data unit is processed based on the determination.

12. The second device according to claim 11, wherein the second device is configured to: If a protocol data unit that is determined to require the security protection based on the protection information is received without the security protection, the protocol data unit is discarded.

13. The second device according to claim 11, wherein the second device is configured to: Based on the determination that the protocol data unit requires the security protection according to the protection information, the protocol data unit is received using the security protection and then decoded.

14. The second apparatus according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the first apparatus is a network device and the second apparatus is a terminal device, the second apparatus being configured to: After receiving a first media access control element including the security mode command from the first device, it is determined whether integrity protection is applied to the first media access control element; and If the integrity protection is applied to the first media access control element, a second media access control element including confirmation of the security mode command is sent to the first device.

15. The second apparatus according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the first apparatus is a terminal device and the second apparatus is a network device, the second apparatus being configured to: After transmitting a first media access control element including a security mode command, a second media access control element including confirmation of the security mode command is received from the first device. Determine whether integrity protection is applied to the second media access control element; and if the integrity protection is applied to the second media access control element, perform access layer security activation after receiving the second media access control element including confirmation of the security mode command.

16. A method comprising: The protection information is acquired at the first device, indicating which control information and data require security protection at the first protocol layer. Based on the acquired protection information, determine whether to apply the security protection at the first protocol layer to at least one first protocol data unit at the first protocol layer or at least one second protocol data unit at the second protocol layer; If it is determined that the security protection at the first protocol layer is to be applied to at least one first protocol data unit at the first protocol layer or at least one second protocol data unit at the second protocol layer, then the security protection is applied. A transport block is generated based on the protection information, the transport block comprising at least one of the following: at least one first protocol data unit at the first protocol layer requiring protection and at least one second protocol data unit at the second protocol layer requiring protection, wherein the first protocol layer is lower than the second protocol layer, and wherein the transport block further comprises information indicating whether the security protection is applied to one or more protocol data units at the first protocol layer; and The transmission block is sent to the second device.

17. A method comprising: The protection information is obtained at the second device, which indicates which control information and data require security protection at the first protocol layer. Receive a transport block comprising one or more protocol data units from a first device, wherein the transport block includes information indicating whether the security protection is applied to the one or more protocol data units at the first protocol layer; Based on the protection information, determine whether the protocol data unit in the one or more protocol data units requires the security protection; Based on the information indicating that the security protection is applied to one or more protocol data units, determine whether the security protection is applied to the protocol data unit in the one or more protocol data units; as well as The protocol data unit is processed based on the determination.

18. A first device, comprising: A component for acquiring protection information, which indicates which control information and data require security protection at the first protocol layer; A component for determining, based on the acquired protection information, whether to apply the security protection at the first protocol layer to at least one first protocol data unit at the first protocol layer or at least one second protocol data unit at the second protocol layer; A component for applying the security protection if it is determined that the security protection at the first protocol layer is to be applied to at least one first protocol data unit at the first protocol layer or at least one second protocol data unit at the second protocol layer; A component for generating a transport block based on the protection information, the transport block comprising at least one of the following: at least one first protocol data unit at a first protocol layer requiring protection and at least one second protocol data unit at a second protocol layer requiring protection, wherein the first protocol layer is lower than the second protocol layer, wherein the transport block further comprises: information indicating whether the security protection is applied to one or more protocol data units at the first protocol layer; as well as A component used to send the transmission block to a second device.

19. A second device, comprising: A component for acquiring protection information, which indicates which control information and data require security protection at the first protocol layer; Components for receiving from a first device a transport block comprising one or more protocol data units, wherein the transport block includes information indicating whether the security protection is applied to the one or more protocol data units at the first protocol layer; A component used to determine, based on the protection information, whether a protocol data unit in one or more protocol data units requires the security protection; A component for determining whether the security protection is applied to one or more protocol data units based on the information indicating that the security protection is applied to; as well as A component for processing the protocol data unit based on the determination.

20. A computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon for causing a device to perform at least the method according to claim 16 or 17.

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