Network management system in a communication network

Abstract

An NMS (110; 500; 702), a communication network (100;700), methods (200, 300) performed by the NMS and the communication network (100; 700), a computer program (820) and a computer program product (810) corresponding to each of the NMS and the communication network are provided The method performed by the NMS comprises obtaining a first indication of whether a memory dump data comprises personal data, wherein the first indication indicates a presence or an absence of personal data in the memory dump data. If the first indication indicates that personal data is present in the memory dump data, comparing personal data in the memory dump data to security classification information and modifying a part of the memory dump data, wherein the modifying is based on the comparison between the personal data and security classification information.

Description

[0001] NETWORK MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IN A COMMUNICATION NETWORK

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The disclosure herein relates to methods for modifying a part of a memory dump data comprising personal data, a communication network, a network management system, a corresponding computer program and computer program product each for the communication network and the network management system.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] In computing, a memory dump (which may be a core dump or a system dump) consists of a recorded state of a working memory of a computer program at a specific time. The memory dump may refer to the recorded state when the computer program has crashed or otherwise terminated abnormally. However, the memory dump may also refer to the recorded state of a computer at any other specified time. The memory dump may be used to assist in diagnosing and debugging errors in the computer program.

[0006] Personal data refers to information relating to an identifiable natural person or an identifiable entity. The identifiable natural person or the identifiable entity is one that can be identified, directly or indirectly, for example by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity. It is desirable to protect personal data, to avoid privacy breaches.

[0007] A troubleshooting context is a set of data and models (e.g. Yang structure, Netconf, Javascript Object Notation (JSON), Extensible Markup Language (XML), Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) management information base (MIB)) which are related to a specific application and related to a troubleshooting use case. Example of a troubleshooting context may be a set of data used by an operation, a specific data value and models. The troubleshooting context may refer to a situation when a computer program crashes upon execution of the operation, wherein the operation is executed by providing some input values to the computer program. Models used by an application or a computer program may be retrieved from a management service, e.g. an Operations support system (OSS), application documentation, a management service. US 8645763 B2 discloses a system and method for generating a triage dump of useful memory data from a computer that encounters an error while executing one or more software programs.

[0008] SUMMARY

[0009] An object of the invention herein is to enhance privacy in a communication network. The claims define the scope of the invention.

[0010] According to a first aspect, a method performed by a network management system (NMS) in a communication network is provided. The method comprises obtaining a first indication of whether a memory dump data comprises personal data. The first indication indicates a presence or an absence of personal data in the memory dump data. If the first indication indicates that personal data is present in the memory dump data, the method comprises comparing personal data in the memory dump data to security classification information, and modifying a part of the memory dump data. The modifying is based on the comparison between the personal data and security classification information.

[0011] According to a second aspect, a method performed by a communication network is provided. The communication network comprises an NMS and one or more of a first network node and a second network node. The method comprises obtaining, by the NMS, a first indication of whether a memory dump data comprises personal data. The first indication indicates a presence or an absence of personal data in the memory dump data. If the first indication indicates that personal data is present in the memory dump data, the method comprises comparing, by the NMS, personal data in the memory dump data to security classification information, and modifying, by the NMS, a part of the memory dump data. The modifying is based on the comparison between the personal data and security classification information.

[0012] According to a third aspect, an NMS in a communication network is provided. The NMS is adapted to obtain a first indication of whether a memory dump data comprises personal data. The first indication indicates a presence or an absence of personal data in the memory dump data. If the first indication indicates that personal data is present in the memory dump data, the NMS is adapted to compare personal data in the memory dump data to security classification information and to modify a part of the memory dump data. The modifying is based on the comparison between the personal data and security classification information.

[0013] According to a fourth aspect, a communication network is provided. The communication network comprises the NMS. The communication network comprises one or more of a first network node and a second network node. The communication network is adapted to obtain, by the NMS, a first indication of whether a memory dump data comprises personal data. The first indication indicates a presence or an absence of personal data in the memory dump data. If the first indication indicates that personal data is present in the memory dump data, the communication network is adapted to compare, by the NMS, personal data in the memory dump data to security classification information, and to modify, by the NMS, a part of the memory dump data. The modifying is based on the comparison between the personal data and security classification information.

[0014] According to a fifth aspect, an NMS in a communication network is provided. The NMS comprises at least one processing circuitry. The NMS comprises at least one memory. The at least one memory is connected to the at least one processing circuitry. The at least one memory storing program code that is executed by the at least one processing circuitry to perform the method according to the first aspect.

[0015] According to a sixth aspect, a communication network is provided. The communication network comprises at least one processing circuitry. The communication network comprises at least one memory. The at least one memory is connected to the at least one processing circuitry. The at least one memory storing program code that is executed by the at least one processing circuitry to perform the method according to the second aspect.

[0016] According to a seventh aspect, a computer program is provided. The computer program comprises instructions which, when executed by at least one processing circuitry of an NMS causes the NMS to carry out the method according to the first aspect and / or, when executed by at least one processing circuitry of a communication network, causes the communication network to carry out the method according to the second aspect.

[0017] According to an eighth aspect, a computer program product stored on a non- transitory computer readable medium is provided. The computer program product comprises instructions that, when executed by at least one processing circuitry of an NMS, causes the NMS to perform the method according to the first aspect. Alternatively, or in addition, the computer program product comprises instructions that, when executed by at least one processing circuitry of a communication network, causes the communication network to perform the method according to the second aspect.

[0018] Thus, in accordance with some aspects, security for a part of a memory dump data comprising personal data can be improved. Hereby, it is possible to avoid overmodification of a memory dump data. Hereby, it is possible to selectively modify the part of the memory dump comprising personal data.

[0019] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] The above, as well as additional objects, features and advantages of the invention, will be better understood through the following illustrative and non-limiting detailed description of embodiments of the invention, with reference to the appended drawings, in which:

[0021] Fig. 1 illustrates a communication network according to some embodiments.

[0022] Figs. 2 and 3 illustrate methods according to some embodiments.

[0023] Fig. 4 illustrates a signaling diagram according to some embodiments.

[0024] Fig. 5 shows a network node according to some embodiments.

[0025] Fig. 6 shows a UE according to some embodiments.

[0026] Fig. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 700 in which functions implemented according to some embodiments may be virtualized.

[0027] Fig. 8 shows a computer program product according to some embodiments.

[0028] All the figures are schematic, not necessarily to scale, and generally only show parts which are necessary in order to elucidate the invention, wherein other parts may be omitted or merely suggested.

[0029] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] The invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which certain embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

[0031] Generally, all terms used herein are to be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the relevant technical field, unless a different meaning is clearly given and / or is implied from the context in which it is used. All references to a / an / the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc. are to be interpreted openly as referring to at least one instance of the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise. The steps of any methods disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless a step is explicitly described as following or preceding another step and / or where it is implicit that a step must follow or precede another step. Any feature of any of the embodiments disclosed herein may be applied to any other embodiment, wherever appropriate. Likewise, any advantage of any of the embodiments may apply to any other embodiments, and vice versa. Other objectives, features and advantages of the enclosed embodiments will be apparent from the following description.

[0032] Known systems provide mechanisms to identify data values within a triage dump (e.g. memory dump) that are characteristic of personal data and then overwriting the identified data values with overwrite values. The identification may be based on syntax of data values with the triage dump.

[0033] Overwriting in accordance with known systems may reduce the effectiveness of troubleshooting, and may promote excessive overwriting of potentially non-personal data and incorrect overwriting personal data which may be useful for troubleshooting. For example, some data values having characteristics of personal data may not be real personal data in a specific context. Furthermore, data values with similar semantic characteristics may be personal data or may not be personal data based on the specific context of an application. Overwriting of data values when it is not necessary can limit efficiency of troubleshooting without providing any advantage from a privacy or a data protection perspective. Some personal data may be necessary for troubleshooting, considering an example wherein a computer program crashes due to input of a wrong format of personal data. Another example where personal data may be necessary for troubleshooting may be in a case of analyzing a database dump due to a problem of a particular value of a personal data. Additionally, in some cases, revealing personal data could be a minor privacy violation in a specific context (e.g. a host Internet Protocol (IP) address in a context of an internal network is not as sensitive as an external IP address).

[0034] A memory dump data or a memory dump file of a device comprises any data in a memory of the device at a point in time. The memory dump data comprises a snapshot of an application at the point in time when the memory dump data is taken. The memory dump data provides information about which application was executing on the device, which modules were loaded, and if saved with an operation such as heap, the memory dump data comprises a snapshot of what was in the application's memory at the point in time. The memory dump data may not contain user data but the memory dump data may comprise an IP address, a device name, a node name, a cluster name, a user name, a group name and file properties (e.g. ownership data, file permissions, file history). The memory dump data may comprise data present in a buffer of data which is being received at the device or transmitted from the device.

[0035] If personal data or sensitive data is present in the buffer of data that is being transmitted from the device or received at the device, the memory dump data comprises personal data. Exporting the memory dump data without any modification may not comply with a privacy guideline and / or a protection guideline (e.g. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Personal Data Protection Bill (PDPB), Consumer Privacy Protection Act (CPPA), Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL)). However, a device comprising an application may need to be analyzed using a memory dump data for debugging purposes and / or fixing purposes.

[0036] The disclosure herein provides a means to secure personal data in accordance with privacy guideline and / or protection guideline for a user device. The disclosure provides the means without limiting a debugging capability and / or a fixing capability of the user device. The disclosure herein may improve an efficiency related to troubleshooting an issue in the user device. The disclosure herein may enable improvement of privacy in a communication network. The disclosure herein may advantageously enable selection of a set of personal data in the memory dump data for a system context (e.g. a troubleshooting context, a recovery context, a backup preparation context). Aspects of the invention herein ore related to a method performed by a network management system (NMS) in a communication network. The method comprises obtaining a first indication of whether a memory dump data comprises personal data. The first indication indicates a presence or an absence of personal data in the memory dump data. If the first indication indicates that personal data is present in the memory dump data, the method comprises comparing personal data in the memory dump data to security classification information. If the first indication indicates that personal data is present in the memory dump data, the method comprises modifying a part of the memory dump data, wherein the modifying is based on the comparison between the personal data and security classification information.

[0037] Fig. 1 illustrates a communication network 100 according to an embodiment of the invention. The communication network 100 comprises an NMS 110. The communication network 100 optionally comprises a first network node 120, a second network node 125, a memory dump volume 130 and / or an external network node 140. In some examples, examples of the NMS 110 have been provided in relation to the description corresponding to Fig. 5. Examples of the first network node 120 and / or the second network node 125 have been provided in relation to the description corresponding to Fig. 5 or Fig. 6. Examples of the memory dump volume 130 and / or the external network node 140 have been provided in relation to the description corresponding to Fig. 5 or Fig. 6. The NMS 110 may comprise a secure export function (SEF) node 114 and a configuration management service (CMS) node 118. The SEF node 114 may comprise a functionality similar to that of an export service node. The export service node is a utility for unloading data and metadata into a set of operating system files. The CMS node 118 may comprise functionality of providing fault, configuration, accounting, performance, security (FCAPS). FCAPS is an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Telecommunications Management Network model and framework for network management.

[0038] In some examples, the NMS 110 may be adapted to / configured to / operable to interact with an communication network entity (e.g. a memory dump volume 130, a first network node 120, a second network node 125, an external network node 140) comprising a memory dump data. The NMS 110 (or a part of the NMS 110 such as the SEF node 114) may be configured to perform a query for the memory dump data (e.g. by querying for the memory dump data in the memory dump volume, by sending a query to the first network node 120 for the memory dump data). The NMS 110 may be configured to obtain the memory dump data (e.g. by retrieving the memory dump data from the memory dump volume, by receiving the memory dump data from the first network node 120). The NMS 110 may further be configured to perform a query (e.g. by querying the memory dump volume, by sending a query to the first network node 120) for a service associated with the memory dump data (e.g. a managed service related to the memory dump data, an associated service related to managed service). The NMS 110 may be configured to select data values from the memory dump data which may be necessary for troubleshooting a specific issue. The NMS 110 (or part of the NMS such as the CMS node) may be configured to obtain the service associated with the memory dump data (e.g. by retrieving an indication of the service from the memory dump volume, by receiving an indication of the service from the first network node 120). The NMS 110 (or a part of the NMS 110 such as the SEF node) may be configured to access a path where the memory dump data is stored in the memory dump volume and / or the first network node 120. The NMS 110 (or a part of the NMS 110 such as the SEF node) may be configured to expose the memory dump files to an external network node. The memory dump files may be exposed via a network protocol such as Secure Shell (SSH) File Transfer Protocol (SFTP), Secure Copy Protocol (SCP) and File Transfer Protocol Secure (FTPS). The SEF node 114 and / or the CMS node may be implemented as a microservice each in a cloud-native architecture. Memory dump data may be stored in persistent volumes by each of the microservices. A northbound interface (NBI) for exporting memory dump data may be documented as part of a service application program interface (API).

[0039] Fig. 2 illustrates a method 200 according to an embodiment of the invention. The method 200 is performed by an NMS in a communication network, such as the communication network 100 as described in relation to the description corresponding to Fig. 1.

[0040] The method 200 comprises obtaining 205 a first indication of whether a memory dump data comprises personal data. The first indication indicates a presence or an absence of personal data in the memory dump data. Personal data may comprise personally identifiable information (PII) such as a physical identifier (e.g. first name. middle name, last name, geographic address, biometric data), a network identifier (e.g. an IP address assigned to a communication device) and / or an end-user device identifier (e.g. medium access control (MAC) address of the end-user, a subscription identifier, a subscription permanent identifier (SUPI), subscription concealed identifier (SUCI), email address. International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI), International mobile subscriber identity (IMSI)). The first indication may indicate a location of personal data in the memory dump data. In some examples, obtaining 205 the first indication comprises detecting whether the memory dump data comprises personal data. In some examples, obtaining 205 the first indication comprises receiving a first message comprising the first indication from a first network node 120.

[0041] The method 200 comprises comparing 210 personal data in the memory dump data to security classification information if the first indication indicates that personal data is present in the memory dump data. Security classification information refers to a level of privacy of personal data in the memory dump data, i.e., personal data may be compared to the level of privacy of personal data (e.g. the level of privacy is low for an IP address in a local network; the level of privacy for a username is high). In some examples, security classification information comprises information about a level of privacy for personal data in the memory dump data (e.g. low, high, private, public).

[0042] Furthermore, the method comprises modifying 215 a part of the memory dump data if the first indication indicates that personal data is present in the memory dump data. The part of the memory dump to be modified is the part of the memory dump data comprising personal data. The modifying is based on the comparison between the personal data and security classification information (e.g. when the level of privacy for personal data is low, the personal data may not be modified; the level of privacy for a username is high, the personal data may be modified). In some examples, modifying 215 the part of the memory dump data comprises anonymizing the part of the memory dump data. In some examples, modifying 215 the part of the memory dump data comprises pseudo-anonymizing the part of the memory dump data.

[0043] The method 200 may comprise obtaining 220 a system context of the communication network 100 for modifying the part of the memory dump data. In some examples, the obtained system context comprises information related to a failure (e.g. a troubleshooting context, a network failure, an operating system crash) in the communication network. In some examples, the obtained system context comprises a troubleshooting context in the communication network. In some examples, the method 200 may comprise enabling the communication device to define a troubleshooting context for an issue to be resolved. The definition of the troubleshooting context may be based on a selection of a data model from the identified data models related to the issue to be resolved. In some examples, the method 200 comprises validating personal data with respect to the troubleshooting context. The validation comprises verifying whether a part of personal data or all personal data in the memory dump data is relevant for the troubleshooting context. In some examples, the method 200 comprises modifying (e.g. anonymizing, pseudo-anonymizing, overwriting) personal data based on the validation. Data values, having characteristics of personal data, which are not a part of the troubleshooting context may be modified since the modification may not affect efficiency of a troubleshooting. Data values, having characteristics of personal data, in the troubleshooting context may not be modified since the modification may affect efficiency of the troubleshooting. In some examples, the method 200 comprises defining the troubleshooting context. The definition of the troubleshooting context may be performed dynamically, automatically and / or manually. The definition of the troubleshooting context may be based on a factor such as time elapsed since last definition, resource consumption of the communication device and an update to a data model of the identified data models.

[0044] In some examples, obtaining 220 the system context for the communication network comprises detecting the system context. In some examples, obtaining 220 the first indication comprises receiving, from a second network node 125, a first message. The first message comprises the first indication. In the example, obtaining 220 the system context for the communication network comprises receiving, from the second network node, a second message comprising a second indication of the system context. In some examples, comparing 210 personal data in the memory dump data to security classification information is based on the obtained system context.

[0045] In some examples, modifying 215 the part of the memory dump data comprises anonymizing the part of the memory dump data. The part of the memory dump data is anonymized based on the obtained system context. Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, modifying 215 the part of the memory dump data comprises pseudo- anonymizing the part of the memory dump data. The part of the memory dump data is pseudo-anonymized based on the obtained system context.

[0046] The method 200 may comprise obtaining 225 a data model being used by the obtained system context. In some examples, obtaining 225 the data model being used by the obtained system context comprises detecting the data model of the obtained system context. Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, obtaining 225 the data model being used by the obtained system context comprises receiving, from the first network node 120, a third indication of the data model being used by the obtained system context. In some examples, obtaining 225 the data model being used by the obtained system context comprises receiving, from the second network node 125, a third indication of the data model being used by the obtained system context.

[0047] The method 200 may comprise determining 230 whether the part of the memory dump data is required for the obtained system context, wherein the determining 230 is based on the obtained data model.

[0048] The method 200 may comprise obtaining 235 the memory dump data. The memory dump data may be obtained in full or in parts by retrieving from the NMS 110, receiving from the first network node 120, receiving from the second network node 125 and / or receiving from a memory dump volume 130. The method 200 may comprise linking 240 (e.g. associating, relating, matching) a service in the NMS 110 to the obtained memory dump data.

[0049] The method 200 may comprise initiating transmission 245, to an external network node 140, the modified part of the memory dump data. In some examples, the modified part of the memory dump data may be transmitted by the NMS 110. In some examples, the modified part of the memory dump data may be transmitted by any one or more of the first network node 120, the second network node 125 and the memory dump volume 130 on behalf of the NMS 110.

[0050] In some examples, the communication network comprises a cloud-native communication network. When the functionality of the NMS 110 is executed in a cloud native environment, the processing of the operations performed by the NMS 110 may involve invoking of several intermediate microservices between an initial service, for example, a user interface, and a final service, for example, a database. Similarly, the first network node 120, the second network node 125, the external network node 140 and / or the memory dump volume 130 may be executed in the cloud native environment. In some examples, the method 200 may comprise identifying one or more data models in a memory dump data for a service or an application hosted in a communication device (e.g. the NMS 110, the first network node 120, the second network node 125).

[0051] In some examples, the method 200 may comprise identifying personal data in the memory dump data. Alternatively, the method 200 may comprise obtaining an indication of personal data in the memory dump data from a communication device (e.g. the first network node 120, the second network node 125, the external network node 140) or any other device in the communication network 100.

[0052] Fig. 3 illustrates a method 300 according to an embodiment of the invention. The method 300 is performed by a communication network 100. The communication network 100 comprises an NMS 110. Optionally, the communication network 100 comprises a first network node 120 and a second network node 125 as described in relation to the description corresponding to Figs. 1 and 2.

[0053] The method 300 comprises performing, by the NMS, any of the operations of the method 200 as described in relation to Fig. 2.

[0054] In some examples, wherein the communication network comprises the first network node, the method 300 comprises sending, from the first network node 120 to the NMS 110, a first message comprising the first indication.

[0055] In some examples, wherein the communication network comprises the second network node 125, the method 300 comprises sending, from the second network node 125 to the NMS 110, a second message comprising the second indication.

[0056] The methods 200, 300 performed by the NMS 110 and the communication network 100 may improve a troubleshooting efficiency for an issue / a problem. The methods 200, 300 performed by the network management system and the communication network 100 may enable optimizing the troubleshooting efficiency by limiting modification of data values having characteristics (e.g. syntactically) of personal data but not being personal data in a troubleshooting context (e.g. data values such as a private IP address). Furthermore, the methods 200, 300 performed by the NMS 110 and the communication network 100 may enable improving the troubleshooting efficiency by limiting modification of personal data which are in a scope of the issue and which may be essential to perform a troubleshooting for resolving the issue.

[0057] Fig. 4 illustrates a signaling diagram in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The signaling diagram shows an interaction between an NMS 110, a network node 120, a memory dump volume 130 and an external network node 140 as described in relation to the description corresponding to Figs. 1, 2 and 3.

[0058] The NMS 110 may be configured to transmit a request 410, to the first network node 120 or to the memory dump volume 130, for a memory dump data. The NMS 110 is configured to receive 415 (e.g. obtain 325), from the first network node 120 or the memory dump volume 130, the memory dump data. The NMS 110 is configured to obtain 420 (e.g. obtaining 225) a service and / or a data model associated with the memory dump data. The service and / or the data model may be obtained by receiving the service and / or the data model from the first network node 120. The service and / or the data model may be obtained by receiving the service and / or the model from the memory dump volume 130. The service and / or the data model may be obtained by retrieving the service and / or the model from the NMS 110. The NMS 110 is configured to obtain 425 (e.g. obtaining 205) an indication on whether and / or where personal data is present in the memory dump data. The indication is obtained by the NMS 110 by identifying personal data in the memory dump data (e.g. via an explicit indication of personal data in a header field of the memory dump data, via a process of identification of personal data in the memory dump data, via a documentation regarding a placement and / or presence of personal data in the memory dump data). The NMS 110 is configured to define 430 (e.g. obtaining 220) a system context (e.g. a troubleshooting context, a recovery context, a backup context). The NMS 110 may be configured to determine 435 (e.g. determining 230) a part of the memory dump data (e.g. a part may be the entire memory dump data; the part may be a portion of the memory dump data) comprising personal data to be a mandatory attribute for the system context. The NMS 110 may be configured to select 440 (e.g. determining 230) the mandatory attribute for the system context. The NMS 110 may be configured to validate 445 (e.g. comparing 210) data values with characteristics of personal data based on the system context. The NMS 110 is configured to modify 450 (e.g. anonymize, pseudo-anonymize, overwrite; modifying 215) the part of the memory dump data comprising personal data. The modification may be performed based on the validation of data values. The NMS 110 is configured to transmit 455 (e.g. initiating transmission 245), to an external network node 140, the modified part of the memory dump data and the remaining part of the memory dump data.

[0059] In some examples, the memory dump data comprises a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) message. The HTTP message may be represented using a data model (e.g. a JSON format, an XML format). The memory dump data may further comprise a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI). The HTTP message and / or the URI of the memory dump data may comprise personal data. Personal data may be identified in the memory dump data by an identification process (e.g. documentation such as a configuration file with a list of personal data used in one or more data models; indication of personal data in a payload of the HTTP message; indication of personal data in a header of the HTTP message).

[0060] In some examples, the communication network 100 involves an exchange of HTTP messages between the nodes and payload of HTTP messages is represented in JSON format. Personal data may be present in a URI of a server and / or a client in the communication network 100. Personal data may also be present in a memory dump data of the communication network 100. The memory dump data of the communication network 100, which may comprise both a payload and the URI, may be exported in a clear text format. Personal data identification may be performed by referring to a documentation, parsing of personal data tags in the payload (when foreseen by a data model) and / or detection of personal data tags in a header field of the payload.

[0061] In the example, considering that a network node hosting a service (e.g. a microservice in a cloud-native orchestration platform) in the communication network 100 exposes an HTTP interface comprising personal data during node instantiation and management. The service in the network node may provide documentation comprising a definition of requested endpoints and related data schemas (e.g. a POST method to instantiate a new node). An example of a POST method is shown below using pseudocode.

[0062] POST / node

[0063] "schema": {

[0064] "Node": { "type": "object",

[0065] "properties": {

[0066] "serialNumber": {

[0067] "type": "string"

[0068] },

[0069] "ipAd dress": {

[0070] "type": "string"

[0071] },

[0072] "users": {

[0073] "type": array, items:

[0074] $ref: '# / components / schemas / User'

[0075] },

[0076] },

[0077] "User": {

[0078] "type": "object",

[0079] "properties": {

[0080] "username": {

[0081] "type": "string"

[0082] },

[0083] "password": {

[0084] "type": "string"

[0085] },

[0086] }

[0087] }

[0088] When the POST method is launched by an operator via the HTTP interface, the payload may be, for example:

[0089] { serialNumber: "XXXXX", ipAddress: "192.168.0.7" users: {

[0090] [ { username: "AAAA", password: "BBBB"

[0091] },

[0092] { username: "CCCC", password: "DDDD"

[0093] }

[0094] ]

[0095] }

[0096] }

[0097] If a core dump file (e.g. memory dump data) is taken during for an operation (e.g. validation of an IP address), parts of the payload comprising personal data are identifiable in the memory dump as clear text. Considering an example of a core dump file below: j2aA@ EqU2l"a u"l(aMsA#

[0098] POST / user HTTP / 1.1

[0099] Host: localhost:5000

[0100] User-Agent: curl / 7.79.1

[0101] Accept: * / *

[0102] Con ten t- Type: application / json

[0103] Content-Length: 112

[0104] {"serialNumber": " XXXXX"" ip Ad dress": "192.168.0.7", users":[{"username":"AAAA" 'password":"BBBB"},{"username": "CCCC",

[0105] An identification method agnostic of a system context (e.g. a troubleshooting context) would anonymize body fields of the payload which syntactically seem like personal data. In such a case, the identification method would make it difficult to analyze the core dump file. Especially, if a crash occurs due to a specific input value e.g. an IP address of the network node. The system context agnostic method would lead to overwriting of all values which seem like personal data. The disclosure herein provides a means to take into context, the system context, before anonymizing or pseudoanonymizing data. Thus, the disclosure herein provides a means to improve resource efficiency and / or effectiveness during a failure condition of the communication network 100.

[0106] The disclosure herein may provide a means to avoid modifying a data value with characteristics of personal data if the data value is not personal data in the system context. In the example, the disclosure herein enables validating and / or detecting that the IP address is in a data model and that the IP address is an internal IP address (e.g. since the network node is in the same internal network as the server). Thus, the IP address is not modified by the NMS 110. Example of the core dump file after processing by the NMS 110 is below: j2aA@ EqU2l"a u"l(aMsA# POST / user HTTP / 1.1 Host: localhost:5000 User-Agent: curl / 7.79.1 Accept: * / *

[0107] Con ten t- Type: application / json

[0108] Content-Length: 112

[0109] {"serialNumber": " (^^" / 'ipAddress": "192.168.0.7", users":[{"username":"(******", "password":"(******"}, {"username": " ******"

[0110] The disclosure herein may further provide a means to avoid modifying a data value with characteristics of personal if the data value is a mandatory field in the system context (e.g. the data value is potentially the reason for a system crash). In the example, the data field "username" may be determined as a mandatory field (e.g. because a username value causes the program to crash) for making a troubleshooting possible. Thus, the username data field makes sure that the data field is not modified (e.g. anonymized, pseudo-anonymized, overwritten) by the NMS 110. Example of the core dump file after processing by the NMS 110 is below: j2aA@ EqU2l"a u"l(aMsA#

[0111] POST / user HTTP / 1.1

[0112] Host: localhost:5000

[0113] User-Agent: curl / 7.79.1

[0114] Accept: * / *

[0115] Con ten t- Type: application / json

[0116] Content-Length: 112

[0117] {"serialNumber": " (******""ipAddress": "192.168.0.7", users":[{"username":"(

[0118] Another example of the invention when applied to the communication network 100, when the communication network 100 employs an SNMP model is discussed to assist the reader. As mentioned earlier, IP addresses are considered personal data in many case. However, in most cases, only public IPs on the Internet may be personal data but local IP addresses may not be personal data under a network address translator (NAT). A general method that identifies IP addresses in the core dump file does not enable differentiation between a public IP address and a local IP address. The general method may be to anonymize all IP addresses which may be detrimental to troubleshooting of an issue.

[0119] The differentiation between a public IP address and a local IP address may be established through data models. A data model may aide in identification of whether an IP address comprises personal data. Furthermore, the data model may also provide information about which IP address is part of a troubleshooting context (e.g. IP addresses in a local area network under NAT).

[0120] In some examples of the current disclosure, the method of the NMS 110 comprises analyzing the core dump file from a SNMP based application that manages NAT subnets. The communication network 100 may inform to the NMS 110 about IP addresses defined in a data model as described by Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Request For Comments (RFC) 7959 - definitions of managed objects for NATs. Thus, the data model may provide IP address which may be essential to the troubleshooting context and hence, would not be modified.

[0121] Fig. 5 shows a network node 500 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations. Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)), RAN nodes, 0-RAN nodes or components of an 0-RAN node (e.g., O-RU, O-DU, O-CU).

[0122] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an 0-RAN access node) and / or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0123] Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi- cell / multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes. Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes. positioning nodes (e.g.. Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and / or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

[0124] The network node 500 includes a processing circuitry 502, a memory 504, a communication interface 506, and a power source 508. The network node 500 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 500 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 500 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 504 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 510 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 500 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 500, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 500.

[0125] The processing circuitry 502 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 500 components, such as the memory 504, to provide network node 500 functionality.

[0126] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 502 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 502 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 512 and baseband processing circuitry 514. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 512 and the baseband processing circuitry 514 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 512 and baseband processing circuitry 514 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0127] The memory 504 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer- readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device- readable and / or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 502. The memory 504 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 502 and utilized by the network node 500. The memory 504 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 502 and / or any data received via the communication interface 506. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 502 and memory 504 is integrated.

[0128] The communication interface 506 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between a network node, access network, and / or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 506 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 516 to transmit and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 506 also includes radio front-end circuitry 518 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 510. Radio front-end circuitry 518 comprises filters 520 and amplifiers 522. The radio front-end circuitry 518 may be connected to an antenna 510 and processing circuitry 502. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 510 and processing circuitry 502. The radio front-end circuitry 518 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 518 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 520 and / or amplifiers 522. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 510. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 510 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 518. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 502. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0129] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 500 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 518, instead, the processing circuitry 502 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 510. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 512 is part of the communication interface 506. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 506 includes one or more ports or terminals 516, the radio front-end circuitry 518, and the RF transceiver circuitry 512, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 506 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 514, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0130] The antenna 510 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 510 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 518 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 510 is separate from the network node 500 and connectable to the network node 500 through an interface or port.

[0131] The antenna 510, communication interface 506, and / or the processing circuitry 502 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 510, the communication interface 506, and / or the processing circuitry 502 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment.

[0132] The power source 508 provides power to the various components of network node 500 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 508 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 500 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 500 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid. an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 508. As a further example, the power source 508 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

[0133] Embodiments of the network node 500 may include additional components beyond those shown in Fig. 5 for providing certain aspects of the network node's functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 500 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 500 and to allow output of information from the network node 500. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 500. In some example, the network node 500 comprises the NMS 110, the first network node 120, the second network node 125 and / or the external network node 140. The network node 500 is configured to perform the operations according to any of the methods disclosed herein in relation to a network node, including the methods shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

[0134] Fig. 6 shows a UE 600 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customerpremise equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band loT (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE. In some examples, the UE 600 comprises the network node 125, the second network node 125, the memory dump volume 130 and / or the external network node 140. The UE 600 is configured to perform the operations according to any of the methods disclosed herein in relation to a UE, including the method shown in Fig. 3.

[0135] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication. Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0136] The UE 600 includes processing circuitry 602 that is operatively coupled via a bus 604 to an input / output interface 606, a power source 608, a memory 610, a communication interface 612, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Fig. 6. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0137] The processing circuitry 602 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 610. The processing circuitry 602 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 602 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0138] In the example, the input / output interface 606 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 600. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0139] In some embodiments, the power source 608 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source 608 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 608 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 600 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 608. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 608 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 600 to which power is supplied.

[0140] The memory 610 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 610 includes one or more application programs 614, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 616. The memory 610 may store, for use by the UE 600, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0141] The memory 610 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive. external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and / or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as 'SIM card.' The memory 610 may allow the UE 600 to access instructions, application programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 610, which may be or comprise a device- readable storage medium.

[0142] The processing circuitry 602 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 612. The communication interface 612 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 622. The communication interface 612 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 618 and / or a receiver 620 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 618 and receiver 620 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 622) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0143] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 612 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function. or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / internet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0144] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 612, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0145] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0146] A UE, when in the form of an loT device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and / or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 600 shown in Fig. 6.

[0147] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0148] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone's speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone's speed. The first and / or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[0149] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0150] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non- transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and / or by end users and a wireless network generally.

[0151] Fig. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 700 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein (e.g. methods 200, 300; operations corresponding to the description in relation to Fig. 4) may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 700 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 700 includes components defined by the 0-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface. The virtualization environment may comprise the communication network 100.

[0152] An application 702 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) is run in the virtualization environment 700 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein. The application 702 may comprise functionality of the communication network 100, the NMS 110, the first network node 120, the second network node 125, the memory dump volume 130 and / or the external network node 140. The virtualization environment 700 may comprise one or more applications, each with a functionality of one or more of the communication network 100, the NMS 110, the first network node 120, the second network node 125, the memory dump volume 130 and / or the external network node 140.

[0153] A hardware 704 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input / output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 706 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 708a and 708b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 708), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 706 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 708.

[0154] The VMs 708 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 706. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 702 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 708, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

[0155] In the context of NFV, the VMs 708 (e.g. the VM 708a, the VM 708b) may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 708, and that part of hardware 704 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 708 on top of the hardware 704 and corresponds to the application 702.

[0156] The hardware 704 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. The hardware 704 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, the hardware 704 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via a management and orchestration function 710, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of the applications 702. In some embodiments, the hardware 704 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 712 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0157] Fig. 8 shows a computer program product according to some embodiments. A computer program product (810) of a network node 500 and / or a UE 600 includes a computer readable storage medium (830) (e.g. storage or recording medium) storing a computer program (810) comprising computer readable instructions. Computer readable medium of the network node 500 and / or the UE 600, may be a non-transitory computer readable medium, such as, magnetic media (e.g., a hard disk), optical media, memory devices (e.g., random access memory, flash memory), and the like. In some embodiments, the computer readable instructions of computer program are configured such that when executed by processing circuitry 502 and / or the processing circuitry 602, the computer readable instructions cause the network node 500 and / or the UE 600 to perform steps described herein (e.g., method 200, method 300, operations defined in relation to the signaling diagram of Fig. 4). In other embodiments, the network node 500 and / or the UE 600 may be configured / operable to perform steps described herein without the need for code. That is, for example, the processing circuity 502 and / or the processing circuitry 602 may consist merely of one or more ASICs. Hence, the features of the embodiments described herein may be implemented in hardware and / or software.

[0158] The computer program code mentioned above may also be provided, for instance in the form of a data carrier carrying computer program code for performing the embodiments herein when being loaded into the hardware. One such carrier may be in the form of a CD ROM disc. It is however feasible with other data carriers such as a memory stick. The computer program code may furthermore be provided as pure program code on the communication network 100, the NMS 110, the first network node 120, the second network node 125, the memory dump volume 130 and / or the external network node 140, and downloaded to the hardware at production, and / or during software updates.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method (200) performed by a network management system, NMS, (110; 500; 702) in a communication network (100; 700), the method comprising: obtaining (205) a first indication of whether a memory dump data comprises personal data, wherein the first indication indicates a presence or an absence of personal data in the memory dump data; if the first indication indicates that personal data is present in the memory dump data: comparing (210) personal data in the memory dump data to security classification information; and modifying (215) a part of the memory dump data, wherein the modifying is based on the comparison between the personal data and security classification information.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first indication indicates a location of personal data in the memory dump data.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein obtaining the first indication comprises detecting whether the memory dump data comprises personal data.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein obtaining the first indication comprises receiving, from a first network node (120; 500; 600; 702), a first message comprising the first indication.

5. The method according to one or more of claims 1 to 4, wherein modifying the part of the memory dump data comprises anonymizing the part of the memory dump data.

6. The method according to one or more of claims 1 to 4, wherein modifying the part of the memory dump data comprises pseudo-anonymizing the part of the memory dump data.

7. The method according to one or more of claims 1 to 6, comprising: obtaining (220) a system context of the communication network for modifying the part of the memory dump data.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein modifying the part of the memory dump data comprises anonymizing the part of the memory dump data and wherein the part of the memory dump data is anonymized based on the obtained system context.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein modifying the part of the memory dump data comprises pseudo-anonymizing the part of the memory dump data and wherein the part of the memory dump data is pseudo-anonymized based on the obtained system context.

10. The method according to one or more of claims 7 to 9, wherein the obtained system context comprises information related to a failure in the communication network.

11. The method according to one or more of claims 7 to 10, wherein the obtained system context comprises a troubleshooting context in the communication network.

12. The method according to one or more of claims 7 to 11, wherein obtaining the system context for the communication network comprises detecting the system context.

13. The method according to one or more of claims 7 to 12, wherein obtaining the first indication comprises receiving, from a second network node (125), a first message comprising the first indication and wherein obtaining the system context for the communication network comprises receiving, from the second network node, a second message comprising a second indication of the system context.

14. The method according to one or more claims 7 to 13, wherein comparing personal data in the memory dump data to security classification information is based on the obtained system context.

15. The method according to one or more claims 7 to 14, comprising obtaining (225) a data model being used by the obtained system context.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein obtaining the data model being used by the obtained system context comprises detecting the data model of the obtained system context.

17. The method according to claim 15, wherein obtaining the data model being used by the obtained system context comprises receiving, from the first network node or the second network node, a third indication of the data model being used by the obtained system context.

18. The method according to one or more of claims 15 to 17, comprising determining (230) whether the part of the memory dump data is required for the obtained system context and wherein the determining is based on the obtained data model.

19. The method according to one or more of claims 1 to 18, wherein security classification information comprises information about a level of privacy for personal data in the memory dump data.

20. The method according to one or more of claims 1 to 19, comprising obtaining (235) the memory dump data.

21. The method according to claim 20, comprising linking (240) a service in the NMS to the obtained memory dump data.

22. The method according to one or more of claims 1 to 21, wherein the communication network comprises a cloud-native communication network.

23. The method according to claims 1 to 22, comprising initiating transmission (245), to an external network node (140), of the modified part of the memory dump data.

24. A method (300) performed by a communication network (100), the communication network comprising a network management system, NMS, (110) and one or more of a first network node (120) and a second network node (125), the method comprising: performing, by the NMS, a method in accordance with any of claims 1 to 23.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein the communication network comprises the first network node, the method comprising: sending (310), from the first network node to the NMS, a first message comprising the first indication.

26. The method according to claim 24 or 25, wherein the communication network comprises the second network node, the method comprising: sending (315), from the second network node to the NMS, a second message comprising the second indication.

27. A network management system, NMS, (110; 500; 702) in a communication network (100; 700), the NMS adapted to: obtain (205) a first indication of whether a memory dump data comprises personal data, wherein the first indication indicates a presence or an absence of personal data in the memory dump data; if the first indication indicates that personal data is present in the memory dump data: compare (210) personal data in the memory dump data to security classification information; and modify (215) a part of the memory dump data, wherein the modifying is based on the comparison between the personal data and security classification information.

28. The NMS according to claim 27, wherein the first indication indicates a location of personal data in the memory dump data.

29. The NMS according to claim 27 or 28, wherein obtaining the first indication comprises detecting whether the memory dump data comprises personal data.

30. The NMS according to claim 27 or 28, wherein obtaining the first indication comprises receiving, from a first network node (120; 500; 600; 702), a first message comprising the first indication.

31. The NMS according to one or more of claims 27 to 30, wherein modifying the part of the memory dump data comprises anonymizing the part of the memory dump data.

32. The NMS according to one or more of claims 27 to 30, wherein modifying the part of the memory dump data comprises pseudo-anonymizing the part of the memory dump data.

33. The NMS according to one or more of claims 27 to 32, adapted to: obtain (220) a system context of the communication network for modifying the part of the memory dump data.

34. The NMS according to claim 33, wherein modifying the part of the memory dump data comprises anonymizing the part of the memory dump data and wherein the part of the memory dump data is anonymized based on the obtained system context.

35. The NMS according to claim 33, wherein modifying the part of the memory dump data comprises pseudo-anonymizing the part of the memory dump data and wherein the part of the memory dump data is pseudo-anonymized based on the obtained system context.

36. The NMS according to one or more of claims 33 to 35, wherein the obtained system context comprises information related to a failure in the communication network.

37. The NMS according to one or more of claims 33 to 36, wherein the obtained system context comprises a troubleshooting context in the communication network.

38. The NMS according to one or more of claims 33 to 37, wherein obtaining the system context for the communication network comprises detecting the system context.

39. The NMS according to one or more of claims 33 to 38, wherein obtaining the first indication comprises receiving, from a second network node (125), a first message comprising the first indication and wherein obtaining the system context for the communication network comprises receiving, from the second network node, a second message comprising a second indication of the system context.

40. The NMS according to one or more claims 33 to 39, wherein comparing personal data in the memory dump data to security classification information is based on the obtained system context.

41. The NMS according to one or more claims 33 to 40, adapted to obtain (225) a data model being used by the obtained system context.

42. The NMS according to claim 41, wherein obtaining the data model being used by the obtained system context comprises detecting the data model of the obtained system context.

43. The NMS according to claim 41, wherein obtaining the data model being used by the obtained system context comprises receiving, from the first network node or the second network node, a third indication of the data model being used by the obtained system context.

44. The NMS according to one or more of claims 41 to 43, adapted to determine (230) whether the part of the memory dump data is required for the obtained system context and wherein the determining is based on the obtained data model.

45. The NMS according to one or more of claims 41 to 44, wherein security classification information comprises information about a level of privacy for personal data in the memory dump data.

46. The NMS according to one or more of claims 27 to 45, adapted to obtain (235) the memory dump data.

47. The NMS according to claim 46, adapted to link (240) a service in the NMS to the obtained memory dump data.

48. The NMS according to one or more of claims 27 to 47, wherein the communication network comprises a cloud-native communication network.

49. The NMS according to claims 27 to 48, adapted to initiate transmission (245), to an external network node (140), of the modified part of the memory dump data.

50. A communication network (100; 700) comprising a network management system, NMS, (110) and one or more of a first network node (120) and a second network node (125), the communication network adapted to: perform, by the NMS, a method in accordance with any of claims 1 to 23.

51. The communication network according to claim 50, wherein the communication network comprises the first network node, the communication network adapted to: send (310), from the first network node to the NMS, a first message comprising the first indication.

52. The communication network according to claim 50 or 51, wherein the communication network comprises the second network node, the communication network adapted to: send (315), from the second network node to the NMS, a second message comprising the second indication.

53. A network management system, NMS, (110; 500; 702) in a communication network (100; 700), the NMS comprising: at least one processing circuitry (502); and at least one memory (504) connected to the at least one processing circuitry (502) and storing program code that is executed by the at least one processing circuitry to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 23.

54. A communication network (100; 700) comprising a network management system, NMS, (110) and one or more of a first network node (120) and a second network node (125), the communication network comprising: at least one processing circuitry (502); and at least one memory (504) connected to the at least one processing circuitry (502) and storing program code that is executed by the at least one processing circuitry to perform the method according to any one of claims 24 to 26.

55. A computer program (820) comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processing circuitry (502; 602) of: a network management system, NMS, (110; 500; 702), causes the NMS to carry out the method according to any one of claims 1 to 23; and / or a communication network (100; 700), causes the communication network to carry out the method according to any one of claims 24 to 26.

56. A computer program product (810) stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium (830) and comprising instructions that, when executed by at least one processing circuitry (502; 602) of: a network management system, NMS, (110; 500; 702), causes the NMS to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 23; and / or a communication network (100; 700), causes the communication network to perform the method according to any one of claims 24 to 26.

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