Information processing method and apparatus, communication device, storage medium, and program product

Abstract

Embodiments of the present application disclose an information processing method and apparatus, a communication device, a storage medium, and a program product. The method comprises: when a radio bearer associated with a first packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) protocol data unit (PDU) received by a receiving device has not enabled integrity protection, the receiving device does not perform an integrity verification process for the first PDCP PDU by default. By implementing the embodiments of the present application, the implementation complexity and processing load of communication devices can be reduced, and the processing efficiency can be improved.

Description

Information processing methods, apparatus, communication equipment, storage media and software products Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to information processing methods, apparatus, communication equipment, storage media, and program products. Background Technology

[0002] PDCP (Packet Data Convergence Protocol) is a radio transmission protocol stack in UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), primarily responsible for ensuring the security, reliability, and efficiency of packet data transmission. Located between the RRC (Radio Resource Control) layer and the RLC (Radio Link Control) layer in LTE (Long Term Evolution) systems, PDCP provides data convergence services for higher-layer user plane data (e.g., user IP packets) or control plane data (e.g., radio resource control messages), making it a crucial component of the LTE system.

[0003] The main functions of the PDCP layer include: providing header compression and decompression for user plane (u-plane) data; providing ciphering and deciphering for user plane and control plane (c-plane) data; providing integrity protection and integrity verification for control plane data; providing sequence numbering and re-ordering for higher-layer data during handover; and enabling lossless handover. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This disclosure provides an information processing method, apparatus, communication device, storage medium, and program product.

[0005] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, an information processing method is proposed, comprising:

[0006] The radio bearer associated with the first Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) received by the receiving device does not have integrity protection enabled, and the receiving device defaults to the integrity verification process for the first PDCP PDU.

[0007] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, an information processing apparatus is provided, comprising: a processing module, configured to, upon receiving a first Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) associated with a radio bearer that has not enabled integrity protection, perform an integrity verification process on the first PDCP PDU by default.

[0008] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided for performing an optional implementation of the first aspect described above.

[0009] According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a storage medium is provided that stores instructions which, when executed on a communication device, cause the communication device to perform an optional implementation of the first aspect described above.

[0010] According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, a program product is provided, including at least one of a program and instructions, wherein the program and instructions, when executed by a communication device, implement an optional implementation of the aforementioned first aspect.

[0011] According to the technical solution disclosed herein, the problems such as the relatively complex processing flow of PDCP PDU in the prior art can be solved, thereby reducing the complexity and processing load of communication equipment and improving processing efficiency. Attached Figure Description

[0012] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this disclosure, the accompanying drawings required for the description of the embodiments are introduced below. The following drawings are only some embodiments of this disclosure and do not impose specific limitations on the protection scope of this disclosure.

[0013] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0014] Figure 2a is an example diagram illustrating the ROHC process of PDCP according to an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0015] Figure 2b is an example diagram illustrating the establishment of AS layer security according to an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0016] Figure 3 is an interactive schematic diagram of an information processing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0017] Figure 4A is an interactive schematic diagram of an information processing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 4B is an interactive schematic diagram of an information processing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0019] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the communication device proposed in an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0020] Figure 6A is a schematic diagram of the structure of the communication device 6100 proposed in an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0021] Figure 6B is a schematic diagram of the structure of the chip 6200 proposed in the embodiment of this disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0022] This disclosure provides an information processing method, apparatus, communication device, storage medium, and program product.

[0023] In a first aspect, embodiments of this disclosure propose an information processing method, which includes: the radio bearer associated with the first Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) received by the receiving device is not enabled for integrity protection, and the receiving device performs an integrity verification process on the first PDCP PDU by default.

[0024] In the above embodiments, for wireless bearers where integrity protection is not enabled, the integrity verification process for PDCP PDUs can be omitted when processing PDCP PDUs. This can solve the problem that the processing flow of PDCP PDUs in the prior art is relatively complex, thereby reducing the complexity of communication equipment implementation and processing load, and improving processing efficiency.

[0025] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: when the first PDCP PDU meets the discard condition, the receiving device performs a first action. The first action includes: discarding the first PDCP PDU; and defaulting to the decryption process of the first PDCP PDU.

[0026] In the above embodiments, for wireless bearers where integrity protection is not enabled, PDCP PDUs that meet the discarding conditions can be discarded without performing the decryption and integrity verification processes. This solves the problem that the discarding process of PDCP PDUs in the prior art is relatively complex, thereby reducing the complexity and processing load of communication equipment and improving processing efficiency.

[0027] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: if the first PDCP PDU does not meet the discard condition, the receiving device performs a second action; the second action includes: decrypting the first PDCP PDU.

[0028] In the above embodiments, for wireless bearers where integrity protection is not enabled, when the first PDCP PDU does not meet the discard condition, the receiving device can decrypt the first PDCP PDU and default to the integrity verification process for the first PDCP PDU, that is, there is no need to perform the integrity verification process, which can reduce the complexity and processing load of the communication device and improve the processing efficiency.

[0029] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes at least one of the following: the receiving device fails to decrypt the first PDCP PDU, sends first information to the upper layer, the first information indicating decryption failure; the receiving device discards the first PDCP PDU.

[0030] In the above embodiments, if the decryption of the first PDCP PDU fails, the upper layer can be indicated as having failed to decrypt, so that the upper layer can resend the first PDCP PDU and improve the success rate of receiving the first PDCP PDU.

[0031] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first PDCP PDU does not meet the discard condition, including: the first COUNT value of the received first PDCP PDU is greater than or equal to the value of the state variable, and the second COUNT value of the second PDCP PDU received before the first PDCP PDU is not equal to the first COUNT value; wherein the value of the state variable is the COUNT value associated with the first PDCP service data unit SDU that has not yet been submitted to the upper layer.

[0032] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first PDCP PDU is a PDCP data PDU, and the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU is a data radio bearer (DRB) associated with the PDCP data PDU.

[0033] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the receiving device determines that the radio bearer associated with the received first packet data aggregation protocol PDCP protocol data unit (PDU) has not enabled integrity protection, including: determining that the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU has not enabled integrity protection based on the PDCP configuration corresponding to the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU.

[0034] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, determining that the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU has not enabled integrity protection based on the PDCP configuration corresponding to the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU includes: the first parameter is not configured in the PDCP configuration, thus determining that the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU has not enabled integrity protection; wherein the first parameter is used to indicate that integrity protection is enabled.

[0035] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: enabling integrity protection of the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU received by the receiving device; decrypting and verifying the integrity of the first PDCP PDU by the receiving device; and discarding the first PDCP PDU when the first PDCP PDU meets the discarding condition.

[0036] In the above embodiments, for a radio bearer with integrity protection enabled, if the PDCP PDU associated with the radio bearer has completed decryption and integrity verification and meets the discarding conditions, the PDCP PDU can be directly discarded, and it can be considered that the PDCP PDU has been successfully received, thereby improving the reliability of data packet transmission.

[0037] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes at least one of the following: the receiving device fails to verify the integrity of the first PDCP PDU, sends second information to the upper layer, the second information indicating that the integrity verification has failed; the receiving device discards the first PDCP PDU.

[0038] In the above embodiments, for a radio bearer with integrity protection enabled, if the integrity verification of the PDCP PDU associated with the radio bearer fails, the upper layer can be indicated to have failed the integrity verification, so that the upper layer can retransmit the PDCP PDU and improve the success rate of PDCP PDU reception.

[0039] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first PDCP PDU satisfies the discard condition, including: the first COUNT value of the received first PDCP PDU is less than the value of a state variable, the value of which is the COUNT value associated with the first PDCP service data unit SDU that has not yet been submitted to the upper layer; and / or, the second COUNT value of the second PDCP PDU received before the first PDCP PDU is received is equal to the first COUNT value.

[0040] In a second aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication device, including at least one of a transceiver module and a processing module; wherein the communication device is used to execute an optional implementation of the first aspect.

[0041] Thirdly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication device, including: one or more processors; wherein the processors are configured to invoke instructions to cause the communication device to execute the optional implementation of the first aspect described above.

[0042] Fourthly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a storage medium storing instructions that, when executed on a communication device, cause the communication device to perform the optional implementation of the first aspect described above.

[0043] Fifthly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a program product that, when executed by a communication device, causes the communication device to perform the method described in the optional implementation of the first aspect.

[0044] In a sixth aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method as described in an alternative implementation of the first aspect.

[0045] In a seventh aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a chip or chip system. The chip or chip system includes processing circuitry configured to perform the method described in the optional implementation of the first aspect above.

[0046] It is understood that the aforementioned communication devices, storage media, program products, computer programs, chips, or chip systems are all used to execute the methods proposed in the embodiments of this disclosure. Therefore, the beneficial effects they can achieve can be referred to the beneficial effects in the corresponding methods, and will not be repeated here.

[0047] This disclosure provides information processing methods, apparatus, communication devices, storage media, and program products. In some embodiments, terms such as information processing method and communication method may be used interchangeably.

[0048] This disclosure is not exhaustive, but merely illustrative of some embodiments, and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of this disclosure. Unless otherwise specified, each step in a particular embodiment can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the steps can be arbitrarily combined. For example, a solution after removing some steps in a particular embodiment can also be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the order of the steps in a particular embodiment can be arbitrarily interchanged. Furthermore, the optional implementation methods in a particular embodiment can be arbitrarily combined; moreover, the embodiments can be arbitrarily combined, for example, some or all steps of different embodiments can be arbitrarily combined, and a particular embodiment can be arbitrarily combined with the optional implementation methods of other embodiments. In all embodiments of this disclosure, unless otherwise specified or logically conflicting, the terminology and / or descriptions between the embodiments are consistent and can be mutually referenced. Technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments based on their inherent logical relationships.

[0049] The terminology used in the embodiments of this disclosure is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure.

[0050] In this embodiment of the disclosure, unless otherwise stated, elements expressed in the singular form, such as "a," "an," "the," "the," "the," "the," "the," "the," "this," etc., can mean "one and only one," or "one or more," "at least one," etc. For example, when using articles such as "a," "an," "the," etc. in translation, the noun following the article can be understood as either a singular expression or a plural expression.

[0051] In the embodiments of this disclosure, "multiple" refers to two or more.

[0052] In some embodiments, the terms “at least one of A or B, at least one of A and B”, “one or more”, “a plurality of”, “multiple”, etc., may be used interchangeably.

[0053] In some embodiments, the notation "at least one of A and B", "A and / or B", "A in one case, B in another", "in response to one case A, in response to another case B", etc., may include the following technical solutions depending on the situation: in some embodiments, A (execute A regardless of whether there is a branch B); in some embodiments, B (execute B regardless of whether there is a branch A); in some embodiments, execution is selected from A and B (A and B are selectively executed); in some embodiments, both A and B are executed. The same applies when there are more branches such as A, B, C, etc.

[0054] In some embodiments, the notation "A or B" may include the following technical solutions, depending on the situation: in some embodiments, A (execute A regardless of whether a branch B exists); in some embodiments, B (execute B regardless of whether a branch A exists); in some embodiments, execution is selected from A and B (A and B are selectively executed). The same applies when there are more branches such as A, B, and C.

[0055] The prefixes "first," "second," etc., used in the embodiments of this disclosure are merely for distinguishing different descriptive objects and do not impose restrictions on the position, order, priority, quantity, or content of the descriptive objects. The description of the descriptive objects is found in the claims or the context of the embodiments, and the use of prefixes should not constitute unnecessary restrictions. For example, if the descriptive object is a "field," the ordinal numbers preceding "field" in "first field" and "second field" do not restrict the position or order of the "fields." "First" and "second" do not restrict whether the "fields" they modify are in the same message, nor do they restrict the order of "first field" and "second field." Similarly, if the descriptive object is a "level," the ordinal numbers preceding "level" in "first level" and "second level" do not restrict the priority between "levels." Furthermore, the number of descriptive objects is not limited by ordinal numbers and can be one or more. For example, in "first device," the number of "devices" can be one or more. Furthermore, the objects modified by different prefixes can be the same or different. For example, if the object being described is "device", then "first device" and "second device" can be the same device or different devices, and their types can be the same or different. Similarly, if the object being described is "information", then "first information" and "second information" can be the same information or different information, and their content can be the same or different.

[0056] In some embodiments, “including A,” “containing A,” “for indicating A,” and “carrying A” can be interpreted as directly carrying A or indirectly indicating A.

[0057] In some embodiments, terms such as “in response to…”, “in response to determining…”, “in the case of…”, “when…”, “when…”, “if…”, etc. can be used interchangeably. These descriptions all refer to the device making a corresponding action under certain objective circumstances. They do not necessarily limit the time, nor do they require the device to make a judgment action when implementing it, nor do they mean that there must be other limitations.

[0058] In some embodiments, the terms “greater than,” “greater than or equal to,” “not less than,” “more than,” “more than or equal to,” “not less than,” “higher than,” “higher than or equal to,” “not lower than,” and “above” can be used interchangeably, as can the terms “less than,” “less than or equal to,” “not greater than,” “less than,” “less than or equal to,” “not more than,” “lower than,” “lower than or equal to,” “not higher than,” and “below”.

[0059] In some embodiments, devices, etc., may be interpreted as physical or virtual, and their names are not limited to those described in the embodiments. Terms such as “device,” “equipment,” “circuit,” “network element,” “network function,” “network device,” “function,” “node,” “unit,” “section,” “system,” “network,” “chip,” “chip system,” “entity,” and “subject” are interchangeable.

[0060] In some embodiments, "network" can be interpreted as devices included in a network (e.g., access network devices, core network devices, etc.).

[0061] In some embodiments, the terms "access network device (AN device)," "radio access network device (RAN device)," "base station (BS)," "radio base station," "fixed station," "node," "access point," "transmission point (TP)," "reception point (RP)," "transmission / reception point (TRP)," "panel," "antenna panel," "antenna array," "cell," "macro cell," "small cell," "femto cell," "pico cell," "sector," "cell group," "serving cell," "carrier," "component carrier," and "bandwidth part (BWP)" can be used interchangeably.

[0062] In some embodiments, the terms "terminal", "terminal device", "user equipment (UE)", "user terminal", "mobile station (MS)", "mobile terminal (MT)", "subscriber station", "mobile unit", "subscriber unit", "wireless unit", "remote unit", "mobile device", "wireless device", "wireless communication device", "remote device", "mobile subscriber station", "access terminal", "mobile terminal", "wireless terminal", "remote terminal", "handset", "user agent", "mobile client", and "client" can be used interchangeably.

[0063] In some embodiments, access network devices, core network devices, or network devices can be replaced by terminals. For example, embodiments of this disclosure can also be applied to structures where communication between access network devices, core network devices, or network devices and terminals is replaced by communication between multiple terminals (e.g., device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), etc.). In this case, the structure can also be configured such that the terminal has all or part of the functions of the access network device. Furthermore, terms such as "uplink" and "downlink" can be replaced with terms corresponding to communication between terminals (e.g., "sidelink"). For example, uplink channel, downlink channel, etc., can be replaced with sidelink channel, and uplink link, downlink, etc., can be replaced with sidelink link.

[0064] In some embodiments, the terminal may be replaced by an access network device, a core network device, or a network device. In this case, the access network device, core network device, or network device may also be configured to have all or some of the functions of the terminal.

[0065] In some embodiments, the acquisition of data, information, etc., may comply with the laws and regulations of the country where the location is situated.

[0066] In some embodiments, data, information, etc., may be obtained with the user's consent.

[0067] Furthermore, each element, each row, or each column in the table of this disclosure can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and any combination of any element, any row, or any column can also be implemented as an independent embodiment.

[0068] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. This communication system may include, but is not limited to, one first communication device and one second communication device. The number and configuration of devices shown in Figure 1 are for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute a limitation on the embodiments of the present disclosure. In practical applications, it may include two or more first communication devices and two or more second communication devices. The communication system 100 shown in Figure 1 is exemplified by including one first communication device 101 and one second communication device 102.

[0069] In some embodiments, the first communication device 101 may be a receiving device, and in some embodiments, the second communication device 102 may be a sending device. In some embodiments, the receiving device may be, for example, a terminal, and the sending device may be, for example, a network device.

[0070] In some embodiments, the terminal in this document can be a user-side entity used to receive or transmit signals, such as at least one of, but not limited to, mobile phones, wearable devices, Internet of Things devices, cars with communication capabilities, smart cars, tablets, computers with wireless transceiver capabilities, virtual reality (VR) terminal devices, augmented reality (AR) terminal devices, wireless terminal devices in industrial control, wireless terminal devices in self-driving, wireless terminal devices in remote medical surgery, wireless terminal devices in smart grids, wireless terminal devices in transportation safety, wireless terminal devices in smart cities, and wireless terminal devices in smart homes.

[0071] In some embodiments, the network device may be an access network device. In some embodiments, the access network device is, for example, a node or device that connects a terminal device to a wireless network. The access network device may include at least one of the following in a 5G communication system: evolved Node B (eNB), next-generation eNB (ng-eNB), next-generation Node B (gNB), node B (NB), home node B (HNB), home evolved node B (HeNB), radio backhaul device, radio network controller (RNC), base station controller (BSC), base transceiver station (BTS), base band unit (BBU), mobile switching center, base station in a 6G communication system, open RAN, cloud RAN, base station in other communication systems, and access node in a Wi-Fi system, but is not limited thereto.

[0072] In some embodiments, the technical solutions of this disclosure can be applied to the Open RAN architecture. In this case, the interfaces between or within access network devices involved in the embodiments of this disclosure can be transformed into internal interfaces of Open RAN. The processes and information interactions between these internal interfaces can be implemented by software or programs.

[0073] In some embodiments, the access network device may be composed of a central unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU). The CU may also be called a control unit. The CU-DU structure can separate the protocol layer of the access network device. Some of the protocol layer functions are centrally controlled by the CU, while the remaining part or all of the protocol layer functions are distributed in the DU and centrally controlled by the CU. However, this is not the only possibility.

[0074] It is understood that the communication system described in this disclosure is for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of this disclosure, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions proposed in this disclosure. As those skilled in the art will know, with the evolution of system architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions proposed in this disclosure are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0075] The following embodiments of this disclosure can be applied to the communication system 100 shown in FIG1, or to some of the main bodies, but are not limited thereto. The main bodies shown in FIG1 are illustrative. The communication system may include all or some of the main bodies in FIG1, or may include other main bodies outside of FIG1. ​​The number and form of each main body are arbitrary. Each main body may be physical or virtual. The connection relationship between the main bodies is illustrative. The main bodies may not be connected or may be connected. The connection can be in any way, it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection, it can be a wired connection or a wireless connection.

[0076] The embodiments disclosed herein can be applied to Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), LTE-Beyond (LTE-B), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4th generation mobile communication system (4G), 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), 5G new radio (NR), Future Radio Access (FRA), New-Radio Access Technology (RAT), New Radio (NR), New radio access (NX), Future generation radio access (FX), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), CDMA2000, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), and IEEE 802.20, Ultra-Wideband (UWB), Bluetooth (a registered trademark), Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) networks, Device-to-Device (D2D) systems, Machine-to-Machine (M2M) systems, Internet of Things (IoT) systems, Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) systems, systems utilizing other communication methods, and next-generation systems built upon them, etc. Furthermore, multiple systems can be combined (e.g., a combination of LTE or LTE-A with 5G).

[0077] Starting with LTE (Long Term Evolution), mobile communication networks no longer support voice services transmitted in the Circuit Switching Domain (CS). To provide voice services in the Packet Switching Domain (PS) with near-circuit-switched efficiency, IP (Internet Protocol), UDP (User Datagram Protocol), and RTP (Real-time Transport Protocol) headers need to be compressed. These headers are typically used for VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) services. For a VoIP packet transmission with a 32-byte payload, the IPv6 header increases by 60 bytes, and the IPv4 header increases by 40 bytes, representing overheads of 188% and 125%, respectively. To address this issue, the user plane PDCP (Packet Data Convergence Protocol) sublayer employs ROHC (Robust Header Compression) header compression technology. Through header compression, this overhead can be reduced to 4–6 bytes, representing only 12.5%–18.8% of the relative overhead, thereby improving channel efficiency and packet data validity.

[0078] In some embodiments of this disclosure, as shown in Figure 2a, the workflow of PDCP's ROHC is illustrated. After the PDCP entity receives VoIP data from the upper layer and processes it through the RTP / UDP / IP protocol stack, the entire packet header becomes lengthy. In fact, many parts of the IP header and other protocol headers in the data stream are static and never change during transmission. ROHC utilizes the fixed nature of these different IP packets, avoiding the need to transmit this redundant information every time. During the compression and decoding process, these redundant information are stored as context, called inferred fields. This information can be obtained from other header information. Therefore, it can be seen that the key to the compression method is how to handle the changing fields. ROHC uses a linear function based on the packet sequence number to obtain the dynamically changing parts of the header.

[0079] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the PDCP processing on the sending side can be as follows: If header compression parameters are configured and the switch is turned on, the header compression module will be enabled, generating the following two types of messages: (1) a compressed message associated with a PDCP SDU; (2) an independent message not associated with any PDCP SDU (Service Data Unit), such as a ROHC feedback message. ROHC feedback messages are not associated with any PDCP SDU, nor are they assigned a PDCP SN (Sequence Number), and the entire message is not encrypted.

[0080] In some embodiments, if the number of established Protocol Compression Contexts (ROHC contexts) has reached the maximum value MAX_CID, and if a new IP flow needs to be processed, and none of the established ROHC contexts match the IP flow, then the compressor should allocate an existing compressed flow (overwriting the old content) or send an uncompressed IP data flow.

[0081] In some embodiments, after the header compression module generates an interspersed ROHC feedback message, the PDCP entity constructs a PDCP Control PDU from the message, without associating it with a PDCP SN or encrypting it, and then submits it to the lower layer.

[0082] In some embodiments, the PDCP processing on the receiving side can be as follows: If user plane compression is configured on the control plane, the PDCP needs to perform decompression processing after receiving and decrypting the PDU. The header decompression protocol does not apply to the SDAP (Service Data Adaptation Protocol) header; that is, the SDAP header does not participate in compression / decompression and is treated as a payload by the compression module. In some embodiments, after receiving an interspersed ROHC feedback message, the PDCP entity directly delivers the message to the header compression module without decompression processing.

[0083] In some embodiments, access layer (AS) signaling and data security are the responsibility of the PDCP layer, but the activation / deactivation of PDCP layer security and the selection of security algorithms are controlled by the RRC layer.

[0084] For example, the initial activation of AS security can be as follows: As shown in Figure 2b, during the RRC connection establishment process, AS layer security is established through the Security Mode Command (SMC) procedure. Optionally, the content of this SecurityModeCommand signaling may include the specific algorithm configured by the network for the terminal. Optionally, after receiving the SecurityModeCommand message (SMC message), the RRC will calculate multiple keys (e.g., KUPint, KUPenc, KRRCint, kRRCenc, etc.) according to the algorithm given by the SecurityModeCommand signaling and configure them to the PDCP layer. At this point, AS layer security can be considered activated.

[0085] It is important to note that in some embodiments, the terminal cannot send the SecurityModeComplete message until the four keys KUPint, KUPenc, KRRCint, and kRRCenc are derived and configured to the PDCP layer. The message can only be sent after all the above procedures are completed. However, for SecurityModeComplete signaling, the terminal only performs integrity protection, not encryption. All messages sent after SecurityModeComplete are both integrity protected and encrypted.

[0086] In some embodiments, network devices (such as base stations) can implement an AS layer security update process by sending RRC reconfiguration signaling. The RRC reconfiguration signaling may contain specific IEs (Information Elements), such as SecurityConfig. The terminal then re-derives the four keys KUPint, KUPenc, KRRCint, and kRRCenc and configures them for the PDCP layer.

[0087] In some embodiments, when security is activated, encryption is applied to all uplink / downlink PDCP data PDUs, but not to signaling PDUs. However, not the entire PDCP data PDU is encrypted; only the MAC-I (Message Authentication Code for Integrity) and the data portion of the PDCP data PDU are encrypted. Encryption will not be applied in the following three cases: Case 1, PDCP data PDU Header; Case 2, PDCP control PDUs; Case 3, if the PDCP data PDU includes an SDAP Header or an SDAP control PDU, then the SDAP Header or SDAP control PDU will also not be encrypted.

[0088] It's worth noting that there are two main reasons why the header shouldn't be encrypted: First, the peer's PDCP needs to obtain the package information before decryption. If the header is encrypted, it cannot be obtained correctly because decryption requires the PDCP COUNT as an input parameter, which is located in the PDCP header. Second, this information is not user privacy information; it's purely process control information that can be exposed. Furthermore, integrity protection processes ensure it won't be tampered with. Reducing the length of the encrypted / decrypted data helps shorten packet transmission time.

[0089] In some embodiments, AS layer data is first integrity protected and then encrypted. The integrity-protected data unit consists of the PDU header and the data portion of the PDU before encryption. Once integrity protection and verification (or validation) is activated, it is applied to all uplink / downlink PDCP PDU headers and the data portion of the PDCP PDU (i.e., the entire PDCP PDU, excluding PDCP control PDUs). PDCP control PDUs do not require integrity protection. Optionally, integrity protection and verification are always applied to signaling plane PDUs (SRBs). Whether integrity protection and verification are applied to user plane PDUs is configured by RRC at the RB (Resource Block) granularity.

[0090] In some embodiments, the sending device calculates MAC-I, and the receiving device calculates X-MAC using the same parameters. If X-MAC and MAC-I match, the integrity verification is successful. For example, for the sending device, integrity protection (such as MAC-I calculation) can be performed before encryption; for the receiving device, data decryption can be performed first, followed by integrity verification (such as MAC-I check).

[0091] In some embodiments, the PDCP COUNT can be composed of the high-order HFN (Hyper Frame Number) and the low-order PDCP SN. In some embodiments, the PDCP entity's reception operation is based on the COUNT of the received PDCP data PDU. Therefore, when the receiving device receives the PDCP data PDU, it needs to determine the value of the COUNT of the received PDCP data PDU (i.e., RCVD_COUNT) based on the PDCP SN and the status variable RX_DELIV.

[0092] For example, an optional implementation of determining the COUNT value (i.e., RCVD_COUNT) of the received PDCP data PDU is as follows: It is necessary to extract RCVD_SN from the received PDCP data PDU, calculate the corresponding RCVD_HFN, and then concatenate RCVD_SN and RCVD_HFN to obtain the COUNT value of the PDCP data PDU, i.e., RCVD_COUNT. For example, RCVD_HFN can be calculated as follows: If RCVD_SN is less than SN(RX_DELIV) – Window_Size, then RCVD_HFN = HFN(RX_DELIV) + 1; if RCVD_SN is greater than or equal to SN(RX_DELIV) + Window_Size, then RCVD_HFN = HFN(RX_DELIV) – 1; otherwise (i.e., if RCVD_SN is greater than or equal to SN(RX_DELIV) – Window_Size and less than SN(RX_DELIV) + Window_Size), RCVD_HFN = HFN(RX_DELIV). Here, RX_DELIV is the COUNT value associated with the first PDCP SDU that has not yet been submitted to the upper layer but is still waiting to be submitted; Window_Size is half the SN space, for example, for a 12-bit PDCP SN, the window size is 2048.

[0093] In some embodiments, after determining the COUNT value of the PDCP data PDU, the receiving PDCP entity can decrypt and perform integrity verification using the COUNT value. If decryption fails, it instructs the upper layer (or higher layer) to fail decryption and then discards the PDCP data PDU, assuming that the PDCP data PDU reception has failed. If the COUNT value is less than RX_DELIV or the PDCP data PDU associated with the COUNT value has already been received, the PDCP data PDU is also discarded.

[0094] It's worth noting that the reason for performing integrity verification before determining whether a PDCP data packet can be discarded is that the integrity verification of a PDCP data PDU affects the integrity verification of subsequent PDCP data PDUs. Therefore, even if the currently received PDCP data PDU meets the discard criteria, it cannot be discarded directly; integrity verification must be performed before discarding. Since encryption follows integrity protection, PDCP data PDUs requiring integrity verification must be decrypted before integrity verification. However, this PDCP processing flow increases the complexity of communication equipment implementation and the processing load, and currently, there is a lack of effective means to optimize the PDCP processing flow.

[0095] Therefore, this disclosure provides an information processing method that can solve the problems of complex processing flow of PDCP PDU in the prior art, thereby reducing the complexity and processing load of communication equipment, optimizing the PDCP processing flow, and thus improving processing efficiency.

[0096] Figure 3 is an interactive schematic diagram of an information processing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 3, the information processing method involved in this embodiment of the present disclosure can be applied to a communication system 100, and the above method includes, but is not limited to, the following steps.

[0097] Step S3101: Send the first PDCPPDU.

[0098] In some embodiments, the first PDCPPDU may be sent by the second communication device 102 (e.g., a transmitting device). For example, the second communication device 102 sends the first PDCPPDU to the first communication device 101 (e.g., a receiving device), and correspondingly, the first communication device 101 receives the first PDCPPDU sent by the second communication device 102. In some embodiments, the first communication device 101 may be a receiving device, and in some embodiments, the second communication device 102 may be a transmitting device. In some embodiments, the receiving device may be, for example, a terminal, and the transmitting device may be, for example, a network device; that is, the first communication device 101 may be a terminal, and the second communication device 102 may be a network device; or, the receiving device may be, for example, a network device, and the transmitting device may be, for example, a terminal; that is, the first communication device 101 may be a network device, and the second communication device 102 may be a terminal.

[0099] In some embodiments, the first PDCPPDU may be a PDCP data PDU, but is not limited thereto; the first PDCPPDU may also be a PDCP control PDU. For example, when the first PDCPPDU is a PDCP data PDU, the first PDCPPDU may include VoIP service data, but is not limited thereto.

[0100] In some embodiments, the first PDCPPDU may be data transmitted over a radio bearer. For example, the second communication device 102 transmits the first PDCPPDU to the first communication device 101 via the radio bearer, and correspondingly, the first communication device 101 receives the first PDCPPDU via the radio bearer. In some embodiments, the first PDCPPDU may be a PDCP data PDU, and the radio bearer associated with the first PDCPPDU may be the DRB (Data Radio Bearer) associated with the PDCP data PDU. The radio bearer associated with the first PDCPPDU can be understood as being used to transmit the first PDCPPDU; for example, if the first PDCPPDU is a PDCP data PDU, the radio bearer associated with the first PDCPPDU may be a DRB used to transmit the PDCP data PDU.

[0101] In some embodiments, the first PDCPPDU can be the data sent by the first communication device 101 after SecurityModeComplete, that is, the first PDCPPDU can be the PDCP data PDU after the second communication device 102 and the first communication device 101 have completed AS security activation. In some embodiments, the first PDCPPDU is a PDCP data PDU, and the data portion of the PDCP data PDU is encrypted, but it is not limited to this; for example, the data portion of the PDCP data PDU may not be encrypted.

[0102] Step S3102: Determine that the radio bearer associated with the received first PDCPPDU has not enabled integrity protection.

[0103] In some embodiments, when a first communication device 101 receives a first PDCPPDU sent by a second communication device 102, it can determine whether the radio bearer associated with the received first PDCPPDU has integrity protection enabled. In some embodiments, if the radio bearer associated with the received first PDCPPDU does not have integrity protection enabled, the first communication device 101 can execute step S3103 or step S3104. For example, if the radio bearer associated with the received first PDCPPDU does not have integrity protection enabled, the first communication device 101 can determine whether the first PDCP PDU meets the discard condition. If the first PDCP PDU meets the discard condition, step S3103 can be executed; if the first PDCP PDU does not meet the discard condition, step S3104 can be executed.

[0104] It should be noted that in some embodiments, whether a radio bearer performs integrity protection can be configured via the network. For example, whether integrity protection and authentication are applied to user plane PDUs (such as DRBs) can be configured by RRC at the RB granularity. For instance, the network device configures PDCP configuration for the radio bearer associated with the first PDCPPDU via RRC signaling. In some embodiments, terms such as "execute," "enable," "enabled," "use," and "apply" can be used interchangeably.

[0105] In some embodiments, the first communication device 101 can determine whether integrity protection is enabled for the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU based on the PDCP configuration corresponding to the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU. For example, the first communication device 101 can determine that integrity protection is not enabled for the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU based on the PDCP configuration corresponding to the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU. In some embodiments, if a first parameter is configured in the PDCP configuration, the first communication device 101 can determine that integrity protection is enabled for the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU; wherein the first parameter can be used to indicate that integrity protection is enabled. In some embodiments, if the first parameter is not configured in the PDCP configuration, the first communication device 101 can determine that integrity protection is not enabled for the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU; wherein the first parameter can be used to indicate that integrity protection is enabled.

[0106] In some embodiments, the PDCP configuration can be a PDCP-config, and the first parameter can be the IntegrityProtection signaling in the PDCP-config. This first parameter can be used to indicate the use of integrity protection (e.g., the value of the first parameter is enabled). For example, the first communication device 101 determines whether the DRB associated with the PDCP configuration has integrity protection enabled by checking whether the first parameter is configured in the PDCP configuration. For instance, if the first parameter is configured in the PDCP configuration, it indicates that the DRB associated with the PDCP configuration has integrity protection enabled; if the first parameter is not configured in the PDCP configuration, it indicates that the DRB associated with the PDCP configuration has not enabled integrity protection. For example, taking the radio bearer associated with the first PDCPPDU as a DRB, when the first communication device 101 receives the first PDCPPDU, it can determine whether the DRB associated with the first PDCPPDU has enabled integrity protection (that is, whether the first PDCPPDU has performed integrity protection) through the PDCP configuration corresponding to the DRB associated with the first PDCPPDU. If the first parameter mentioned above is configured in the PDCP configuration, it can be determined that the DRB associated with the first PDCP PDU has enabled integrity protection (that is, the first PDCPPDU has performed integrity protection); if the first parameter mentioned above is not configured in the PDCP configuration, it can be determined that the DRB associated with the first PDCP PDU has not enabled integrity protection (that is, the first PDCPPDU has not performed integrity protection).

[0107] In some embodiments, the PDCP configuration can be PDCP-config, and the first parameter can be IntegrityProtection signaling in PDCP-config. The first parameter can be used to indicate that integrity protection is not enabled (e.g., the value of the first parameter is disabled). For example, the first communication device 101 determines whether the DRB associated with the PDCP configuration has enabled integrity protection by checking whether the first parameter is configured in the PDCP configuration. For example, taking the radio bearer associated with the first PDCPPDU as a DRB, when the first communication device 101 receives the first PDCPPDU, it can determine whether the DRB associated with the first PDCPPDU has enabled integrity protection (that is, whether the first PDCPPDU has performed integrity protection) through the PDCP configuration corresponding to the DRB associated with the first PDCPPDU. If the first parameter mentioned above is configured in the PDCP configuration, it can be determined that the DRB associated with the first PDCPPDU has not enabled integrity protection (that is, the first PDCPPDU has not performed integrity protection); if the first parameter mentioned above is not configured in the PDCP configuration, it can be determined that the DRB associated with the first PDCPPDU has enabled integrity protection (that is, the first PDCPPDU has performed integrity protection).

[0108] In some embodiments, the PDCP configuration can be a PDCP-config, and the first parameter can be the IntegrityProtection signaling in the PDCP-config. The first parameter can be used to indicate whether integrity protection is enabled. For example, the first communication device 101 determines whether the DRB associated with the PDCP configuration has integrity protection enabled by the value of the first parameter in the PDCP configuration. For example, taking the radio bearer associated with the first PDCPPDU as a DRB, when the first communication device 101 receives the first PDCPPDU, it can determine whether the DRB associated with the first PDCPPDU has enabled integrity protection (i.e., whether the first PDCPPDU has performed integrity protection) through the PDCP configuration corresponding to the DRB associated with the first PDCPPDU. If the first parameter in the PDCP configuration takes the first value, it can be determined that the DRB associated with the first PDCP PDU has enabled integrity protection (i.e., the first PDCPPDU has performed integrity protection); if the first parameter in the PDCP configuration takes the second value, it can be determined that the DRB associated with the first PDCP PDU has not enabled integrity protection (i.e., the first PDCPPDU has not performed integrity protection). The first value can be 1, and the second value can be 0; or the first value can be enabled, and the second value can be disabled; or the first and second values ​​can be other values ​​to indicate whether the DRB associated with the first PDCPPDU has enabled integrity protection. This disclosure does not specifically limit this, nor will it elaborate further.

[0109] In some embodiments, the first communication device 101 may determine whether the radio bearer associated with the first PDCPPDU has integrity protection enabled after determining the first COUNT value of the received first PDCPPDU. For example, when the first communication device 101 receives a first PDCPPDU sent by the second communication device 102, it may determine whether the radio bearer associated with the first PDCPPDU has integrity protection enabled after determining the first COUNT value of the first PDCPPDU. In some embodiments, the first communication device 101 may determine whether the radio bearer associated with the first PDCPPDU has integrity protection enabled before determining the first COUNT value of the received first PDCPPDU. For example, when the first communication device 101 receives a first PDCPPDU sent by the second communication device 102, it may determine the first COUNT value of the first PDCPPDU after determining whether the radio bearer associated with the first PDCPPDU has integrity protection enabled. This disclosure does not specifically limit the execution order. In some embodiments, the first COUNT value can be used for decryption and / or integrity verification of the first PDCPPDU. That is, if the first communication device 101 confirms the first COUNT value of the first PDCPPDU, it can be considered that the first communication device 101 may need to use the first COUNT value to decrypt and / or verify the integrity of the first PDCPPDU. Therefore, after determining the first COUNT value of the first PDCPPDU, it can be determined whether the radio bearer associated with the first PDCPPDU has enabled integrity protection.

[0110] In some embodiments, the first communication device 101 can determine the first COUNT (i.e., RCVD_COUNT) value of the first PDCP PDU based on the SN and state variable of the first PDCP PDU. The value of the state variable can be the COUNT value associated with the first PDCP SDU that has not yet been submitted to the upper layer. For example, the value of the state variable can be the COUNT value associated with the first PDCP SDU that has not yet been submitted to the upper layer but is still waiting to be submitted. For instance, taking the first PDCP PDU as a PDCP data PDU and the state variable as RX_DELIV, the first communication device 101 can extract the RCVD_SN from the received PDCP data PDU, calculate the corresponding RCVD_HFN, and then concatenate the RCVD_SN and RCVD_HFN to obtain the COUNT value of the PDCP data PDU (RCVD_HFN, RCVD_SN), i.e., RCVD_COUNT. For example, the calculation of RCVD_HFN can be as follows: if RCVD_SN is less than SN(RX_DELIV) – Window_Size, then RCVD_HFN = HFN(RX_DELIV) + 1; if RCVD_SN is greater than or equal to SN(RX_DELIV) + Window_Size, then RCVD_HFN = HFN(RX_DELIV) – 1; otherwise (i.e., if RCVD_SN is greater than or equal to SN(RX_DELIV) – Window_Size and less than SN(RX_DELIV) + Window_Size), then RCVD_HFN = HFN(RX_DELIV). Where RX_DELIV is the COUNT value associated with the first PDCP SDU that has not yet been submitted to the upper layer but is still waiting to be submitted; SN(RX_DELIV) is the SN value of RX_DELIV, HFN(RX_DELIV) is the HFN value of RX_DELIV, and Window_Size is half of the SN space. For example, for a 12-bit PDCP SN, the window size is 2048. In some embodiments, the upper layer in this document may refer to the RRC layer, but is not limited thereto.

[0111] In step S3103, if the first PDCP PDU meets the discard condition, then the first communication device 101 performs the first action.

[0112] In some embodiments, if the radio bearer associated with the first PDCPPDU received by the first communication device 101 does not have integrity protection enabled, the first communication device 101 determines whether the first PDCP PDU meets the discard condition. That is, when the radio bearer associated with the first PDCPPDU received does not have integrity protection enabled, the first communication device 101 can determine whether the first PDCP PDU meets the discard condition.

[0113] In some embodiments, the first PDCP PDU satisfying the discard condition may include, but is not limited to: the first COUNT value of the first PDCP PDU being less than the value of a state variable; and / or, the second COUNT value of a second PDCP PDU received before the first PDCP PDU being equal to the first COUNT value. In some embodiments, the first PDCP PDU satisfying the discard condition may include, but is not limited to: the first COUNT value of the first PDCP PDU being less than the value of a state variable; or, the second COUNT value of a previously received second PDCP PDU being equal to the first COUNT value. The value of the state variable may be the COUNT value associated with a first PDCP SDU that has not yet been submitted to the upper layer (e.g., the value of the state variable may be the COUNT value associated with a first PDCP SDU that has not yet been submitted to the upper layer but is still waiting to be submitted). For example, if the first COUNT value of the first PDCP PDU is less than the state variable RX_DELIV, or if the second COUNT value of a previously received second PDCP PDU is equal to the first COUNT value (i.e., a PDCP PDU with a COUNT value equal to the first COUNT value has been received, meaning the first PDCP PDU has been received before, or in other words, the previously received second PDCP PDU is the same as the first PDCP PDU), then it can be determined that the first PDCP PDU meets the discard condition.

[0114] In some embodiments, if the radio bearer associated with the received first PDCPPDU does not have integrity protection enabled, and the first communication device 101 determines that the first PDCP PDU meets the discard condition, then the first communication device 101 can perform a first action. In some embodiments, the first action may include, but is not limited to, discarding the first PDCP PDU, defaulting to at least one of the decryption and integrity verification processes of the first PDCP PDU.

[0115] For example, the first action described above may include discarding the first PDCP PDU, that is: if the radio bearer associated with the received first PDCP PDU does not have integrity protection enabled, and the first communication device 101 determines that the first PDCP PDU meets the discarding condition, then the first communication device 101 may discard the first PDCP PDU. For example, the first action described above may include discarding the first PDCP PDU and defaulting to the decryption and integrity verification process for the first PDCP PDU, that is: if the first communication device 101 determines that the radio bearer associated with the received first PDCP PDU does not have integrity protection enabled, and the first communication device 101 determines that the first PDCP PDU meets the discarding condition, then the first communication device 101 may discard the first PDCP PDU without performing the decryption and integrity verification process for the first PDCP PDU (i.e., neither the decryption process nor the integrity verification process is performed). In other words, since the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU does not have integrity protection enabled, the first communication device 101 does not perform integrity verification. If the first communication device 101 determines that the first PDCP PDU meets the discard conditions, then the first PDCP PDU can be discarded.

[0116] It should be noted that in some embodiments, if the radio bearer associated with the received first PDCPPDU does not have integrity protection enabled, and the first PDCP PDU meets the discard condition, then step S3103 can be executed; if the first PDCP PDU does not meet the discard condition, then step S3104 can be executed. That is, step S3103 can be executed when the radio bearer associated with the received first PDCPPDU does not have integrity protection enabled and the first PDCP PDU meets the discard condition, and step S3104 can be executed when the radio bearer associated with the received first PDCPPDU does not have integrity protection enabled and the first PDCP PDU does not meet the discard condition.

[0117] In step S3104, if the first PDCP PDU does not meet the discard condition, the first communication device 101 performs the second action.

[0118] In some embodiments, if the radio bearer associated with the received first PDCPPDU does not have integrity protection enabled, the first communication device 101 determines whether the first PDCP PDU meets the discard condition.

[0119] In some embodiments, the failure of the first PDCP PDU to meet the discard condition may include, but is not limited to: the first COUNT value of the first PDCP PDU being greater than or equal to the value of a state variable, and the second COUNT value of a previously received second PDCP PDU not being equal to the first COUNT value; wherein, the value of the state variable may be the COUNT value associated with the first PDCP Service Data Unit SDU that has not yet been submitted to the upper layer (for example, the value of the state variable may be the COUNT value associated with the first PDCP Service Data Unit SDU that has not yet been submitted to the upper layer but is still waiting to be submitted to the upper layer). For example, if the first COUNT value of the first PDCP PDU is greater than or equal to the state variable RX_DELIV, and the second COUNT value of a previously received second PDCP PDU is not equal to the first COUNT value (that is, the PDCP PDU associated with the first COUNT value has not been received before, i.e., the first PDCP PDU has not been received before, or in other words, the previously received second PDCP PDU is not the same as the first PDCP PDU), then it can be determined that the first PDCP PDU has not met the discard condition.

[0120] In some embodiments, if the first communication device 101 determines that the first PDCP PDU does not meet the discard condition when the radio bearer associated with the received first PDCPPDU is not enabled for integrity protection, the first communication device 101 may perform a second action. In some embodiments, the second action may include, but is not limited to, at least one of decrypting the first PDCP PDU or defaulting to the integrity verification process of the first PDCP PDU.

[0121] For example, the second action described above may include decrypting the first PDCP PDU. That is, if the radio bearer associated with the received first PDCP PDU does not have integrity protection enabled, and the first communication device 101 determines that the first PDCP PDU does not meet the discard condition, then the first communication device 101 may perform a decryption process. For example, the second action described above may include decrypting the first PDCP PDU and defaulting to the integrity verification process for the first PDCP PDU. That is, if the radio bearer associated with the received first PDCP PDU does not have integrity protection enabled, and the first communication device 101 determines that the first PDCP PDU does not meet the discard condition, then the first communication device 101 may perform a decryption process but does not perform integrity verification on the first PDCP PDU, i.e., defaulting to the integrity verification process for the first PDCP PDU. In other words, since the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU does not have integrity protection enabled, the first communication device 101 does not perform integrity verification. If the first communication device 101 determines that the first PDCP PDU does not meet the discard condition, it can decrypt the first PDCP PDU, but does not perform integrity verification on the first PDCP PDU.

[0122] It should be noted that in some embodiments, if the decryption of the first PDCP PDU fails when step S3104 is executed, step S3105 can be executed. That is, if the first communication device 101 fails to decrypt the first PDCP PDU, it can notify the upper layer of the decryption failure. In other words, step 3105 can be executed after step S3104. That is, if the radio bearer associated with the received first PDCP PDU does not have integrity protection enabled, the first communication device 101 determines that the first PDCP PDU does not meet the discard condition, the first communication device 101 decrypts the first PDCP PDU, and if the decryption of the first PDCP PDU fails, it can indicate that the decryption of the first PDCP PDU has failed.

[0123] In step S3105, the first communication device 101 fails to decrypt the first PDCP PDU and sends first information to the upper layer, which is used to indicate the decryption failure.

[0124] In some embodiments, if the first communication device 101 determines that the first PDCP PDU does not meet the discard condition when the radio bearer associated with the received first PDCP PDU is not enabled for integrity protection, the first communication device 101 may perform a second action, which may include decrypting the first PDCP PDU. If the first communication device 101 fails to decrypt the first PDCP PDU, it may send a first message to the upper layer (or higher layer) to indicate the decryption failure. For example, if the first communication device 101 fails to decrypt the first PDCP PDU, it may indicate the decryption failure to the upper layer (or higher layer) through the first message.

[0125] It should be noted that in some embodiments, if the radio bearer associated with the received first PDCP PDU is not enabled for integrity protection, the first communication device 101 determines that the first PDCP PDU does not meet the discard condition. The first communication device 101 decrypts the first PDCP PDU. If the decryption of the first PDCP PDU fails, it can send a first message to the upper layer (or higher layer) to indicate the decryption failure, and then discard the first PDCP PDU, and regard the first PDCP PDU as not received or received without success. That is to say, the following step S3106 can be executed after step S3105. In some embodiments, if the radio bearer associated with the received first PDCPPDU does not have integrity protection enabled, the first communication device 101 determines that the first PDCP PDU does not meet the discard condition. The first communication device 101 decrypts the first PDCP PDU. If the decryption of the first PDCP PDU fails, it can send a first message to the upper layer (or higher layer) to indicate the decryption failure, discard the first PDCP PDU, and treat the first PDCP PDU as not received or having failed to be received. That is, step S3105 and the following step S3106 can be executed simultaneously. In some embodiments, if the radio bearer associated with the received first PDCPPDU does not have integrity protection enabled, the first communication device 101 determines that the first PDCP PDU does not meet the discard condition. The first communication device 101 decrypts the first PDCP PDU. If the decryption of the first PDCP PDU fails, it can discard the first PDCP PDU, treat the first PDCP PDU as not received or having failed to be received, and then send a first message to the upper layer (or higher layer) to indicate the decryption failure. That is, the following step S3106 can be executed before step S3105.

[0126] Step S3106: Discard the first PDCP PDU and treat the first PDCP PDU as not received or received failed.

[0127] In some embodiments, if the first communication device 101 fails to decrypt the first PDCP PDU, the first communication device 101 may discard the first PDCP PDU and regard the first PDCP PDU as not received or received without success.

[0128] It should be noted that in some embodiments, step S3107 may be executed after step S3101. For example, the second communication device 102 sends a first PDCPPDU to the first communication device 101. Correspondingly, the first communication device 101 receives the first PDCPPDU sent by the second communication device 102. The first communication device 101 can determine whether the radio bearer associated with the received first PDCPPDU has integrity protection enabled. If the radio bearer associated with the received first PDCPPDU does not have integrity protection enabled, then step S3102 is executed; if the radio bearer associated with the received first PDCPPDU has integrity protection enabled, then step S3107 is executed.

[0129] Step S3107: Determine the radio bearer associated with the received first PDCP PDU to enable integrity protection.

[0130] In some embodiments, when a first communication device 101 receives a first PDCPPDU sent by a second communication device 102, it can determine whether the radio bearer associated with the received first PDCPPDU has integrity protection enabled. In some embodiments, if the radio bearer associated with the received first PDCPPDU has integrity protection enabled, then step S3108 can be executed.

[0131] In some embodiments, the first communication device 101 can determine whether integrity protection is enabled for the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU based on the PDCP configuration corresponding to the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU. For example, the first communication device 101 can determine whether integrity protection is enabled for the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU based on the PDCP configuration corresponding to the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU. The optional implementations of the PDCP configuration and the first parameter in the PDCP configuration can be found in the relevant description of step S3102 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0132] It should be noted that in some embodiments, step S3108 may be performed after step S3107.

[0133] Step S3108: Decrypt and verify the integrity of the first PDCP PDU.

[0134] In some embodiments, when a first communication device 101 receives a first PDCPPDU sent by a second communication device 102 and determines that the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU is enabled for integrity protection, the first communication device 101 can decrypt and verify the integrity of the first PDCP PDU. For example, given the first COUNT value (i.e., RCVD_COUNT) of the received first PDCPPDU, the first communication device 101 determines that the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU is enabled for integrity protection, and the first communication device 101 can decrypt and verify the integrity of the first PDCP PDU. For example, the first communication device 101 can perform decryption and integrity verification of the first PDCP PDU using the first COUNT value of the first PDCPPDU.

[0135] In some embodiments, if the first communication device 101 (such as a receiving device) fails to verify the integrity of the first PDCP PDU, it can send second information to the upper layer, which can be used to indicate the integrity verification failure; the first communication device 101 can discard the first PDCP PDU and regard the first PDCP PDU as not received or received failed.

[0136] In some embodiments, after performing step S3108, if the first PDCP PDU meets the discard condition, then step S3109 is performed.

[0137] Step S3109: The first PDCP PDU meets the discard condition, and the first PDCP PDU is discarded.

[0138] In some embodiments, when a first communication device 101 receives a first PDCPPDU sent by a second communication device 102 and determines that the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU is enabled for integrity protection, the first communication device 101 can decrypt and verify the integrity of the first PDCP PDU. For example, given the first COUNT value (i.e., RCVD_COUNT) of the received first PDCPPDU, the first communication device 101 determines that the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU is enabled for integrity protection, and the first communication device 101 can decrypt and verify the integrity of the first PDCP PDU. For example, the first communication device 101 can perform decryption and integrity verification of the first PDCP PDU using the first COUNT value of the first PDCPPDU. If the first COUNT value of the first PDCP PDU is less than the state variable RX_DELIV, or if the second COUNT value of the previously received second PDCP PDU is equal to the first COUNT value (i.e., the PDCP PDU with a COUNT value equal to the first COUNT value has been received, meaning the first PDCP PDU has been received before, or in other words, the previously received second PDCP PDU is the same as the first PDCP PDU), then the first PDCP PDU can be considered to meet the discard condition, and the first communication device 101 can discard the first PDCP PDU.

[0139] In some embodiments, the first communication device 101 can perform decryption and integrity verification of the first PDCP PDU using the first COUNT value of the first PDCP PDU. If the first COUNT value of the first PDCP PDU is greater than or equal to the value of the state variable, and the second COUNT value of the previously received second PDCP PDU is not equal to the first COUNT value, then the first PDCP PDU is considered not to meet the discard condition, and the first communication device 101 can cache the first PDCP PDU, for example, by storing the first PDCP PDU in a receive buffer.

[0140] It should be noted that in some embodiments, step S3109 can be executed after step S3108. That is, after completing the integrity verification of the first PDCP PDU, it is determined whether the first PDCP PDU meets the discarding condition. If the first PDCP PDU meets the discarding condition, it can be discarded. It is worth noting that step S3108 needs to be executed one step before step S3109. That is, if the radio bearer associated with the received first PDCP PDU has integrity protection enabled, even if the received first PDCP PDU meets the discarding condition, it will not be discarded first. Instead, the first PDCP PDU must be decrypted and its integrity verified before it is discarded.

[0141] In some embodiments, the names of information, etc., are not limited to the names described in the embodiments. Terms such as "information", "message", "signal", "signaling", "report", "configuration", "indication", "instruction", "command", "channel", "parameter", "domain", "field", "symbol", "symbol", "codebook", "codeword", "codepoint", "bit", "data", "program", and "chip" can be used interchangeably.

[0142] In some embodiments, the terms "uplink", "uplink", and "physical uplink" can be used interchangeably, as can the terms "downlink", "downlink", and "physical downlink", as well as the terms "sidelink", "sidelink", "sidelink communication", "sidelink communication", "direct connection", "direct link", "direct communication", and "direct link communication".

[0143] In some embodiments, “get,” “obtain,” “receive,” “transmit,” “bidirectional transmission,” and “send and / or receive” can be used interchangeably and can be interpreted as receiving from other entities, obtaining from protocols, obtaining from higher layers, obtaining through self-processing, or autonomous implementation, among other meanings.

[0144] In some embodiments, terms such as “send,” “transmit,” “report,” “distribute,” “transfer,” “bidirectional transmission,” “send and / or receive” can be used interchangeably.

[0145] In some embodiments, terms such as "certain," "preset," "default," "set," "indicated," "a certain," "any," and "first" can be used interchangeably. "Certain A," "preset A," "default A," "set A," "indicated A," "a certain A," "any A," and "first A" can be interpreted as A pre-defined in a protocol or the like, or as A obtained through setting, configuration, or instruction, or as specific A, a certain A, any A, or first A, but are not limited thereto.

[0146] In some embodiments, the determination or judgment can be made by a value represented by 1 bit (0 or 1), or by a true or false value (boolean), or by a comparison of numerical values ​​(e.g., a comparison with a predetermined value), but is not limited thereto.

[0147] The method involved in the embodiments of this disclosure may include at least one of steps S3101 to S3109. For example, step S3102 + step S3103 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S3101 + step S3102 + step S3103 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S3102 + step S3104 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S3102 + step S3104 + step S3105 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S3102 + step S3104 + step S3105 + step S3106 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S3101 + step S3102 + step S3104 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step S3101 + step S3102 + step S3109 can be implemented as an independent embodiment. Step S3104 + step S3105 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, as can step S3101 + step S3102 + step S3104 + step S3105 + step S3106, as can step S3107 + step S3108, as can step S3107 + step S3108 + step S3109, as can step S3101 + step S3107 + step S3108, as can step S3101 + step S3107 + step S3108 + step S3109, but are not limited thereto.

[0148] In some embodiments, steps S3101, S3104 to S3109 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or substituted in different embodiments.

[0149] In some embodiments, steps S3104 to S3109 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or substituted in different embodiments.

[0150] In some embodiments, steps S3101, S3103, S3105 to S3109 are optional and one or more of these steps may be omitted or substituted in different embodiments.

[0151] In some embodiments, steps S3101, S3103, S3106 to S3109 are optional and one or more of these steps may be omitted or substituted in different embodiments.

[0152] In some embodiments, steps S3101, S3103, S3107 to S3109 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or substituted in different embodiments.

[0153] In some embodiments, steps S3103, S3105 to S3109 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or substituted in different embodiments.

[0154] In some embodiments, steps S3103, S3106 to S3109 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or substituted in different embodiments.

[0155] In some embodiments, steps S3103, S3107 to S3109 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or substituted in different embodiments.

[0156] In some embodiments, steps S3101 to S3106 and step S3109 are optional and one or more of these steps may be omitted or substituted in different embodiments.

[0157] In some embodiments, steps S3101 to S3106 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or substituted in different embodiments.

[0158] In some embodiments, steps S3102 to S3106 and step S3109 are optional and one or more of these steps may be omitted or substituted in different embodiments.

[0159] In some embodiments, steps S3102 to S3106 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or substituted in different embodiments.

[0160] In some embodiments, other optional implementations may be described before or after the specification corresponding to FIG3.

[0161] Figure 4A is an interactive schematic diagram of an information processing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 4A, the information processing method disclosed in this embodiment can be applied to a communication system 100, and the method includes, but is not limited to, the following steps.

[0162] In step S4101, the radio bearer associated with the received first PDCP PDU does not have integrity protection enabled, and the integrity verification process for the first PDCP PDU is performed by default.

[0163] In some embodiments, the first PDCP PDU may be a PDCP data PDU, and the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU may be a data radio bearer (DRB) associated with the PDCP data PDU.

[0164] In some embodiments, the method further includes: when the first PDCP PDU meets the discard condition, the receiving device performs a first action. The first action includes: discarding the first PDCP PDU; and performing a default decryption process on the first PDCP PDU.

[0165] In some embodiments, the method further includes: if the first PDCP PDU fails to meet the discard condition, the receiving device performs a second action; the second action includes: decrypting the first PDCP PDU. In some embodiments, the method further includes at least one of the following: if the receiving device fails to decrypt the first PDCP PDU, it sends first information to the upper layer, the first information indicating decryption failure; the receiving device discards the first PDCP PDU. For example, when the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU does not have integrity protection enabled, if the first PDCP PDU fails to meet the discard condition, the first PDCP PDU can be decrypted; if the decryption of the first PDCP PDU fails, the first information can be sent to the upper layer to indicate decryption failure, and the first PDCP PDU can be discarded, treating the first PDCP PDU as unreceived or received without success. This facilitates the upper layer's retransmission of the first PDCP PDU, improving the reception success rate of the first PDCP PDU.

[0166] In some embodiments, the first PDCP PDU does not meet the discard condition, including: the first COUNT value of the received first PDCP PDU is greater than or equal to the value of the state variable, and the second COUNT value of the second PDCP PDU received before the first PDCP PDU is not equal to the first COUNT value; wherein the value of the state variable is the COUNT value associated with the first PDCP service data unit SDU that has not yet been submitted to the upper layer.

[0167] In some embodiments, it is determined whether the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU has integrity protection enabled. In some embodiments, it can be determined whether the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU has integrity protection enabled based on the PDCP configuration corresponding to the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU.

[0168] In some embodiments, if a first parameter is configured in the PDCP configuration, it can be determined that the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU has integrity protection enabled; or, if the first parameter is not configured in the PDCP configuration, it can be determined that the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU has integrity protection disabled; wherein the first parameter is used to indicate that integrity protection is enabled.

[0169] In some embodiments, the method further includes: enabling integrity protection for the radio bearer associated with the received first PDCP PDU; decrypting and verifying the integrity of the first PDCP PDU; and discarding the first PDCP PDU if it meets the discarding condition. For example, in the case of enabling integrity protection for the radio bearer associated with the received first PDCP PDU, the first PDCP PDU can be decrypted and verified for integrity. If, after verifying the first PDCP PDU, it is determined that the first PDCP PDU meets the discarding condition, then the first PDCP PDU is discarded.

[0170] In some embodiments, the method further includes at least one of the following: if the integrity verification of the first PDCP PDU fails, sending a second message to the upper layer, the second message indicating the integrity verification failure. For example, if the radio bearer associated with the received first PDCP PDU has integrity protection enabled, the first PDCP PDU can be decrypted and its integrity verified. If the integrity verification of the first PDCP PDU fails, a second message can be sent to the upper layer to indicate the integrity verification failure, and the first PDCP PDU can be discarded, treating it as unreceived or having failed to be received. This allows the upper layer to retransmit the PDCP PDU, improving the PDCP PDU reception success rate.

[0171] In some embodiments, the first PDCP PDU satisfies the discard condition, including: the first COUNT value of the received first PDCP PDU is less than the value of a state variable, the value of which is the COUNT value associated with the first PDCP service data unit SDU that has not yet been submitted to the upper layer; or, the second COUNT value of the second PDCP PDU received before the first PDCP PDU is received is equal to the first COUNT value.

[0172] Optional implementations of the information processing method involved in the embodiments of this disclosure can be found in the description of the relevant steps in the embodiment of Figure 3 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0173] Figure 4B is an interactive schematic diagram of an information processing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 4B, the information processing method disclosed in this embodiment can be applied to a communication system 100, and the method includes, but is not limited to, the following steps.

[0174] Step S4201: Send the first PDCPPDU.

[0175] In some embodiments, the first PDCPPDU may be sent by the second communication device 102 (e.g., a transmitting device). For example, the second communication device 102 sends the first PDCPPDU to the first communication device 101 (e.g., a receiving device), and correspondingly, the first communication device 101 receives the first PDCPPDU sent by the second communication device 102.

[0176] The optional implementation of step S4201 can be found in the optional implementation of step S3101 in Figure 3 and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0177] Step S4202: Determine that the radio bearer associated with the received first PDCPPDU has not enabled integrity protection.

[0178] The optional implementation of step S4202 can be found in the optional implementation of step S3102 in Figure 3 and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0179] In step S4203, if the first PDCP PDU meets the discard condition, then the first communication device 101 performs the first action.

[0180] The optional implementation of step S4203 can be found in the optional implementation of step S3103 in Figure 3 and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0181] It should be noted that in some embodiments, if the radio bearer associated with the received first PDCPPDU does not have integrity protection enabled, and the first PDCP PDU meets the discard condition, then step S4103 can be executed; if the first PDCP PDU does not meet the discard condition, then step S4104 can be executed. That is, step S4103 can be executed when the radio bearer associated with the received first PDCPPDU does not have integrity protection enabled and the first PDCP PDU meets the discard condition, and step S4104 can be executed when the radio bearer associated with the received first PDCPPDU does not have integrity protection enabled and the first PDCP PDU does not meet the discard condition.

[0182] In step S4204, if the first PDCP PDU does not meet the discard condition, the first communication device 101 performs the second action.

[0183] The optional implementation of step S4204 can be found in the optional implementation of step S3104 in Figure 3 and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0184] It should be noted that in some embodiments, if the decryption of the first PDCP PDU fails when step S4104 is executed, step S4105 can be executed. That is, if the first communication device 101 fails to decrypt the first PDCP PDU, it can notify the upper layer of the decryption failure. In other words, step S4105 can be executed after step S4104. That is, if the radio bearer associated with the received first PDCP PDU does not have integrity protection enabled, the first communication device 101 determines that the first PDCP PDU does not meet the discard condition, the first communication device 101 decrypts the first PDCP PDU, and if the decryption of the first PDCP PDU fails, it can indicate that the decryption of the first PDCP PDU has failed.

[0185] In step S4205, the first communication device 101 fails to decrypt the first PDCP PDU and sends first information to the upper layer, which is used to indicate the decryption failure.

[0186] The optional implementation of step S4205 can be found in the optional implementation of step S3105 in Figure 3 and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0187] It should be noted that in some embodiments, if the radio bearer associated with the received first PDCPPDU is not enabled for integrity protection, the first communication device 101 determines that the first PDCP PDU does not meet the discard condition. The first communication device 101 decrypts the first PDCP PDU. If the decryption of the first PDCP PDU fails, it can send a first message to the upper layer (or higher layer) to indicate the decryption failure, and then discard the first PDCP PDU, and regard the first PDCP PDU as not received or received failed. That is to say, the following step S4106 can be executed after executing step S4105. In some embodiments, if the radio bearer associated with the received first PDCPPDU does not have integrity protection enabled, the first communication device 101 determines that the first PDCP PDU does not meet the discard condition. The first communication device 101 decrypts the first PDCP PDU. If the decryption of the first PDCP PDU fails, it can send a first message to the upper layer (or higher layer) to indicate the decryption failure, discard the first PDCP PDU, and treat the first PDCP PDU as not received or having failed to be received. That is, step S4105 and the following step S4106 can be executed simultaneously. In some embodiments, if the radio bearer associated with the received first PDCPPDU does not have integrity protection enabled, the first communication device 101 determines that the first PDCP PDU does not meet the discard condition. The first communication device 101 decrypts the first PDCP PDU. If the decryption of the first PDCP PDU fails, it can discard the first PDCP PDU, treat the first PDCP PDU as not received or having failed to be received, and then send a first message to the upper layer (or higher layer) to indicate the decryption failure. That is, the following step S4106 can be executed before step S4105.

[0188] Step S4206: Discard the first PDCP PDU and treat the first PDCP PDU as not received or received failed.

[0189] The optional implementation of step S4206 can be found in the optional implementation of step S3106 in Figure 3 and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0190] The method involved in the embodiments of this disclosure may include at least one of steps S4201 to S4206. For example, step S4202 can be implemented as a standalone embodiment, step S4202 + step S4203 can be implemented as a standalone embodiment, step S4201 + step S4202 + step S4203 can be implemented as a standalone embodiment, step S4202 + step S4204 can be implemented as a standalone embodiment, step S4202 + step S4204 + step S4205 can be implemented as a standalone embodiment, and step S4202 + step S4204... Steps S4205 and S4206 can be implemented as independent embodiments, as can steps S4201, S4202, and S4204, as well as steps S4201, S4202, S4204, S4205, and S4201, S4202, S4204, S4205, and S4206, but are not limited thereto.

[0191] In some embodiments, steps S4201, S4203 to S4206 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or substituted in different embodiments.

[0192] In some embodiments, steps S4201, S4204 to S4206 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or substituted in different embodiments.

[0193] In some embodiments, steps S4204 to S4206 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or substituted in different embodiments.

[0194] In some embodiments, steps S4201, S4203, S4205, and S4206 are optional and one or more of these steps may be omitted or substituted in different embodiments.

[0195] In some embodiments, steps S4201, S4203, and S4206 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or substituted in different embodiments.

[0196] In some embodiments, steps S4201 and S4203 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or substituted in different embodiments.

[0197] In some embodiments, steps S4203, S4205, and S4206 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or substituted in different embodiments.

[0198] In some embodiments, steps S4203 and S4206 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or substituted in different embodiments.

[0199] In some embodiments, step S4203 is optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or substituted in different embodiments.

[0200] It is worth noting that whether the DRB performs integrity protection can be configured via RRC signaling. For a DRB without integrity protection, if the PDCP data PDU meets the discard condition, the decryption process can be omitted, thus reducing the implementation complexity and processing load of the communication equipment. This disclosure provides an information processing method, particularly a PDCP processing method, which allows for the omission of decryption for a DRB without integrity protection if the PDCP data PDU meets the discard condition. The following will describe this in detail with reference to embodiments.

[0201] In some embodiments, after the terminal confirms the COUNT value (i.e., RCVD_COUNT) of the PDCP data PDU, the terminal determines whether the DRB associated with the PDCP data PDU has enabled integrity protection.

[0202] For example, RCVD_COUNT = [RCVD_HFN, RCVD_SN]. For example, the terminal determines whether integrity protection is enabled for the DRB associated with the PDCP data PDU through the PDCP configuration corresponding to the DRB. Optionally, the terminal determines whether integrity protection is enabled for the DRB through the IntegrityProtection signaling in the PDCP-config corresponding to the DRB. For example, if the parameter (i.e., IntegrityProtection signaling) is configured in the PDCP configuration, it indicates that integrity protection is enabled for the DRB; if the parameter (i.e., IntegrityProtection signaling) is not configured in the PDCP configuration, it indicates that integrity protection is not enabled for the DRB.

[0203] In some embodiments, if the terminal determines that the DRB associated with the PDCP data PDU has not enabled integrity protection, and the terminal determines that the PDCP data PDU meets the discard conditions, the terminal will not perform the decryption process. If the terminal determines that the PDCP data PDU does not meet the discard conditions, the terminal will perform the decryption process.

[0204] For example, if a PDCP data PDU with a COUNT value less than RX_DELIV, or a COUNT value equal to RCVD_COUNT, has already been received, then the PDCP data PDU is determined to meet the discard condition; otherwise, the PDCP data PDU does not meet the discard condition. For example, RX_DELIV is a state variable maintained by the receiver, representing the COUNT value of the first PDCP SDU that has not yet been sent to the upper layer but is still waiting.

[0205] For example, if the terminal determines that the DRB associated with the PDCP data PDU has not enabled integrity protection, and the terminal determines that the PDCP data PDU meets the discard conditions, the terminal will not perform decryption. Since the DRB associated with the PDCP data PDU has not enabled integrity protection, the terminal will not perform integrity verification and will discard the PDCP data PDU.

[0206] For example, if the terminal determines that the PDCP data PDU does not meet the discard conditions, the terminal performs a decryption process. If decryption fails, the terminal instructs the higher layer to fail decryption and then discards the PDCP data PDU, assuming that the PDCP data PDU reception has failed.

[0207] In some embodiments, when the terminal determines that the DRB associated with the PDCP data PDU is enabled for integrity protection, the terminal performs decryption and integrity verification, and determines whether the PDCP data PDU meets the discard conditions. If the discard conditions are met, the PDCP data PDU is discarded.

[0208] For example, the terminal performs integrity verification using the COUNT value of the PDCP data PDU. For example, if a PDCP data PDU with a COUNT value less than RX_DELIV or a COUNT value equal to RCVD_COUNT has already been received, it can be determined that the PDCP data PDU meets the discard condition; otherwise, the PDCP data PDU does not meet the discard condition. For example, RX_DELIV is a state variable maintained by the receiver, representing the COUNT value of the first PDCP SDU that has not been sent to the upper layer but is still waiting. If integrity verification fails, the higher layer is instructed to fail integrity verification and then the PDCP data PDU is discarded, indicating that the reception of this PDCP data PDU has failed.

[0209] In some embodiments, the steps and their optional implementations in other embodiments described before or after this embodiment, as well as other related parts in the specification, can be referred to, and will not be repeated here.

[0210] This disclosure also proposes an apparatus (also referred to as a communication device, etc.) for implementing any of the above methods. For example, an apparatus is proposed that includes units or modules for implementing the steps performed by the terminal in any of the above methods. Furthermore, another apparatus is proposed that includes units or modules for implementing the steps performed by a network device (e.g., an access network device, a core network functional node, a core network device, etc.) in any of the above methods.

[0211] It should be understood that the division of units or modules in the above device is only a logical functional division. In actual implementation, they can be fully or partially integrated into a single physical entity, or they can be physically separated. Furthermore, the units or modules in the device can be implemented by a processor calling software: for example, the device includes a processor connected to a memory containing instructions. The processor calls the instructions stored in the memory to implement any of the above methods or to implement the functions of the units or modules in the above device. The processor can be, for example, a general-purpose processor, such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU) or a microprocessor, and the memory can be internal or external to the device. Alternatively, the units or modules in the device can be implemented in the form of hardware circuits. The functionality of some or all of the units or modules can be achieved through the design of these hardware circuits, which can be understood as one or more processors. For example, in one implementation, the hardware circuit is an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The functionality of some or all of the units or modules is achieved through the design of the logical relationships between the components within the circuit. In another implementation, the hardware circuit can be implemented using a programmable logic device (PLD). Taking a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) as an example, it can include a large number of logic gates. The connection relationships between the logic gates are configured through configuration files, thereby achieving the functionality of some or all of the units or modules. All units or modules of the above device can be implemented entirely through processor-called software, entirely through hardware circuits, or partially through processor-called software with the remaining parts implemented through hardware circuits.

[0212] In this embodiment, the processor is a circuit with signal processing capabilities. In one implementation, the processor can be a circuit with instruction read and execute capabilities, such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a graphics processing unit (GPU) (which can be understood as a microprocessor), or a digital signal processor (DSP). In another implementation, the processor can implement certain functions through the logical relationships of hardware circuits. The logical relationships of the aforementioned hardware circuits are fixed or reconfigurable. For example, the processor is a hardware circuit implemented using an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a programmable logic device (PLD), such as an FPGA. In a reconfigurable hardware circuit, the process of the processor loading a configuration document and configuring the hardware circuit can be understood as the process of the processor loading instructions to implement the functions of some or all of the above units or modules. Furthermore, it can also be a hardware circuit designed for artificial intelligence, which can be understood as an ASIC, such as a Neural Network Processing Unit (NPU), a Tensor Processing Unit (TPU), or a Deep Learning Processing Unit (DPU).

[0213] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the communication device proposed in an embodiment of this disclosure. The communication device 5100 is used to perform any of the above methods. In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 5, the communication device 5100 may include at least one of a transceiver module 5101, a processing module 5102, etc. In some embodiments, the processing module is used to: if the radio bearer associated with the received first Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) protocol data unit (PDU) has not enabled integrity protection, default to the integrity verification process for the first PDCP PDU. Optionally, the transceiver module is used to perform at least one of the communication steps (e.g., steps S3105, S4205, but not limited thereto) performed by the first communication device 101 in any of the above methods, which will not be described in detail here. Optionally, the processing module described above is used to execute at least one of the other steps executed by the communication device 101 in any of the above methods (e.g., steps S3102 to S3104, steps S3106 to S3109, step S4101, steps S4202 to S4204, step S4206, but not limited thereto), which will not be elaborated further here. Regarding the communication device in the above embodiments, the specific manner in which each module performs its operation has been described in detail in the embodiments related to the method, and will not be elaborated further here.

[0214] In some embodiments, the first PDCP PDU may be a PDCP data PDU, and the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU may be a data radio bearer (DRB) associated with the PDCP data PDU.

[0215] In some embodiments, the processing module 5102 is further configured to: execute a first action when the first PDCP PDU meets the discard condition. The first action includes: discarding the first PDCP PDU; and defaulting to the decryption process of the first PDCP PDU.

[0216] In some embodiments, the processing module 5102 is further configured to: perform a second action if the first PDCP PDU does not meet the discard condition; the second action includes: decrypting the first PDCP PDU.

[0217] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 5101 is configured to: send first information to the upper layer if the decryption of the first PDCP PDU fails, the first information being used to indicate the decryption failure; the processing module 5102 is further configured to: discard the first PDCP PDU.

[0218] In some embodiments, the first PDCP PDU does not meet the discard condition, including: the first COUNT value of the received first PDCP PDU is greater than or equal to the value of the state variable, and the second COUNT value of the second PDCP PDU received before the first PDCP PDU is not equal to the first COUNT value; wherein the value of the state variable is the COUNT value associated with the first PDCP service data unit SDU that has not yet been submitted to the upper layer.

[0219] In some embodiments, the processing module 5102 is configured to: determine, based on the PDCP configuration corresponding to the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU, that the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU has not enabled integrity protection.

[0220] In some embodiments, the processing module 5102 is configured to: if a first parameter is not configured in the PDCP configuration, it can be determined that the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU has not enabled integrity protection; wherein the first parameter is used to indicate that integrity protection is enabled.

[0221] In some embodiments, the processing module 5102 is further configured to: enable radio bearer integrity protection associated with the received first PDCP PDU; decrypt and verify the integrity of the first PDCP PDU; and discard the first PDCP PDU if the first PDCP PDU meets the discard condition. For example, in the case of enabling radio bearer integrity protection associated with the received first PDCP PDU, the first PDCP PDU can be decrypted and its integrity verified. After verifying the first PDCP PDU, if it is determined that the first PDCP PDU meets the discard condition, then the first PDCP PDU is discarded.

[0222] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 5101 is configured to: if the integrity verification of the first PDCP PDU fails, send second information to the upper layer, the second information indicating the integrity verification failure; the processing module 5102 is further configured to: discard the first PDCP PDU. For example, if the radio bearer associated with the received first PDCP PDU has integrity protection enabled, the first PDCP PDU can be decrypted and its integrity verified. If the integrity verification of the first PDCP PDU fails, the second information can be sent to the upper layer to indicate the integrity verification failure, and the first PDCP PDU can be discarded, treating the first PDCP PDU as unreceived or having failed to be received. This allows the upper layer to retransmit the PDCP PDU, improving the PDCP PDU reception success rate.

[0223] In some embodiments, the first PDCP PDU satisfies the discard condition, including: the first COUNT value of the received first PDCP PDU is less than the value of a state variable, the value of which is the COUNT value associated with the first PDCP service data unit SDU that has not yet been submitted to the upper layer; or, the second COUNT value of the second PDCP PDU received before the first PDCP PDU is received is equal to the first COUNT value.

[0224] In some embodiments, the transceiver module may include a transmitting module and / or a receiving module, which may be separate or integrated. Optionally, the transceiver module may be interchangeable with a transceiver.

[0225] In some embodiments, the processing module may be a single module or may include multiple sub-modules. Optionally, the multiple sub-modules may each perform all or part of the steps required by the processing module.

[0226] In some embodiments, the processing module can be replaced by the processor, and the transceiver module can be replaced by the transceiver.

[0227] Figure 6A is a schematic diagram of the structure of the communication device 6100 proposed in an embodiment of this disclosure. The communication device 6100 can be a network device (e.g., access network device, core network device, etc.), a terminal (e.g., user equipment, etc.), a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the network device in implementing any of the above methods, or a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the terminal in implementing any of the above methods. The communication device 6100 can be used to implement the methods described in the above method embodiments; for details, please refer to the descriptions in the above method embodiments.

[0228] As shown in Figure 6A, the communication device 6100 is used to execute any of the above methods. In some embodiments, the communication device 6100 includes one or more processors 6101. The processor 6101 may be a general-purpose processor or a special-purpose processor, such as a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor may be used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processing unit may be used to control communication devices (e.g., base stations, baseband chips, terminal devices, terminal device chips, DUs or CUs, etc.), execute programs, and process program data. Optionally, the communication device 6100 is used to execute any of the above methods. Optionally, one or more processors 6101 are used to invoke instructions to cause the communication device 6100 to execute any of the above methods.

[0229] In some embodiments, the communication device 6100 further includes one or more transceivers 6102. When the communication device 6100 includes one or more transceivers 6102, the transceiver 6102 performs at least one of the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving in the above method (e.g., steps S3105, S4205, but not limited thereto), and the processor 6101 performs at least one of other steps (e.g., steps S3102 to S3104, steps S3106 to S3109, step S4101, steps S4202 to S4204, step S4206, but not limited thereto). In optional embodiments, the transceiver may include a receiver and / or a transmitter, which may be separate or integrated together. Optionally, the terms transceiver, transceiver unit, transceiver, transceiver circuit, interface circuit, interface, etc., can be used interchangeably; the terms transmitter, transmitting unit, transmitter, transmitting circuit, etc., can be used interchangeably; the terms receiver, receiving unit, receiver, receiving circuit, etc., can be used interchangeably.

[0230] In some embodiments, the communication device 6100 further includes one or more memories 6103 for storing data and / or instructions. Optionally, one or more processors 6101 are used to invoke instructions stored in the memory 6103 to cause the communication device 6100 to perform any of the above methods. Optionally, all or part of the memory 6103 may also be located outside the communication device 6100. In an optional embodiment, the communication device 6100 may include one or more interface circuits 6104. Optionally, the interface circuit 6104 is connected to the memory 6103 and can be used to receive data and / or instructions from the memory 6103 or other devices, and can be used to send data and / or instructions to the memory 6103 or other devices. For example, the interface circuit 6104 can read data and / or instructions stored in the memory 6103 and send the data and / or instructions to the processor 6101.

[0231] The communication device 6100 described in the above embodiments may be a network device or a terminal, but the scope of the communication device 6100 described in this disclosure is not limited thereto, and the structure of the communication device 6100 may not be limited by FIG. 6A. The communication device may be a standalone device or a part of a larger device. For example, the communication device may be: (1) a standalone integrated circuit IC, or chip, or chip system or subsystem; (2) a collection of one or more ICs, optionally, the IC collection may also include storage components for storing data, programs and / or instructions; (3) an ASIC, such as a modem; (4) a module that can be embedded in other devices; (5) a receiver, terminal device, smart terminal device, cellular phone, wireless device, handheld device, mobile unit, vehicle device, network device, cloud device, artificial intelligence device, etc.; (6) others, etc.

[0232] Figure 6B is a schematic diagram of the structure of chip 6200 according to an embodiment of this disclosure. For cases where the communication device 6100 can be a chip or a chip system, please refer to the schematic diagram of chip 6200 shown in Figure 6B, but it is not limited thereto.

[0233] Chip 6200 includes one or more processors 6201. Chip 6200 is used to perform any of the methods described above.

[0234] In some embodiments, chip 6200 further includes one or more interface circuits 6202. Optionally, terms such as interface circuit, interface, and transceiver pin can be used interchangeably. In some embodiments, chip 6200 further includes one or more memories 6203 for storing data and / or instructions. Optionally, all or part of the memories 6203 may be located outside of chip 6200. Optionally, interface circuit 6202 is connected to memory 6203, and interface circuit 6202 can be used to receive data and / or instructions from memory 6203 or other devices, and interface circuit 6202 can be used to send data and / or instructions to memory 6203 or other devices. For example, interface circuit 6202 can read data and / or instructions stored in memory 6203 and send the data and / or instructions to processor 6201.

[0235] In some embodiments, the interface circuit 6202 performs at least one of the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving in the above method (e.g., steps S3105, S4205, but not limited thereto). The interface circuit 6202 performing the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving in the above method refers, for example, to the interface circuit 6202 performing data and / or instruction interaction between the processor 6201, the chip 6200, the memory 6203, or the transceiver device. In some embodiments, the processor 6201 performs at least one of other steps (e.g., steps S3102 to S3104, steps S3106 to S3109, step S4101, steps S4202 to S4204, S4206, but not limited thereto).

[0236] The modules and / or devices described in the various embodiments, such as virtual devices, physical devices, and chips, can be combined or separated arbitrarily as needed. Optionally, some or all steps can also be performed collaboratively by multiple modules and / or devices, which is not limited here.

[0237] This disclosure also proposes a storage medium storing instructions that, when executed on a communication device, cause the communication device to perform any of the above methods. Optionally, the storage medium is an electronic storage medium. Optionally, the storage medium is a computer-readable storage medium, but not limited thereto; it may also be a storage medium readable by other devices. Optionally, the storage medium may be a non-transitory storage medium, but not limited thereto; it may also be a temporary storage medium.

[0238] This disclosure also proposes a program product, including a program and / or instructions, which, when executed by a communication device, cause the communication device to perform any of the above methods. Optionally, the program product is a computer program product. Optionally, the program product is stored on the storage medium.

[0239] This disclosure also proposes a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform any of the above methods.

[0240] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved, in whole or in part, through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, it can be implemented, in whole or in part, as a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs. When the computer program is loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this disclosure are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer program can be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium accessible to a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available media may be magnetic media (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media (e.g., high-density digital video discs (DVDs)), or semiconductor media (e.g., solid-state disks (SSDs)).

[0241] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the units and algorithm steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this disclosure.

[0242] Those skilled in the art will understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0243] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this disclosure, but the scope of protection of this disclosure is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this disclosure should be included within the scope of protection of this disclosure. Therefore, the scope of protection of this disclosure should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. An information processing method characterized by comprising: The method includes: If the radio bearer associated with the first Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) received by the receiving device does not have integrity protection enabled, the receiving device will default to the integrity verification process for the first PDCP PDU.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The method further includes: When the first PDCP PDU meets the discard condition, the receiving device performs a first action, which includes: Discard the first PDCP PDU; The default decryption process for the first PDCP PDU.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein, The method further includes: If the first PDCP PDU does not meet the discard condition, the receiving device performs a second action, which includes: Decrypt the first PDCP PDU.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein, The method further includes at least one of the following: When the receiving device fails to decrypt the first PDCP PDU, it sends a first message to the upper layer, indicating that the decryption has failed. The receiving device discards the first PDCP PDU.

5. The method of claim 3 or 4, wherein, The first PDCP PDU did not meet the discard conditions, including: The first count (COUNT) value of the first PDCP PDU received is greater than or equal to the value of the state variable, and the second count (COUNT) value of the second PDCP PDU received before the first PDCP PDU is not equal to the first count (COUNT). The value of the state variable is the COUNT value associated with the first PDCP service data unit (SDU) that has not yet been submitted to the upper layer.

6. The method of any one of claims 1-5, wherein, The first PDCP PDU is a PDCP data PDU, and the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU is the data radio bearer (DRB) associated with the PDCP data PDU.

7. The method of any one of claims 1-6, wherein, The receiving device determines that the radio bearer associated with the received first packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) protocol data unit (PDU) has not enabled integrity protection, including: Based on the PDCP configuration corresponding to the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU, it is determined that the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU has not enabled integrity protection.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein, The determination that the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU has not enabled integrity protection, based on the PDCP configuration corresponding to the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU, includes: The first parameter is not configured in the PDCP configuration, which determines that the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU has not enabled integrity protection. The first parameter is used to indicate whether integrity protection is enabled.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein, The method further includes: The receiving device receives the radio bearer associated with the first PDCP PDU and enables integrity protection; the receiving device decrypts and verifies the integrity of the first PDCP PDU. The first PDCP PDU meets the discard condition, and the receiving device discards the first PDCP PDU.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein, The method further includes at least one of the following: The receiving device fails to verify the integrity of the first PDCP PDU and sends a second message to the upper layer, indicating that the integrity verification has failed. The receiving device discards the first PDCP PDU.

11. The method of claim 2 or 9, wherein, The first PDCP PDU meets the discard conditions, including: The first COUNT value of the received first PDCP PDU is less than the value of the state variable, where the value of the state variable is the COUNT value associated with the first PDCP Service Data Unit (SDU) that has not yet been submitted to the upper layer; and / or, The second COUNT value of the second PDCP PDU received before receiving the first PDCPPDU is equal to the first COUNT value.

12. An information processing apparatus comprising: include: The processing module is used to perform the integrity verification process on the first PDCP PDU if the radio bearer associated with the received first packet data aggregation protocol (PDCP) protocol data unit (PDU) does not have integrity protection enabled.

13. A communication device, characterized by The communication device is used to perform the information processing method according to any one of claims 1-11.

14. A storage medium, the storage medium storing instructions, wherein, When the instruction is executed on the communication device, the communication device performs the information processing method as described in any one of claims 1-11.

15. A program product comprising at least one of a program, instructions, characterized in that When at least one of the programs or instructions is executed by a communication device, it implements the steps of the method described in any one of claims 1-11.

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