Access Gateway Billing Data Verification via Cryptographic Hashing
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Solution Overview
Problem
In unregulated wireless network environments, independent Access Gateway Operators can manipulate Network Resource Usage Statistics for fraudulent purposes, making it difficult for Billing Service Providers to detect and prevent fraud, especially in situations where there is no direct commercial relationship between the User and the Operator.
Innovation Solution
The Access Gateway periodically receives and verifies billing data from the Network User Device using encoded parameters that cannot be modified without detection, ensuring the accuracy of Network Resource Usage Statistics by correlating them with its own records and terminating sessions if discrepancies are found, and forwards verified data to the AAA System.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the Access Gateway Operator independently manages Network Resource Usage Statistics, then operational autonomy and flexibility are improved, but the risk of fraudulent manipulation and billing accuracy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary encoding of billing data at the Network User Device before transmission to the Access Gateway. This encoding includes cryptographic hashing and digital signatures that prevent later manipulation. By establishing the integrity of usage statistics at the source before they leave the user's device, the system ensures operational autonomy for the Access Gateway while maintaining billing accuracy through pre-established cryptographic verification.
2Reliability
If the Billing Service Provider performs audit-style spot-checks to detect fraudulent reporting, then fraud detection capability is improved, but cost and time consumption worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces manual audit-style spot-checks with automated cryptographic verification. Instead of periodically sampling and manually checking billing records, the system uses cryptographic hashes and digital signatures that automatically verify the integrity of every billing data transmission. This substitution transforms fraud detection from a resource-intensive manual process into an efficient automated verification mechanism that checks all transactions without additional time or cost overhead.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If encrypted data transfer protocols are used between Access Gateway and Billing Service Provider, then data security during transmission is improved, but protection against source manipulation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces cryptographic hashing as an intermediary verification layer between the Network User Device and the Billing Service Provider. The hash function creates a unique fingerprint of the billing data that travels with the encrypted transmission. This intermediary mechanism allows the Billing Service Provider to verify the source integrity of the data independently of the encryption protocol, detecting any manipulation that occurs either at the source or during transmission without relying solely on the encryption's confidentiality.
Data Source
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AI summary
A system and method for enabling verification of billing data received from an operator of a network resource access gateway by a billing service provider. An access gateway device is coupled to a network user device and to a billing service providers system. The network user device generates billing data. The access gateway device is configured to compare received billing data with corresponding billing data generated by the access gateway device and if the received billing data correlates to the billing data generated by the access gateway device, the access gateway device stores portions of the received billing data.