Communication Identifier Padding for Anonymity-Bandwidth Tradeoffs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing communication identifier padding methods improve security at the expense of increased bandwidth requirements, and there is a need for a method that enhances anonymity without significantly increasing transmission bandwidth.
Innovation Solution
Communication identifiers are padded to specific allowed lengths determined by a set of rules that minimize bandwidth usage while ensuring meaningful anonymity improvements, with padding decisions based on the distribution of identifier lengths and network configurations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If communication identifiers are padded to the same length, then identifier anonymity is improved, but transmission bandwidth requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by selectively padding only certain identifiers based on their individual characteristics. Instead of uniformly padding all identifiers to the same length, the system evaluates each identifier's length distribution and applies padding only where it meaningfully improves anonymity, thereby avoiding unnecessary bandwidth consumption while maintaining security benefits.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of identifier length dynamically based on statistical analysis of the identifier distribution. By analyzing the length distribution and determining optimal padding targets that maximize anonymity improvement, the system adjusts padding parameters to achieve the best trade-off between security and bandwidth efficiency rather than using fixed padding rules.
2Reliability
If padding is applied to all identifiers uniformly, then security is improved, but transmission efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by selectively padding only the portion of identifiers that benefit from it. Rather than uniformly padding all identifiers, the system identifies and pads only those identifiers where length normalization provides meaningful anonymity improvement, leaving others unchanged to avoid unnecessary bandwidth overhead and maintain transmission efficiency.
3Ease of operation
If identifiers are padded to a fixed length, then processing simplicity is improved, but bandwidth consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces dynamics by making the padding length adaptive rather than fixed. The system analyzes the distribution of identifier lengths and dynamically determines optimal padding targets, allowing the padding strategy to adjust based on the actual data characteristics. This dynamic approach maintains processing simplicity while avoiding the excessive bandwidth consumption associated with fixed-length padding to the maximum possible length.
Data Source
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Figure 4B~5A
AI summary
Communication equipment (20) is configured for use in a communication network (10). The communication equipment (20) determines an extent (24) to which a communication identifier (16) for the communication network (10) is to be padded in order for the communication identifier (16) to have a length that is included in a set (30) of allowed lengths. For each of at least two allowed lengths in the set (30), the allowed length differs from the next shortest or longest allowed length in the set (30) by a common length difference, and the longest allowed length among said at least two allowed lengths differs from the next longest allowed length in the set (30) by more than the common length difference. The communication equipment (20) performs, or assists other communication equipment (20) to perform, padding of the communication identifier (16) to the determined extent (24).