Location Register Server Security Verification for Mobile Networks

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Mobile Communication Networks face security risks due to unauthorized Information Retrieval Requests from outside servers that can impersonate fraudulent Home Location Registers, potentially accessing sensitive subscriber data.

Innovation Solution

A security method that extracts Specification Codes from Information Retrieval Requests and compares them to a Verification List to determine if the Sending Entity is authorized, allowing or prohibiting data transmission, thereby enhancing security without altering existing communication protocols or network structures.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If existing communication protocols and network structures are maintained, then network compatibility and ease of operation are preserved, but security against unauthorized information retrieval requests deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
ImprovesecurityVSAvoidverification mechanism complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies preliminary action by verifying the Sending Entity's authorization status before processing the information retrieval request. The Location Register Server checks whether the Sending Entity is authorized to receive the requested information about the mobile subscriber, and only then proceeds with data transmission. This prevents unauthorized access attempts from fraudulent HLRs while maintaining compatibility with existing network protocols and structures.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Reliability

If verification of Sending Entity authenticity is implemented, then security against fraudulent HLRs is improved, but processing time and operational complexity increase

Engineering Contradiction:
ImprovesecurityVSAvoidrequest processing time
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The verification of the Sending Entity's authorization is performed as a preliminary check before the actual information retrieval processing. By determining early whether the Sending Entity is authorized to receive the requested information, the system avoids wasting processing time on fraudulent requests that would ultimately be rejected, thus minimizing the time loss while maintaining security.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements feedback by checking the authorization status of the Sending Entity and using this information to determine whether to proceed with data transmission. The verification result directly influences the subsequent action, allowing the system to efficiently reject unauthorized requests without undergoing the full information retrieval process.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

3Ease of operation

If all information retrieval requests are processed without verification, then ease of operation is maintained, but vulnerability to fraud increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improverequest processing simplicityVSAvoidfraud risk
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a preliminary verification step that checks whether the Sending Entity is authorized to receive the requested information before processing the request further. This maintains ease of operation for legitimate requests while effectively blocking fraudulent ones, as the verification is seamlessly integrated into the existing request handling flow without requiring complex additional procedures for authorized entities.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP2871875B1Security method for the verification of an information retrieval request
Publication Date: 2020.10.14 VODAFONE HOLDING GMBH
  • EP2871875B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2871875B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2871875B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4

AI summary

The invention is related to Security method for the verification of an Information Retrieval Request (10) which requests a transmission of data (20) from a Location Register Server (LR) to a Sending Entity (30) in a Mobile Communication Network (100), comprising the following steps: - Receive an Information Retrieval Request (10) from the Sending Entity (20), - Extract at least one Specification Code (12) for specifying the Sending Entity (20) and/or a Mobile Subscriber (MS) out of the Information Retrieval Request (10), - Compare the extracted at least one Specification Code (12) to a Verification List (14), - Based on the result of the comparison with the Verification List (14), allow or prohibit the transmission of data (20) requested in the Information Retrieval Request (10).