ProSe Discovery Integrity Protection via Public Key Encryption
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current proximity-based service discovery in wireless communication systems lacks integrity protection, particularly in extending the discovery range, making it vulnerable to unauthorized message modifications and eavesdropping.
Innovation Solution
A method involving encryption of discovery signals using a private key and inclusion of a public key, allowing only authorized ProSe-enabled User Equipment (UEs) to decrypt and verify the integrity of the messages, thereby ensuring secure and extended proximity-based service discovery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If discovery signals are transmitted without encryption to extend discovery range, then the discovery range is extended and ease of operation is improved, but security and integrity protection deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by encrypting the payload with the sender's private key before transmission. This pre-encryption ensures that even as the discovery range is extended through relay nodes, the integrity protection is already in place before the signal propagates through the network, preventing unauthorized modifications during extended transmission.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses public keys as intermediaries to verify integrity. Each relay node and receiver uses the sender's public key (embedded in the discovery signal) to verify the encrypted payload, allowing integrity protection to be maintained across extended discovery ranges without requiring direct trusted connections between all nodes.
2Reliability
If encryption is applied to protect integrity, then security is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by encrypting only the payload portion of the discovery signal while leaving other elements (like public keys and signal structure) in plaintext. This selective encryption protects critical information while avoiding the complexity of encrypting the entire message, reducing computational overhead while maintaining security.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent embeds the sender's public key in the discovery signal, creating a self-contained verification mechanism. This allows any receiver to independently verify integrity without requiring separate key distribution channels or complex authentication protocols, simplifying the overall system architecture.
3Ease of operation
If public key is included in discovery signal for decryption, then ease of operation is improved, but loss of information increases due to larger message size
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential element (public key) needed for verification and includes it in the discovery signal, while keeping the private key secure and separate. This minimal extraction approach enables decryption capability without including unnecessary information, minimizing the increase in message size while maintaining ease of operation.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention is directed to a method and an apparatus for use in a wireless communication system, specifically, the method is directed to perform a ProSe discovery procedure by a first ProSe-enabled UE in a cellular communication system, the method comprising: encrypting a payload of a discovery signal by using a private key of the first ProSe-enabled UE; adding a public key of the first ProSe-enabled UE to the payload of the discovery signal; and transmitting the discovery signal including the payload and the public key of the first ProSe-enabled UE to one or more second ProSe-enabled UEs, wherein the public key of the first ProSe-enabled UE is used for the one or more second ProSe-enabled UEs to decrypt the payload of the discovery signal.