Obscuring Base Station Almanac Mapping for Secure Positioning

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current wireless communication systems face challenges in securely transmitting base station location information, making proprietary base station information easily determinable, which compromises positioning accuracy and security, especially in 5G networks that require enhanced spectral efficiency and reduced latency.

Innovation Solution

The method involves a user equipment (UE) receiving a base station almanac (BSA) from a network node, which includes location information for relevant base stations, and applying changes to positioning signal parameters based on notifications, ensuring secure and accurate positioning determination while obscuring mapping between positioning signals and base stations through periodic changes in cell-IDs, PRS configurations, and synchronization errors.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If base station location information is transmitted to assist UE positioning, then positioning accuracy is improved, but security is worsened as proprietary base station information becomes easily determinable

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepositioning accuracyVSAvoidsecurity risk

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies dynamics by making the mapping between positioning signals and base station locations change over time through periodic updates of cell-IDs, PRS configurations, and synchronization errors. This temporal variation ensures that while UEs can maintain accurate positioning, unauthorized parties cannot easily determine base station locations as the mapping relationships are not static

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements periodic action by regularly updating positioning signal parameters including cell-IDs, PRS configurations, and synchronization errors at defined intervals. This periodic changes maintains positioning accuracy for subscribed UEs while preventing unauthorized determination of base station locations, as the mapping relationships change before unauthorized parties can extract meaningful location information

Inventive Principle:

Principle #19Periodic action

2Object-affected harmful factors

If positioning signal parameters are changed dynamically to enhance security, then security is improved, but device complexity is worsened due to additional management overhead

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovesecurityVSAvoidsignal parameter management complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies self-service by enabling UEs to autonomously track and apply changes to positioning signal parameters through change notifications. The UEs automatically update their internal representations of cell-IDs, PRS configurations, and synchronization errors without requiring manual intervention or complex external management, thereby maintaining security while minimizing the operational complexity burden

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Data Source

PatentUS11558846B2System and methods for support of secure base station almanac data in a wireless network

Publication Date: 2023.01.17 QUALCOMM INC

AI summary

A reference signal periodically transmitted by a base station in a wireless network can have certain proprietary properties to help prevent detection and utilization of the signal for unauthorized positioning of mobile devices. More specifically, a network node can obscure and introduce time-variation in mapping between positioning signals and a corresponding physical base stations. The network node may also introduce time variations in fields of a base station almanac (BSA) provided to subscribing user equipments (UEs). The information transmitted to the subscribing UEs may be encrypted.