Trusted Execution Environment for Mobile Device Service Locking
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Telecommunication service providers face challenges in preventing unauthorized access and usage of their proprietary services and devices due to tech-savvy consumers employing software and hardware hacks, which bypass security measures and allow access to unauthorized services.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system with a trusted execution environment (TEE) and over-the-air (OTA) provisioning, where a provider services entity manages user accounts and devices, using a policy engine and mobile device management/trusted service manager to enforce access rules, lock/unlock devices, and authenticate users, thereby preventing unauthorized access.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If device security features are implemented to prevent unauthorized access, then service provider security is improved, but device functionality and user access are restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the device into two distinct execution environments: a secure trusted execution environment (TEE) and a non-secure normal execution environment. The TEE is isolated from the normal environment but can securely interact with it. This segmentation allows security-critical operations (device locking/unlocking, authentication) to occur in the secure TEE while the normal environment maintains full functionality for user applications, thus resolving the contradiction between security and functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The trusted execution environment acts as an intermediary between the user device and the service provider network. It mediates authentication requests, device locking/unlocking operations, and service access control. The TEE verifies service provider responses and manages security credentials, allowing the device to maintain full functionality while ensuring secure interactions with the service provider, thus resolving the security-functionality contradiction.
2Reliability
If carrier locking mechanisms are implemented to restrict device access to authorized services, then service provider revenue protection is improved, but user ability to access unauthorized services is blocked
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary anti-action by proactively preventing unauthorized access before it can occur. The trusted execution environment continuously monitors and controls device access to services, automatically locking the device if unauthorized access attempts are detected or if service credentials are compromised. This preemptive security approach protects service provider revenue by blocking unauthorized service access before it can generate harmful effects.
3Reliability
If security measures are implemented to prevent device hacking, then service authorization control is improved, but device vulnerability to hacks increases due to complex security implementations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts security-critical functions from the normal device operating system and places them in a separate, isolated trusted execution environment. By taking out authentication, device locking/unlocking, and service credential management from the vulnerable normal environment, the system achieves strong service authorization control while reducing the attack surface of the main device OS. The TEE's isolation makes it resistant to common hacking techniques that target the normal operating system.
Data Source
AI summary
A device-type locking procedure is disclosed, where a trusted execution environment (TEE) of a user device retrieves a telecommunication service plan type identifier stored on an identification module of the user device. The TEE of the user device then initiates a service authentication procedure for a telecommunication service provider of the user device, based on the received plan type identifier and in conjunction with an optional service plan provisioning process. A service plan indicated by the plan type identifier is subsequently compared to a designated user device service plan via the TEE. Based on the comparison results, a determination is then made as to whether the user device should be locked or unlocked, depending on the device's current operating state.