Wireless Terminal Encrypted Capability Association
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Solution Overview
Problem
In wireless local area networks, the transmission of device capability information during the association process between a terminal and an access point can lead to user privacy leakage, as eavesdroppers can analyze this information to track devices and infer personal habits and relationships.
Innovation Solution
The method involves generating and transmitting encrypted capability information by the terminal, along with a pre-association index, which is used by the access point to identify the terminal, ensuring that even if the capability information is detected, it remains secure and cannot be used to determine the terminal's location or usage patterns.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If device capability information is transmitted in plaintext during association process, then the access point can identify and authenticate the terminal, but user privacy information leaks to eavesdroppers who can track devices and infer personal habits
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces encrypted capability information as an intermediary between the terminal and access point. Instead of transmitting plaintext device information, the terminal encrypts its capability information using a pre-shared key (PSK) before transmission. The access point decrypts this information to identify and authenticate the terminal, thereby maintaining reliable identification while preventing eavesdroppers from accessing privacy information.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the state of capability information from plaintext to encrypted form during transmission. By applying encryption transformation to the capability information using the PSK, the terminal converts readable privacy information into unreadable ciphertext, which can still be processed by the access point for identification but cannot be interpreted by eavesdroppers.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If capability information is encrypted during transmission, then user privacy is protected from eavesdroppers, but the access point cannot directly use the information for identification without decryption
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by establishing a pre-shared key (PSK) between the terminal and access point before the association process. This PSK is configured in advance and used to encrypt capability information before transmission. The access point also has the corresponding decryption key ready, enabling it to decrypt the encrypted capability information efficiently during the association process without adding significant complexity.
3Productivity
If plaintext capability information is sent, then the association process is simple and fast, but eavesdroppers can analyze the information to track devices and obtain privacy information
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses encrypted capability information as an intermediary that maintains the efficiency of the association process while protecting privacy. The encryption and decryption operations are performed using pre-configured keys, which minimizes processing overhead. The access point can quickly decrypt the information using the PSK and proceed with identification and authentication, thereby maintaining fast association establishment speed while preventing privacy information loss.
Data Source
AI summary
A terminal, including a processor and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program to be executed by the processor. The program includes instructions to generate encrypted capability information of the terminal, receive pre-association index information that is related to the terminal and that is sent by an access point, where the pre-association index information is used by the access point to identify the terminal when no association has been established between the terminal and the access point, send the encrypted capability information of the terminal and an association request message to the access point, where the association request message comprises the pre-association index information, and receive an association response message that is sent by the access point according to capability information of the terminal and the pre-association index information, so that the terminal establishes an association with the access point.