Selective UE Capability Control for Network Resource Protection

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Solution Overview

Problem

Mobile communication systems face issues with misbehaving User Equipment (UE) that can degrade the network by repeatedly requesting services and wasting resources due to malicious or malformed applications, with no existing mechanism for selectively disabling UE capabilities.

Innovation Solution

A mechanism is introduced where a Selective UE Capabilities List is sent to and stored in the mobile terminal, indicating which network services and capabilities are enabled or disabled, preventing the UE from requesting disabled services and allowing re-enabling upon receipt of a new enabling signal, even when the SIM is not present, and informing users through text strings and customer service numbers.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If misbehaving UE with malicious applications repeatedly requests services from the network, then the UE can execute its malicious functions, but network resources are wasted and system performance degrades

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvenetwork resource protectionVSAvoidmalicious application activity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-generated harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The network performs preliminary assessment of UE behavior and proactively disables capabilities before malicious activities can cause significant harm. The network evaluates UE behavior patterns and disables suspicious capabilities in advance, preventing potential resource waste and system degradation before they occur.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements continuous monitoring of UE behavior and dynamically adjusts capability availability based on observed patterns. The network monitors UE service requests and behavior, then provides feedback by enabling or disabling capabilities accordingly, creating a closed-loop system that adapts to UE behavior in real-time.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

2Reliability

If the network disables UE capabilities to prevent misbehaving applications, then network resource protection is improved, but legitimate service access may be blocked

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvenetwork resource protectionVSAvoidlegitimate service access

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system dynamically adjusts UE capability availability based on real-time behavior assessment rather than using static blocking rules. Capabilities are enabled or disabled according to the UE's current behavior pattern, allowing legitimate services to access capabilities when needed while preventing malicious use, thus adapting the system's protective measures to the specific situation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The network applies selective capability disabling rather than blanket blocking, targeting only specific capabilities that are suspected of being misused while leaving other capabilities available. This granular approach ensures that legitimate services can still access necessary functions while malicious activities are prevented at the specific capability level where they occur.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

3Difficulty of detecting and measuring

If application layer preventative measures are used to detect and disable malicious applications, then some malicious apps can be blocked, but many fail to be detected and disabled

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemalicious application detectionVSAvoidmalicious application blocking

Core Design Contradiction:

Difficulty of detecting and measuringVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The network acts as an intermediary between the UE and services, implementing capability assessment and control at the network layer rather than relying solely on UE-side application layer measures. This intermediary position allows the network to observe actual service request patterns and make more accurate assessments of malicious behavior, bypassing the limitations of client-side detection.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system replaces application-layer software-based detection with network-layer behavioral analysis mechanisms. Instead of relying on application signatures or user-installed security software, the network uses signaling message analysis and service request pattern monitoring to detect and respond to malicious behavior, providing a more robust detection approach.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Data Source

PatentUS7873357B2Selective disablement of mobile communication equipment capabilities

Publication Date: 2011.01.18 TELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET LM ERICSSON (PUBL)

AI summary

Network services and/or network capabilities in a mobile terminal operating in a mobile communications system are selectively enabled. This involves receiving an information element encoded to indicate whether each of a number of network services and/or network capabilities is enabled or disabled. The information element is then stored in the mobile terminal. The mobile terminal is then operated in a way that inhibits the mobile terminal from requesting all network services and network capabilities that are indicated by the information element as being disabled. The information element may optionally include a text string and/or a customer service number to be displayed to a user of the mobile terminal for the purpose of assisting the user in determining the cause of the non-availability of one or more services and/or capabilities.