Method and apparatus for secure identification of a mobile user in a communication network
US6072875A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 25, 1997 |
| Grant date | Jun 6, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 25, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04W12/75
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method and an apparatus are provided for securely identifying a mobile user while avoiding trackability of his/her movements, i.e. it provides a way for a secure user identification in secrecy. The gist is to encrypt the user's identifier, and/or his/her password, and a synchronization indication, preferably a fixed time interval, under a secret one-way function and sending the encrypted message, called a "dynamic user identifier", to the user's "home authority" where he/she is registered. The home authority comprises correspondence tables listing, pre-computed for every time interval (or another chosen synchronization), the dynamic user identifiers and the corresponding true identity of the user and can thus quickly decide whether the received encrypted message originates from a registered user. On the other hand, an intruder is neither able to detect from the encrypted messages the identity of the user nor can he/she track a user's moves.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.