Wireless universal provisioning device

Details Wireless universal provisioning device Wireless universal provisioning device

1999-08-19

2002-11-26

Chin, Vivian (Department: 2682)

Telecommunications

Radiotelephone system

Programming control

C455S420000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06487403

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to wireless communications, and more particularly, to the use of a Wireless Universal Provisioning Device (WUPD) for the activation of wireless communication devices.
B. Description of the Related Art
After purchasing a wireless communication device, such as a cellular telephone, the user must have the device activated or provisioned for use. Provisioning is the programming of a wireless communication device for use by the owner. Several conventional systems have been proposed for inserting provisioning information (e.g., secret privacy and authentication keys, or unique operational information) into these devices.
The user/carrier key management infrastructure for the authentication-based wireless system uses a key hierarchy generated from a user's unique authentication key (A-key). The A-key is, for example, a 64-bit value used to generate a user's temporary authentication keys as well as privacy keys for data, voice, and messaging. There are currently several proposed and implemented approaches for A-key generation and distribution.
In one approach, the A-key is generated by the Service Provider and input to the device using either manual entry by the customer or electronic distribution at the point of sale. This approach requires training of sales agents, which is costly for stores, and extra time for each purchase, which can better be used for selling. Customers could manually enter the keys, but this method is considered unacceptable to the wireless industry because it leads to difficult key distribution mechanisms, and because the industry believes that many customers may find this extra task unacceptable.
In the case where the key is distributed through electronic mechanisms, wireless devices currently use a data port of the provisioning device to load and unload device information through a data cable. This data port is not standardized for most types of equipment, especially for wireless devices such as cellular telephones.
In the cellular industry, for example, cellular and Personal Communications System (PCS) telephone manufactures typically include data ports that are unique and proprietary in their handsets. In some instances, the same manufacturer will have different data port form factors for different models of their handsets. In order to provision multiple makes and models for cellular and PCS handsets, a provisioning device must have many connectors and/or adapters to enable activation of any particular telephone. Additionally, different makes and models of cellular and PCS telephones use different communication protocols for activating the telephones, requiring a provisioning device to support protocols for a wide variety of telephone models.
An example of one conventional provisioning device requires cables and protocol information for each wireless device to facilitate provisioning. Operators must sift through many connectors and follow an extensive and confusing menu to use the proper provisioning protocol. Additionally, some manufacturers refuse to provide programming protocol information for their wireless devices, thereby preventing the provisioning device from programming certain makes and models.
FIG. 1
is a diagram of a conventional system
100
for provisioning a wireless communications device
108
using a conventional provisioning device
106
. The system
100
includes a Service Provider
102
, a provisioning device
106
, and a wireless telephone
108
. In general, the term “Service Provider” refers to the computer that manages the network in which the wireless telephone operates, and the term “provisioning device” refers to an electronic device that programs the wireless telephone to activate the telephone for use.
In the conventional system
100
, the Service Provider
102
generates the provisioning information to activate the wireless telephone
108
. The Service Provider
102
sends the provisioning information to the provisioning device
106
via the PSTN
104
. The provisioning device
106
downloads the provisioning information into the wireless telephone
108
(either cellular or PCS) through a physical connection.
Retailers found it cumbersome to use several different types of equipment for provisioning existing wireless equipment, while further requiring new devices to provision new telephone models. Since these different makes and models of telephones operate in the same network, using the same air-interface communications protocol, some systems found it more efficient to use the standard air interface to provision each telephone, thus eliminating the provisioning device's need to handle multiple connectors and protocols.
One of these systems uses an Over-the-Air Service Provisioning (OTASP) approach. Using this approach, a cellular/PCS network service enables provisioning of telephones over the air using network protocols.
FIG. 2
illustrates a system
200
that implements OTASP. The system
200
includes a Service Provider
202
, a Mobile Telephone Switching Office (MTSO)
210
, a base station
212
, and a wireless telephone
208
. In general, the MTSO
210
is responsible for connecting all the wireless telephones
208
to the PSTN
204
in a cellular system, while the base station
212
serves as an interface between the MTSO
210
and the wireless telephone
208
.
In the system
200
of
FIG. 2
, the Service Provider
202
sends encrypted provisioning information to the MTSO
210
, via the PSTN
204
. The MTSO
210
passes along the provisioning information to the base station
212
via a land line. Finally, the base station
212
sends the provisioning information (over the air) to the cellular telephone
208
.
A major disadvantage of this approach is that the transmissions between the telephone
208
and the base station
212
are susceptible to eavesdropping. To prevent the successful interception of provisioning information, cellular networks usually employ computationally expensive and time consuming cryptographic processes to encrypt the provisioning information.
Specifically, OTASP uses collaborative key generation and dissemination by the wireless communication device
208
and the Service Provider
202
, or carrier, after purchase. It does not require the manufacturer to perform unique operations for each telephone. The ultimate goal of OTASP is to enable a potential customer to purchase a wireless communication device that activates almost instantly without the hassle of waiting for or dealing with an activation agent. In order to activate the customer's communication device, the carrier must input a unique A-key into the communication device in an unobtrusive, but secure manner.
Public-Key technologies, such as the RSA key exchange and the Diffie-Hellman key exchange, have been considered to provide secure A-key distribution in cellular networks. Although these public-key technologies have advantages, there are significant disadvantages to cellular telephone manufacturers, cellular switch manufacturers, cellular carriers, and most importantly cellular subscribers which affect the security, performance, and efficiency of the cellular network.
One such problem with these public-key technologies is their susceptibility to a man-in-the-middle (MIM) attack. In a MIM attack, a hacker uses a scanner to intercept the signal emitted from a wireless telephone in order to fraudulently obtain the telephone's electronic serial number from the signal. The hacker can program a cellular telephone with the stolen serial number in order to charge another person for his personal telephone. Both the Diffie-Hellman key exchange and the RSA key exchange are susceptible to these attacks. A MIM attack is possible using existing commercial technology and could be implemented relatively inexpensively. Diffie-Hellman key exchange enables rapid determination of a MIM attack, but allows attacks by hackers which cause service to be denied to a new subscriber, which in turn may be unacceptable to Service Providers.
In both RSA

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