Method and system for selective protection of data exchanged between user equipment and network

Abstract

A method and system for providing selective protection of data exchanged between user equipment (UE) and network is disclosed. The selective protection is applied to a packet, a bearer or an access point name for secure exchange of data between the UE and the network. The network decides to apply selective protection based on configuration of network, configuration of UE, load in the network, battery power availability of UE, type of application running on UE. Further, the UE can request for selective protection based on the type of application running on UE and the battery level availability of the UE. The selective protection is either enabled or disabled dynamically by the network. Further, various mechanisms for applying selective protection for each bearer, each packet and each Access Point Name (APN) are disclosed. Additionally, the method for identifying a secured and a non secured bearer has also been disclosed.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A method for a network node, the method comprising:
 receiving a message including an access point name (APN) from a terminal;   identifying whether the terminal supports a selective protection mechanism;   determining whether to perform the selective protection for at least one packet associated with at least one bearer corresponding to the APN included in the received message, if the terminal supports the selecting protection mechanism; and   applying the selective protection to the at least one packet associated with at least one bearer, if to perform the selective protection is determined.   
     
     
       2. The method as in  claim 1 , wherein the applying the selective protection further comprises:
 applying the selective protection to at least one of a packet, a bearer, and the access point name (APN).   
     
     
       3. The method as in  claim 1 , wherein the identifying further comprises:
 receiving an indication for indicating a terminal capability corresponding to the selective protection from the terminal; and   determining the terminal supports the selective protection mechanism if the indication is received from the terminal.   
     
     
       4. The method as in  claim 1 , wherein the applying the selective protection further comprises:
 applying the selective protection to the at least one bearer; and   providing an indication indicating whether the bearer is secured or unsecured with other network node,   wherein the at least one bearer is associated with at least one of a quality of service QoS class identifier (QCI), a secured or a non-secured indication, and an Allocation and Retention Priority (ARP).   
     
     
       5. The method as in  claim 1 , wherein the applying the selective protection further comprises:
 applying the selective protection to the at least one packet associated with the at least one bearer corresponding to a type of application running on the terminal,   wherein the selective protection is indicated in a reserved bit, and   wherein the reserved bit is set to one if the protection is enabled on the packet associated with the at least one bearer.   
     
     
       6. The method as in  claim 2 , wherein the applying the selective protection further comprises:
 applying the selective protection to the at least one the APN, upon receiving a service request from the terminal, wherein the service request from the terminal comprises the at least one APN, and   wherein the applying the selective protection to the APN, if the message is a service request message which includes the APN and a security indication.   
     
     
       7. A network node, the network node comprising
 a transceiver configured to receive a message including an access point name (APN) from a terminal; and   a controller configured to:
 identify whether the terminal supports a selective protection mechanism; 
 determine whether to perform the selective protection for at least one packet associated with at least one bearer corresponding to the APN included in the received message if the terminal supports the selecting protection mechanism; and 
   apply the selective protection to the at least one packet associated with at least one bearer if whether to perform the selective protection is determined.   
     
     
       8. The network as in  claim 7 , wherein the controller is configured to apply the selective protection to at least one of a packet, a bearer, and the access point name (APN). 
     
     
       9. The network as in  claim 7 , wherein the controller is configured to control the transceiver for receiving an indication for indicating a terminal capability corresponding to the selective protection from the terminal, and determine the terminal supports the selective protection mechanism if the indication is received from the terminal. 
     
     
       10. The network as in  claim 7 , wherein the controller is configured to apply the selective protection to the at least one bearer and to provide an indication indicating whether the bearer is secured or unsecured with other network node,
 wherein the at least one bearer is associated with at least one of a quality of service QoS class identifier (QCI), a secured or a non-secured indication, and an Allocation and Retention Priority (ARP).   
     
     
       11. The network as in  claim 8 , wherein the controller is configured to apply the selective protection to the at least one packet associated with the at least one bearer corresponding to a type of application running on the terminal,
 wherein the selective protection is indicated in a reserved bit, and   wherein the reserved bit is set to one if the protection is enabled on the packet associated with the at least one bearer.   
     
     
       12. A terminal for selective protection of data, wherein the data is exchanged with a wireless network, terminal comprising:
 a transceiver; and   a controller configured to:
 control the transceiver for transmitting a message including an access point name (APN) to a network node; 
 apply the selective protection to the at least one packet associated with the at least one bearer to the network node if the terminal support a selection protection mechanism; 
 perform the selective protection for at least one packet associated with at least one bearer corresponding to the APN included in the received message is determined by the network node. 
   
     
     
       13. The terminal as in  claim 12 , wherein the controller is configured to control the transceiver for transmitting the message including the APN based on at least one comprises: a type of application running on the terminal, a battery power availability of the terminal, a configuration of the terminal. 
     
     
       14. The terminal as in  claim 12 , wherein the controller is configured to control the transceiver for transmitting the message including the APN using at least one of an existing non-access stratum (NAS), an existing access stratum (AS) message, a new NAS message and a new AS message. 
     
     
       15. The terminal as in  claim 12 , wherein the controller is configured to control the transceiver for transmitting the message including the APN corresponding to the type of application running on the terminal. 
     
     
       16. The method as in  claim 1 , wherein the applying the selective protection further comprises:
 applying the selective protection to the at least one packet associated with at least one bearer based on at least a type of application running on the UE, a battery power availability of the UE, a load in the network, a configuration of the UE, and a configuration of the network.   
     
     
       17. The method as in  claim 1 , wherein the selective protection is applied based on at least one of a packet size, an application protocol, and transport layer protocol. 
     
     
       18. The network as in  claim 7 , wherein the controller is configured to apply the selective protection based on at least one of a packet size, an application protocol, and transport layer protocol. 
     
     
       19. The method as in  claim 2 , wherein bearer comprises an indication indicating whether the bearer is to be protected. 
     
     
       20. The network as in  claim 8 , wherein bearer comprises an indication indicating whether the bearer is to be protected. 
     
     
       21. A method performed by a network entity in a communication system, the method comprising:
 receiving, from a terminal, a message including an access point name (APN);   identifying whether a selective protection is applied to a user plane data of the terminal based on the APN included in the message; and   in response to identifying that the selective protection is applied to the user plane data of the terminal, transmitting, to a base station, information for applying the selective protection to the user plane data.   
     
     
       22. The method of claim 21, wherein the selective protection is applied to the user plane data for a data radio bearer (DRB) of the terminal. 
     
     
       23. The method of claim 21, wherein the selective protection is associated with a confidentiality protection for the user plane data. 
     
     
       24. The method of claim 21, wherein terminal capability information associated with the selective protection is received from the terminal, and wherein whether the selective protection is applied to the user plane data of the terminal is identified based on the APN and the terminal capability information. 
     
     
       25. The method of claim 21, wherein the information for applying the selective protection is included in an initial context setup request message. 
     
     
       26. A method performed by a base station in a communication system, the method comprising:
 transmitting, to a network entity, a message including an access point name (APN);   receiving, from the network entity, information for applying a selective protection to a user plane data, based on the selective protection being applied to the user plane data of a terminal; and   performing the selective protection for the user plane data associated with a data radio bearer (DRB) of the terminal based on the information.   
     
     
       27. The method of claim 26, wherein the selective protection is associated with a confidentiality protection for the user plane data. 
     
     
       28. The method of claim 26, wherein the information for applying the selective protection is included in an initial context setup request message. 
     
     
       29. A network entity in a communication system, the network entity comprising:
 a transceiver; and   a processor coupled with the transceiver and configured to control to: receive, from a terminal, a message including an access point name (APN),   identify whether a selective protection is applied to a user plane data of the terminal based on the APN included in the message, and   in response to identifying that the selective protection is applied to the user plane data of the terminal, transmit, to a base station, information for applying the selective protection to the user plane data.   
     
     
       30. The network entity of claim 29, wherein the selective protection is applied to the user plane data for a data radio bearer (DRB) of the terminal. 
     
     
       31. The network entity of claim 29, wherein the selective protection is associated with a confidentiality protection for the user plane data. 
     
     
       32. The network entity of claim 29, wherein terminal capability information associated with the selective protection is received from the terminal, and wherein whether the selective protection is applied to the user plane data of the terminal is identified based on the APN and the terminal capability information. 
     
     
       33. The network entity of claim 29, wherein the information for applying the selective protection is included in an initial context setup request message. 
     
     
       34. A base station in a communication system, the base station comprising:
 a transceiver; and   a processor coupled with the transceiver and configured to control to: transmit, to a network entity, a message including an access point name (APN),   receive, from the network entity, information for applying a selective protection to a user plane data, based on the selective protection being applied to the user plane data of a terminal, and   perform the selective protection for the user plane data associated with a data radio bearer (DRB) of the terminal based on the information.   
     
     
       35. The base station of claim 34, wherein the selective protection is associated with a confidentiality protection for the user plane data. 
     
     
       36. The base station of claim 34, wherein the information for applying the selective protection is included in an initial context setup request message.