Method of securing a mobile telephone identifier and corresponding mobile telephone
View Patent ↗A mobile telephone handset includes: a storage support which is secured against fraudulent access and which stores the IMEI of the handset. A connector for a secure electronic module is associated with an operator. A handset operating system controls authentication of the IMEI storage support by a secure electronic module which is connected to the aforementioned connector in order to establish a secure communication channel between the storage support and the module and transmission of the IMEI over the secure channel to the secure electronic module. The arrangement can be used to prevent the dynamic modification of the IMEI during the transmission thereof.
1. A telephone handset, comprising:
a storage support module storing an International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) associated with an operator of a communication network;
a secure electronic module;
a processor;
a memory device including program instructions that, when executed by the processor, control the handset to:
authenticate, by the secure electronic module, the storage support module;
establish, in the event the secure electronic module determines that the storage support module is authentic, a secure communication channel between the storage support module and the secure electronic module by means of encryption keys stored in the secure electronic module and the storage support module that are used to encrypt the secure communication channel;
transmit, via the secure communication channel, the IMEI from the storage support module to the secure electronic module;
transmit the IMEI to a mobile telephone operator by means of a secure OTA channel; and
enable, by the secure electronic module, the handset to access the communication network.
2. The handset according to claim 1 , wherein the secure electronic module is a UICC.
3. The handset according to claim 1 , wherein the operating system controls the authentication of the secure electronic module by the storage support module.
4. The handset according to claim 1 , wherein the secure electronic module blocks the use of the handset when a false IMEI is detected.
5. The handset according to claim 2 , wherein the operating system controls the authentication of the secure electronic module by the storage support module.
6. The handset according to claim 2 , wherein the secure electronic module blocks the use of the handset when a false IMEI is detected.
7. The handset according to claim 3 , wherein the secure electronic module blocks the use of the handset when a false IMEI is detected.
8. The handset according to claim 1 , wherein the secure electronic module blocks the use of the handset when a false IMEI is detected.
9. A method of securing a telephone handset, said method comprising:
authenticating a storage support module by a secure electronic module, said storage support module storing an International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) associated with the operator of a communication network;
establishing, by a processor in the event the secure electronic module determines that the storage support module is authentic, a secure communication channel between the storage support module and the secure electronic module by means of encryption keys stored in the secure electronic module and the storage support module that are used to encrypt the secure communication channel;
transmitting, via the secure communication channel, the IMEI from the storage support module to the secure electronic module;
transmitting the IMEI to a mobile telephone operator by means of a secure OTA channel; and
enabling, by the secure electronic module, the handset to access the communication network using the IMEI.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the operator compares the IMEI with a black list of stolen handsets, and blocks the communications of the handset when the handset appears on the black list.
11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the secure electronic module blocks the use of the handset when a false IMEI is detected.
12. The method of claim 9 , wherein the secure electronic module blocks the use of the handset when a false IMEI is detected.
13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the s secure electronic module blocks the use of the handset when a false IMEI is detected.
14. A telephone handset, comprising:
a storage support module storing an International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) associated with the operator of a communication network;
a secure electronic module;
means for authenticating the storage support module by the secure electronic module;
means for establishing, in the event the means for authenticating determines that the storage support module is authentic, a secure communication channel between the storage support module and the secure electronic module by means of encryption keys stored in the secure electronic module and the storage support module that are used to encrypt the secure communication channel;
means for transmitting, via the secure communication channel, the IMEI from the storage support module to the secure electronic module;
means for transmitting the IMEI to a mobile telephone operator by means of a secure OTA channel; and
means for enabling the handset to access the communication network using the IMEI.