IAB security

1. A method of distributing an integrity protection and verification configuration in an integrated access backhaul (IAB) network, the method comprising the step of: transmitting an integrity protection and verification configuration from an IAB Donor Node of the IAB network to at least one other node of the IAB network, wherein the integrity protection and verification configuration includes configuration parameters for integrity protection and verification of traffic between IAB nodes of the IAB network to which the integrity protection and verification configuration is transmitted, the integrity protection and verification of the traffic between the IAB nodes is at a layer below an Internet Protocol (IP) layer.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the configuration parameters include identifiers to apply integrity protection which are transmitted from the IAB donor node to each IAB node of the IAB network which needs to apply integrity protection.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the configuration parameters include at least one of protocol data unit (PDU) sequence number, logical channel identifier, bearer identity, user equipment (UE) identity, key, direction, PDU, sender IAB node address, route identifier, and IAB node position.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the configuration parameters are used to generate a key to apply integrity protection, or to verify integrity protection.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the traffic is user traffic or signaling traffic.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the integrity protection and verification configuration is for applying to user traffic or signaling traffic.

7. A method of configuring an integrated access backhaul (IAB) network for data transmission, the method comprising the steps of: at a donor node of the TAB network, generating a security configuration for a transmission route between the donor node and an access TAB node, wherein the security configuration is for integrity protection of each link forming the transmission route at a layer below the an Internet Protocol (IP) layer, and transmitting relevant parameters of the security configuration to TAB nodes forming the transmission route to enable each TAB node to apply integrity protection on data transmitted by the IAB node, or to verify integrity protection on traffic received by the IAB node, wherein each TAB node forming the transmission route is configured to discard any received traffic which fails integrity verification.

8. The method according to claim 7 , wherein the security configuration includes at least one of protocol data unit (PDU) sequence number, logical channel identifier, bearer identity, user equipment (UE) identity, key, direction, PDU, sender IAB node address, route identifier, and IAB node position.

9. The method according to claim 7 , wherein the security configuration is transmitted to all IAB nodes forming the transmission route, or all IAB nodes in the IAB network.

10. The method of claim 7 , wherein the integrity protection and verification configuration is for applying to user traffic or signaling traffic.

11. A method of data transmission in an integrated access backhaul (IAB) network, the method comprising the steps of: at a first IAB node, applying integrity protection in accordance with a security configuration at a layer below an Internet Protocol (IP) layer to traffic to be transmitted on a first link of a transmission route through the IAB network; transmitting the integrity-protected traffic over the first link to a second IAB node; receiving traffic at the second IAB node and verifying the integrity protection of the traffic; and if the integrity protection fails verification, discarding the traffic.

12. The method according to claim 11 , wherein the security configuration includes at least one of protocol data unit (PDU) sequence number, logical channel identifier, bearer identity, user equipment (UE) identity, key, direction, PDU, sender IAB node address, route identifier, and IAB node position.

13. The method according to claim 11 , wherein the security configuration is transmitted to all IAB nodes forming the transmission route or all IAB nodes in the IAB network.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein the traffic is user traffic or signaling traffic.

15. A method of data transmission in an integrated access backhaul (IAB) network, the method comprising the steps of: at an interim IAB node, receiving traffic from a first IAB node; verifying integrity protection of the traffic according to a security configuration; if the verification fails, discarding the traffic; and if the verification passes, applying integrity protection at a layer below an Internet Protocol (IP) layer and transmitting the traffic to a second IAB node.

16. The method according to claim 15 , wherein the security configuration is for uplink or downlink transmission between nodes of the transmission route.

17. The method according to claim 15 , wherein the security configuration is defined per logical channel, per user equipment (UE), or per bearer.

18. The method according to claim 15 , wherein the security configuration includes at least one of protocol data unit (PDU) sequence number, logical channel identifier, bearer identity, UE identity, key, direction, PDU, sender IAB node address, route identifier, and IAB node position.

19. The method according to claim 15 , wherein the security configuration is used to generate a key to apply the integrity protection, or to verify the integrity protection.

20. The method according to claim 15 , wherein a Message Authentication Code is included with transmitted data after applying integrity protection, and optionally integrity verification is performed based on MAC.

21. The method according to claim 15 , wherein the security configuration is transmitted to all IAB nodes forming a transmission route, or to all IAB nodes in the IAB network.