HK1220293B - Telecommunications system - Google Patents

Description

telecommunications systems

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a telecommunication system, and in particular to a telecommunication system for transmitting Short Message Service (SMS) messages to mobile phones.

Background Art

SMS messages can contain malicious code. For example, SMS messages can contain modem commands, such as AT commands that follow the Hayes/GSM command set, which can be processed by the receiving mobile telephone's modem even before the SMS message reaches the operating system level. GSM AT commands are used to control various aspects of the mobile phone network interface, from network registration, call control, SMS delivery, to packet-based data connections. Therefore, the command set is an integral part of mobile network operation.

SMS messages can also include installation scripts or can exploit functions within a modem or mobile device. For example, some anti-theft measures use encrypted SMS messages that include hardware-level commands that cause the receiving device to cease functioning.

However, avoiding the presence of such malicious code in SMS messages is difficult because the code received may be active even before the SMS message reaches the operating system.The present invention (at least the preferred embodiment of the present invention) attempts to solve this problem.

Summary of the Invention

According to the present invention, a method for delivering a message to a mobile device in a mobile telecommunications network is provided. The method includes receiving, by a mobile network provider, a message with a sender's address from a sender for delivery to the mobile device. A server processes the message to remove any malicious content from the message. The processed message is then delivered to the mobile device.

Typically, the message is a Short Message Service (SMS) message. In some embodiments of the present invention, the message is an email message. The message may also be a Multimedia Message Service (MMS) message or a service message in a mobile network.

In one embodiment, the processed message is transmitted to the mobile network provider and the mobile network provider sends the message to the mobile device as an SMS message. Alternatively, the processed message is sent to the mobile device via the Internet Protocol. The processed message can be sent to the mobile device via the mobile network, the server, or another server in data communication with the server.

When a mobile network provider receives a message intended for delivery to a mobile device, the mobile network provider may send the message to the mobile device. In this case, the mobile device is configured to reject the message and instead store the message's sender address. After rejecting the message, the mobile device contacts a server to deliver the processed message. The mobile device may associate the delivered processed message with the rejected message using at least the sender address.

The mobile device can contact the server by sending another SMS message including the sender's address to the server. Alternatively, the mobile device can contact the server via an Internet protocol.

The server can communicate data with the mobile network provider via a wide area network (WAN). The mobile network provider can transmit messages to the server via the Internet Protocol (IP). This protects the server from malicious content in the form of SMS messages. The WAN can be the Internet. Alternatively, a dedicated WAN can be used.

The server may request a connection with the mobile device to deliver the processed message. In an embodiment of the present invention, the mobile device may reject the connection request. After receiving the connection request, the mobile device may use pre-stored address information of the server to request a connection with the server. The server may accept the connection request from the mobile device. The processed message may be delivered via the established connection.

The server may be physically remote from the mobile network provider. Alternatively, the server may be part of the mobile network infrastructure.

The present invention relates to a telecommunication system comprising a mobile network provider, a server and at least one mobile device, wherein the telecommunication system is configured to operate according to the above method.

The invention further relates to a data processing device configured to operate as a server in a telecommunications system and computer software pairing the data processing device to configure the data processing device to operate as a server in a telecommunications system.

The present invention also relates to a mobile device configured to operate as a mobile device in a telecommunications system. Specifically, the mobile device can be configured to refuse to receive SMS messages and to store the sender address of SMS messages sent to the mobile device. The mobile device can be configured to contact a server to retrieve the SMS message after the server attempts to deliver the SMS message to the mobile device. The present invention also relates to computer software that configures the mobile device to operate as such a mobile device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a telecommunication system according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a telecommunications system according to a second embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a telecommunication system according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a telecommunications system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment of Figure 1 , an SMS message is sent from mobile device 1 to network provider 2 via a mobile network (arrow A) using standard GSM (or other) mobile phone protocols. The SMS message is destined for a second mobile device 3 within the mobile network. However, according to the present invention, the SMS message is not forwarded directly to the second mobile device. Instead, it is sent (arrow B) to a third-party server 4, where it is scanned for malicious code. The SMS message is transmitted between network provider 2 and third-party server 4 via the Internet Protocol. In this manner, the modem does not directly receive the content of the SMS message and does not process any malicious code within the message. Any identified malicious code is removed from the SMS message, and the de-encrypted message is returned to network provider 2 (arrow C), also via the Internet Protocol. Network provider 2 then forwards the secure message (arrow D) to second mobile device 3 using standard GSM (or other) mobile phone protocols.

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a telecommunications system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment of Figure 2 , an SMS message is sent from mobile device 1 to network provider 2 via a mobile network (arrow A) using standard GSM (or other) mobile phone protocols. The SMS message is destined for a second mobile device 3 within the mobile network. However, according to the present invention, the SMS message is not forwarded directly to second mobile device 3. Instead, it is sent (arrow B) to a third-party server 4, where it is scanned for malicious code. The transmission of SMS messages between network provider 2 and third-party server 4 is performed via the Internet Protocol. In this manner, the modem does not directly receive the content of the SMS message and does not process any malicious code within the message. Any identified malicious code is removed from the SMS message, and the message with the malicious code removed is returned (arrow C) to message server 5, also via the Internet Protocol. Message server 5 then forwards the secure message (arrow D) to second mobile device 3 using standard GSM (or other) mobile phone protocols.

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a telecommunications system according to a third embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment of Figure 3 , an SMS message is sent (arrow A) from mobile device 1 to network provider 2 via a mobile network using standard GSM (or other) mobile phone protocols. The SMS message is destined for a second mobile device 3 in the mobile network. The SMS message is then sent (arrow B) to a third-party server 4, where it is scanned for malicious code. The SMS message is transmitted between network provider 2 and third-party server 4 via the Internet Protocol. In this manner, the modem does not directly receive the content of the SMS message and does not process any malicious code in the message. Any identified malicious code is removed from the SMS message. In this embodiment, second mobile device 3 is equipped with software, such as an application, that is used to retrieve the SMS message from third-party server 4 via the Internet Protocol. Second mobile device 3 is notified of the receipt of the SMS message. It then establishes a connection with third-party server 3 to retrieve the sanitized message from server 4 via the Internet Protocol.

Notifying the second mobile device 3 that an SMS message is available can be achieved in several ways as will be described below.

According to one notification system, when a network provider 2 receives an SMS message from a first mobile device 1, the message is forwarded to a third-party server 4 for clearing and is also forwarded to a second mobile device 3 via the GSM (or other) mobile phone protocol. However, the modem of the second mobile device 3 is configured to reject the received SMS message. Instead, the modem only reads the caller ID (i.e., the mobile subscription identification number (MSIN) or phone number) from the message header of the SMS message. In this case, the caller ID is the phone number of the first mobile device 1. This is the sender's address. The modem of the second mobile device 3 does not process the remainder of the SMS message. Therefore, the second mobile device 3 has received the following information: the SMS message sent by the first mobile device 1 is available. Therefore, the second mobile device 3 contacts the third-party server 4 to download the cleared SMS message via the Internet Protocol.

According to another notification system, when network provider 2 receives an SMS message from first mobile device 1, the message is forwarded to third-party server 4 for clearing and also forwarded to second mobile device 3 via the GSM (or other) mobile phone protocol. However, the modem of second mobile device 3 is configured to reject the received SMS message. Instead, the modem only reads the caller ID (i.e., the mobile subscription identification number (MSIN) or phone number) from the SMS message header. In this case, the caller ID is the phone number of first mobile device 1. This serves as the sender's address. The modem of second mobile device 3 does not process the remainder of the SMS message. Therefore, second mobile device 3 has received information that the SMS message sent by first mobile device 1 is available. In this case, second mobile device 3 creates a second SMS message that includes the received MSIN and is destined for third-party server 4. This second SMS message may include the time the first SMS message was received and may be encrypted. Third-party server 4 receives the second SMS message and confirms that it originated from second mobile device 3, the destination of the first SMS message. Third-party server 4 then sends an encrypted and cleared version of the first SMS message to second mobile device 3. Second mobile device 3 receives the message from third-party server 4 and decrypts the information. The modem of second mobile device 3 can be configured to only receive SMS messages from third-party server 4, for example, by identifying the third-party server via its MSIN. After decryption, second mobile device 3 presents the contents of the first SMS message to the user as a regular SMS message that matches the MSIN stored by first mobile device 1, which sent the first SMS message. In this case, second mobile device 3 communicates with third-party server 4 solely via SMS messages, making it unnecessary for second mobile device 3 to have Internet Protocol capabilities.

It should be noted that in the system described above, the second mobile device 3 is capable of sending SMS messages according to standard GSM (or other) mobile phone protocols and processes.

The present invention is not limited to SMS messages but can also be used to enhance the security of "push" email systems. According to this variation, when a third-party server 4 receives an email for delivery to a second mobile device 3, the third-party server 4 attempts to connect to the second mobile device 3 to deliver the email. According to the method disclosed in WO 2010/039041, the second mobile device 3 rejects the connection request. However, the second mobile device 3 recognizes that the connection request originates from the third-party server 4. Therefore, the second mobile device 3 uses its stored predetermined address of the third-party server 4 to contact the third-party server 4 via the Internet Protocol to request a connection. In this way, a malicious server cannot force a connection with the second mobile device 3 to deliver malicious email content, because the second mobile device 3 will only connect to the third-party server 4 to deliver emails. Once the second mobile device 3 establishes a connection with the third-party server 4, the email is delivered by the third-party server 4. This method can also be used to deliver SMS messages via the Internet Protocol, with the second mobile device 3 being informed in advance that an SMS message is pending for delivery, or not. For additional security, the second mobile device 3 can establish a virtual private network (VPN) connection with the third-party server 4.

In summary, a system for delivering messages to a mobile device 3 in a mobile telecommunications network includes a mobile network provider 2 that receives a message with the sender's address from a sender 1 for delivery to the mobile device 3. A server 4 processes the message to remove any offensive content from the message. The processed message is then delivered to the mobile device 3.

Throughout the specification and claims herein, the terms "comprise" and "include" and variations thereof mean "including but not limited to," and these terms are not intended to (and do not) exclude other components, integers, or steps. Throughout the specification and claims herein, the singular encompasses the plural, unless the context requires otherwise. In particular, where the indefinite article is used, the present invention is to be understood as contemplating plurality as well as singularity, unless the context requires otherwise.

Unless incompatible therewith, features, integers, characteristics or combinations described in conjunction with a particular aspect, embodiment or example of the invention are to be understood to be applicable to any other aspect, embodiment or example described herein. All features disclosed herein (including any accompanying claims, abstracts and drawings), and/or steps of any method or process disclosed herein may be combined in any combination, except for at least some mutually exclusive combinations of such features and/or steps. The invention is not limited to the details of any foregoing embodiments. The invention extends to any novel feature or any novel combination of features disclosed herein (including any accompanying claims, abstracts and drawings), or to any novel step or any novel combination of steps of any method or process disclosed herein.

Claims (11)

1. A method for delivering a message to a mobile device in a mobile telecommunications network, the method comprising: The mobile network provider receives a message from the sender, which has the sender's address, for delivery to the mobile device; Before delivering the message to the mobile device, the message is directed to a server for processing to remove any malicious modem commands within the message; and The processed message, free of malicious modem commands, is delivered to the mobile device via Internet Protocol. The message is a Short Message Service (SMS) message, a Multimedia Message Service (MMS) message, or a service message. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the server communicates with the mobile network provider via a wide area network and the mobile network provider transmits the message to the server via Internet Protocol. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the wide area network is the Internet. 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the server requests to connect with the mobile device to deliver the processed message, and the mobile device rejects the connection request; after receiving the connection request, the mobile device requests to connect with the server using pre-stored address information of the server, the server accepts the connection request from the mobile device, and the processed message is delivered via the established connection. 5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the server is physically located away from the mobile network provider. 6. The method of claim 4, wherein the server is physically located away from the mobile network provider. 7. A telecommunications system comprising a mobile network provider, a server, and at least one mobile device, wherein the telecommunications system is configured to operate according to the method of any one of claims 1 to 6. 8. A data processing apparatus configured to operate as a server in the telecommunications system of claim 7. 9. A computer storage medium storing program code for configuring a data processing device to operate as a server in the telecommunications system of claim 7. 10. A mobile device configured to operate as a mobile device in the telecommunications system of claim 7. 11. A computer storage medium storing program code for configuring a mobile device to operate as the mobile device according to claim 10.