A telecommunications network includes a serving network and a home network. In some examples the serving network receives, from the home network, identity data associated with a network terminal. The serving network determines a tied key using a tying key derivation function (TKDF) based on the identity data, then prepares an authentication request based on the tied key and sends the request to the terminal. In some examples, the home network receives the identity data from the access network and determines a tied key using a TKDF. The home network then determines a confirmation message based on the first tied key. In some examples, the serving network receives the identity data from the home network, and receives a network-slice selector associated with the network terminal. The serving network determines a tied key using a TKDF based on the identity data and the network-slice selector.

A communication apparatus establishes, in a case where a second radio link is established with a partner apparatus in communication in addition to an already established first radio link, the second radio link using information obtained by authentication processing executed at the time of establishing the first radio link.

The present invention provides a wireless communication method of an access point. The wireless communication method comprises the steps of: establishing a cache table comprising a plurality of reference MAC and corresponding PMKs and reference PMKIDs; receiving an association request from a station; reading a MAC address of the station and a PMKID from the association request; if the MAC address of the station and the PMKID do not match items of the cache table, performing a calculation on the PMKID to obtain an original PMKID; determining if the original PMKID matches any one of the reference PMKIDs within the cache table; and if the original PMKID matches one reference PMKID within the cache table, determining that the reference MAC recorded in the cache table and the MAC address belong to the same station.

The present invention provides a wireless communication method of an access point. The wireless communication method comprises the steps of: establishing a cache table comprising a plurality of reference MAC and corresponding PMKs and reference PMKIDs; receiving an association request from a station; reading a MAC address of the station and a PMKID from the association request; if the MAC address of the station and the PMKID do not match items of the cache table, performing a calculation on the PMKID to obtain an original PMKID; determining if the original PMKID matches any one of the reference PMKIDs within the cache table; and if the original PMKID matches one reference PMKID within the cache table, determining that the reference MAC recorded in the cache table and the MAC address belong to the same station.

A method (200) for operating a User Equipment (UE) is disclosed, the UE configured to connect to a communication network. The method comprises: indicating to the communication network an Integrity Protection for User Plane (IPUP) mode supported by the UE when requesting registration with the communication network (202). The IPUP mode comprises one of: use of Integrity Protection for User Plane data exchanged with the UE (202a), non-use of Integrity Protection for User Plane data exchanged with the UE (202b), or use of Integrity Protection for User Plane data, and non-use of Confidentiality Protection for User Plane data (202c). Also disclosed are an apparatus for operating a UE, methods and apparatus for operating a radio access node and a core node of a communication network, and a computer program operable to carry out methods for operating a UE, a radio access node and/or a core node of a communication network.

A method (200) for operating a User Equipment (UE) is disclosed, the UE configured to connect to a communication network. The method comprises: indicating to the communication network an Integrity Protection for User Plane (IPUP) mode supported by the UE when requesting registration with the communication network (202). The IPUP mode comprises one of: use of Integrity Protection for User Plane data exchanged with the UE (202a), non-use of Integrity Protection for User Plane data exchanged with the UE (202b), or use of Integrity Protection for User Plane data, and non-use of Confidentiality Protection for User Plane data (202c). Also disclosed are an apparatus for operating a UE, methods and apparatus for operating a radio access node and a core node of a communication network, and a computer program operable to carry out methods for operating a UE, a radio access node and/or a core node of a communication network.

The present disclosure relates to a 5th generation (5G) or pre-5G communication system for supporting a higher data transfer rate beyond a 4th generation (4G) communication system, such as long-term evolution (LTE). According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, a security method of a mobility management apparatus of a second system in a wireless environment may comprise the steps of: receiving a handover request for a terminal connected to a first system; transmitting the handover request to a base station of the second system; and receiving a handover ACK including security information generated by the base station of the second system and transmitting the same to the first system.

The present disclosure relates to a 5th generation (5G) or pre-5G communication system for supporting a higher data transfer rate beyond a 4th generation (4G) communication system, such as long-term evolution (LTE). According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, a security method of a mobility management apparatus of a second system in a wireless environment may comprise the steps of: receiving a handover request for a terminal connected to a first system; transmitting the handover request to a base station of the second system; and receiving a handover ACK including security information generated by the base station of the second system and transmitting the same to the first system.

A user device having a security context with a first network based on a first key may establish a security context with a second network. In a method, the user device may generate a key identifier based on the first key and a network identifier of the second network. The user device may forward the key identifier to the second network for forwarding to the first network by the second network to enable the first network to identify the first key at the first network. The user device may receive a key count from the second network. The key count may be associated with a second key forwarded to the second network from the first network. The user device may generate the second key based on the first key and the received key count thereby establishing a security context between the second network and the user device.

A user device having a security context with a first network based on a first key may establish a security context with a second network. In a method, the user device may generate a key identifier based on the first key and a network identifier of the second network. The user device may forward the key identifier to the second network for forwarding to the first network by the second network to enable the first network to identify the first key at the first network. The user device may receive a key count from the second network. The key count may be associated with a second key forwarded to the second network from the first network. The user device may generate the second key based on the first key and the received key count thereby establishing a security context between the second network and the user device.