US-12627582-B2 - Methods, apparatus and computer-readable medium for monitoring site access over a mobile communication network

US12627582B2US 12627582 B2US12627582 B2US 12627582B2US-12627582-B2

Abstract

Methods, apparatus and computer-readable media are provided for monitoring access to one or more sites over a mobile communication network. One method is performed by a client network entity for monitoring access to one or more sites over a mobile communication network. The method includes: transmitting, to a network exposure entity of the mobile communication network, a request message for the network exposure entity to report instances of one or more wireless devices accessing one or more sites over the mobile communication network; and receiving, from the network exposure entity, a report of instances of one or more wireless devices accessing the one or more sites over the mobile communication network.

Inventors

Miguel Angel Muñoz De La Torre Alonso
Rodrigo Alvarez Dominguez

Assignees

TELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET LM ERICSSON (PUBL)

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20220304
Priority Date: 20220121

Claims (17)

1 . A method performed by a client network entity for monitoring access to one or more sites over a mobile communication network, the method comprising: transmitting, to a network exposure entity of the mobile communication network, a request message for the network exposure entity to report instances of one or more wireless devices accessing one or more sites over the mobile communication network; receiving, from the network exposure entity, a report of instances of one or more wireless devices accessing the one or more sites over the mobile communication network; and the request message comprising: a policy configuration comprising an indication of one or more actions to be performed by the mobile communication network to mitigate access to the one or more sites by the one or more wireless devices; and a filter indicating one or more circumstances in which access to the one or more sites over the mobile communication network is to be monitored, the one or more circumstances comprising one or more of: a time period in which access to the one or more sites over the mobile communication network is to be monitored; a geographical location of wireless devices that are to be monitored for access to the one or more sites; and identities of one or more wireless devices that are to be monitored for access to the one or more sites.
2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the request message comprises information enabling traffic to the one or more sites to be identified.
3 . The method according to claim 2 , wherein the information enabling traffic to the one or more sites to be identified comprises one or more of: a packet flow description for traffic to or from the one or more sites; one or more source or destination network addresses corresponding to the one or more sites; and a category of traffic to or from the one or more sites.
4 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the request message comprises a reporting configuration for the network exposure entity to report to the client network entity.
5 . The method according to claim 4 , wherein the reporting configuration comprises one or more of: an indication of information to be included in the reports to the client network entity; and an indication of timing of reports to be transmitted by the network exposure entity to the client network entity.
6 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the request message comprises a request to subscribe to receive one or more reports of an event, and wherein the event comprises access by one or more wireless devices to the one or more sites.
7 . A method performed by a network exposure entity for monitoring access to one or more sites over a mobile communication network, the method comprising: receiving, from a client network entity, a request message for the network exposure entity to report instances of one or more wireless devices accessing one or more sites over the mobile communication network; transmitting, to the client network entity, a report of instances of one or more wireless devices accessing the one or more sites over the mobile communication network; transmitting, to one or more network policy entities of the mobile communication network identified as serving the one or more wireless devices, an indication that the at least one network policy entity is to report, to the network exposure entity, instances of one or more wireless devices accessing the one or more sites over the mobile communication network; receiving, from the one or more network policy entities of the mobile communication network, a report of instances of one or more wireless devices accessing the one or more sites over the mobile communication network; and the request message comprising an indication of identities for the one or more wireless devices, wherein the indication that the network policy entity is to report instances of one or more wireless devices accessing the one or more sites is transmitted to a plurality of network policy entities, a plurality of reports of instances of one or more wireless devices accessing the one or more sites over the mobile communication network being received from the plurality of network policy entities, and the report transmitted to the client network entity comprises an aggregate of information from the plurality of reports received from the network policy entities.
8 . The method according to claim 7 , further comprising: determining whether the client network entity is authorised to request reports of instances of one or more wireless devices accessing the one or more sites; and responsive to a determination that the client network entity is not authorised to request reports of instances of one or more wireless devices accessing the one or more sites, transmitting a rejection message to the client network entity, comprising an indication that the request message is rejected.
9 . The method according to claim 7 , wherein the report comprises one or more of: a list of instances of wireless devices accessing the one or more sites; a list of identities of wireless devices that accessed the one or more sites; and statistical information relating to access of the one or more sites by wireless devices over the mobile communication network.
10 . The method according to claim 7 , further comprising transmitting, to a data repository entity of the mobile communication network, an indication that network policy entities are to report, to the network exposure entity, instances of one or more wireless devices accessing the one or more sites over the mobile communication network.
11 . The method according to claim 7 , wherein the network exposure entity comprises one of: a network exposure function, NEF; and a service capabilities exposure function, SCEF.
12 . A client network entity for monitoring access to one or more sites over a mobile communication network, the client network entity comprising processing circuitry and a non-transitory machine-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by the processing circuitry, cause the client network entity to: transmit, to a network exposure entity of the mobile communication network, a request message for the network exposure entity to report instances of one or more wireless devices accessing one or more sites over the mobile communication network; receive, from the network exposure entity, a report of instances of one or more wireless devices accessing the one or more sites over the mobile communication network; and the request message comprising: a policy configuration comprising an indication of one or more actions to be performed by the mobile communication network to mitigate access to the one or more sites by the one or more wireless devices; and a filter indicating one or more circumstances in which access to the one or more sites over the mobile communication network is to be monitored, the one or more circumstances comprising one or more of: a time period in which access to the one or more sites over the mobile communication network is to be monitored; a geographical location of wireless devices that are to be monitored for access to the one or more sites; and identities of one or more wireless devices that are to be monitored for access to the one or more sites.
13 . The client network entity according to claim 12 , wherein the request message comprises information enabling traffic to the one or more sites to be identified.
14 . A network exposure entity for monitoring access to one or more sites over a mobile communication network, the network exposure entity comprising processing circuitry and a non-transitory machine-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by the processing circuitry, cause the network exposure entity to: receive, from a client network entity, a request message for the network exposure entity to report instances of one or more wireless devices accessing one or more sites over the mobile communication network; transmit, to the client network entity, a report of instances of one or more wireless devices accessing the one or more sites over the mobile communication network; transmit, to one or more network policy entities of the mobile communication network identified as serving the one or more wireless devices, an indication that the at least one network policy entity is to report, to the network exposure entity, instances of one or more wireless devices accessing the one or more sites over the mobile communication network; receive, from the at least one network policy entity of the mobile communication network, a report of instances of one or more wireless devices accessing the one or more sites over the mobile communication network; and the request message comprising an indication of identities for the one or more wireless devices, the indication that the network policy entity is to report instances of one or more wireless devices accessing the one or more sites being transmitted to a plurality of network policy entities, a plurality of reports of instances of one or more wireless devices accessing the one or more sites over the mobile communication network being received from the plurality of network policy entities, and the report transmitted to the client network entity comprising an aggregate of information from the plurality of reports received from the network policy entities.
15 . The network exposure entity according to claim 14 , wherein the report comprises one or more of: a list of instances of wireless devices accessing the one or more sites; a list of identities of wireless devices that accessed the one or more sites; and statistical information relating to access of the one or more sites by wireless devices over the mobile communication network.
16 . A non-transitory machine-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by processing circuitry of an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform a method for monitoring access to one or more sites over a mobile communication network, the method comprising: transmitting a request message for the network exposure entity to report instances of one or more wireless devices accessing one or more sites over the mobile communication network; receiving a report of instances of one or more wireless devices accessing the one or more sites over the mobile communication network; and the request message comprising: a policy configuration comprising an indication of one or more actions to be performed by the mobile communication network to mitigate access to the one or more sites by the one or more wireless devices; and a filter indicating one or more circumstances in which access to the one or more sites over the mobile communication network is to be monitored, the one or more circumstances comprising one or more of: a time period in which access to the one or more sites over the mobile communication network is to be monitored; a geographical location of wireless devices that are to be monitored for access to the one or more sites; and identities of one or more wireless devices that are to be monitored for access to the one or more sites.
17 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the policy configuration comprises one or more of: an indication that access to the one or more sites by the one or more wireless devices is to be blocked; an indication that access to the one or more sites is to be blocked for all wireless devices; an indication that a message is to be transmitted to the one or more wireless devices informing users of the one or more wireless devices that their access of the one or more sites has been recorded.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a Submission Under 35 U.S.C. § 371 for U.S. National Stage Patent Application of International Application No.: PCT/EP2022/055545, filed Mar. 4, 2022 entitled “METHODS, APPARATUS AND COMPUTER-READABLE MEDIUM FOR MONITORING SITE ACCESS OVER A MOBILE COMMUNICATION NETWORK,” which claims priority to European Application No.: 22382038.2, filed Jan. 21, 2022, entitled “METHODS, APPARATUS AND COMPUTER-READABLE MEDIUM FOR MONITORING SITE ACCESS OVER A MOBILE COMMUNICATION NETWORK,” the entireties of both of which are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to communication networks, and particularly to methods, apparatus and computer-readable mediums for monitoring site access. BACKGROUND Copyright infringement (also known as piracy) is the performance of certain restricted acts (e.g., copying, showing or playing to the public, etc) with respect to works protected by copyright law (e.g., musical and dramatic works, sound recordings, film, broadcast, etc) without permission from the rights holder. According to ABI Research (Combating Illegal Content Streaming and Piracy, April 2020), live streaming and live sport piracy in Europe alone cost legitimate copyright holders and licensees an estimated $941 million from 2019 to 2020. The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has increased download data rates through features such as enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), meaning that illegal streaming is increasingly taking place over mobile networks. However, no mechanism currently exists in mobile networks to track access to illegal streaming websites. SUMMARY Embodiments of the disclosure seek to address these and other problems. A first aspect of the disclosure provides a method performed by a client network entity for monitoring access to one or more sites over a mobile communication network. The method comprises: transmitting, to a network exposure entity of the mobile communication network, a request message for the network exposure entity to report instances of one or more wireless devices accessing one or more sites over the mobile communication network; and receiving, from the network exposure entity, a report of instances of one or more wireless devices accessing the one or more sites over the mobile communication network. Apparatus and a computer-readable medium for performing the method set out above are also provided. For example, there is provided a client network entity for monitoring access to one or more sites over a mobile communication network. The client network entity comprises processing circuitry and a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by the processing circuitry, cause the client network entity to: transmit, to a network exposure entity of the mobile communication network, a request message for the network exposure entity to report instances of one or more wireless devices accessing one or more sites over the mobile communication network; and receive, from the network exposure entity, a report of instances of one or more wireless devices accessing the one or more sites over the mobile communication network. A second aspect of the disclosure provides a method performed by a network exposure entity for monitoring access to one or more sites over a mobile communication network. The method comprises: receiving, from a client network entity, a request message for the network exposure entity to report instances of one or more wireless devices accessing one or more sites over the mobile communication network; and transmitting, to the client network entity, a report of instances of one or more wireless devices accessing the one or more sites over the mobile communication network. Apparatus and a computer-readable medium for performing the method set out above are also provided. For example, there is provided a network exposure entity for monitoring access to one or more sites over a mobile communication network. The network exposure entity comprises processing circuitry and a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by the processing circuitry, cause the network exposure entity to: receive, from a client network entity, a request message for the network exposure entity to report instances of one or more wireless devices accessing one or more sites over the mobile communication network; and transmit, to the client network entity, a report of instances of one or more wireless devices accessing the one or more sites over the mobile communication network. A third aspect of the disclosure provides a method performed by a network policy entity for monitoring access to one or more sites over a mobile communication network. The method comprises: obtaining an instruction for the network policy entity to report, to a network exposure entity, instances of one or more wireless devices accessing one or more sites ove