RU2755812C2 - Method for identifying subscriber using universal mobile advertising identifier - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: telecommunications.

SUBSTANCE: described result is achieved by the fact that each data structure consists of a set of pairs of values of a subscriber identifier and a hash value, and each data structure is allocated a correspondent web server network address. Wherein the subscriber identifier is any standardised subscriber identifier (MSISDN, IMSI, IMEI), and the HASH hash value is the value of the subscriber identifier transformed by the hash function. The method includes integration of QIT Script program instructions into the program logic of processing HTTP requests from partner web servers. The operator responds to a network HTTP request from a partner web server, initiated by QIT Script program instructions, by transmitting a HASH value corresponding to the web server network address and the MSISDN of the subscriber.

EFFECT: prevented accumulation and traffic of data of the marketing portrait of a subscriber of a cellular communication network by third-party domains and guaranteed provision of relevant advertising content to the subscriber based on their marketing portrait.

5 cl, 2 dwg

Description

The proposed invention relates to the field of telecommunications and communications, preferably to mobile marketing systems, any types of online advertising and systems for processing audience data, and can be used in cellular networks of GSM, UMTS, IMS standards.

It is known that the effectiveness of mobile advertising increases significantly if the sales of web-inventory (places for advertising) by web-resources (web-sites) are accompanied by an accurate marketing portrait of the subscriber who has visited the web-resource. The marketing profile of the subscriber includes data on the thematic interest of the subscriber, his age, gender, and other data allowing him to display potentially interesting advertising content. The collection and processing of this data is provided by DMP (Data Management Platform) systems based on the subscriber's behavior in the network - gender, age, history of visits, searches, geo data, etc. A large amount of such characteristics provides web resources with the ability to more accurately recognize the marketing portrait of a subscriber who has visited the site. This means increasing the cost of advertising space in technological platforms for selling web inventory SSP (Supply / Sell Side Platform) and its price for an advertiser participating in an OpenRTB advertising auction or direct sales (Direct Binding) on the side of technological platforms for buying DSP web inventory (Demand Side Platform). The uncontrolled circulation of this, albeit anonymous data, which nevertheless potentially affects the behavior of the subscriber in the network, has led to a worldwide tendency to limit their circulation.

Well-known anonymous identifiers are used in the Internet advertising industry to analyze audience data in order to generate personalized advertising to a subscriber - cookies, in particular the so-called. third-party cookies containing anonymous subscriber information, mobile device identifiers GAID (Google Advertising ID) and IDFA (Identifier for Advertisers) of Android and IOs operating systems. The data associated with these identifiers allows Internet marketers to understand the thematic interest of an anonymous subscriber, measure the effectiveness of advertising campaigns, calculate the ratio (conversion) of ad impressions to clicks, app installs, etc.

The trend of increasing the protection of personal data on the Internet directly affects the technology of Internet advertising. Since 2022 Google will stop supporting third-party cookies, Apple has already stopped supporting third-party domain cookies. Developers of mobile devices are tightening organizational and technical measures to counter uncontrolled tracking of data on subscribers' mobile devices. So GAID and IDFA have ceased to be stable since 2018 and can be changed by a subscriber. Since 2020, IDFA is disabled by default, and applications are required to request the subscriber's consent to activate it.

Major players in the Internet industry offer their solutions aimed at a compromise between the privacy of a subscriber's data and the need to track his preferences - Google Privacy Sandbox, Apple SKAdNetwork. Such initiatives can lead to unwanted dominance of large companies and monopolization of the online advertising market, which is economically detrimental to the industry as a whole.

Under these conditions, Internet marketers use techniques of indirect user identification (the so-called browser fingerprinting) based on the settings and features of its equipment - screen resolution, fonts, MIME types, encryption modes, etc. The identifiers are used that are not directly intended for mobile marketing systems - IP and MAC addresses, the address of the mobile device Serial Number. Some of them are known for instability and / or the need to obtain permission from the subscriber for use. All these methods are united by one drawback - the impossibility of providing protection against uncontrolled circulation of subscriber data in the network. It is known that many websites and mobile applications generate a significant part of their income by selling audience data to large aggregators (third-party domains).

The ubiquity of mobile devices is driving an increase in mobile traffic. According to various estimates, its growth from 2017 to 2020 was about 30%. The NP (Network Provider) cellular network operator assigns unique standardized identifiers MSISDN, IMSI, IMEI to each subscriber, and the services provided by the operator must be associated with them (clause 1.5 of the ETSI TS 100 616 specification). It is known that, starting with the UMTS architecture, cellular operators everywhere use software and hardware systems for deep traffic analysis DPI (Deep Packet Inspection) to prioritize GPRS traffic on the SGSN / GGSN. The analysis is necessary to manage the limited bandwidth of the communication channel and charge the subscriber for the consumption of services. To use GPRS packet data services in cellular networks, the PDP Context procedure is performed, which includes assigning a static or dynamic IP address to the MSISDN subscriber's mobile device. AAA protocols (Authentication, Authorization, Accounting) are used to describe access to services and control their consumption.

Taking into account these conditions of the current state of the art, the authors propose a universal method for identifying a subscriber, excluding unwanted circulation of data on his marketing portrait and guaranteeing a stable identifier for the mobile advertising industry. The authors' proposed universal identifier can be used to evaluate advertising campaigns and process audience data in lieu of identifiers offered by major players in the online advertising industry. A significant economic effect of the method proposed by the authors lies in the impossibility of major players in the Internet industry to dominate the Internet advertising industry.

It is known that mobile operators, by definition, process the personal data of their home subscribers. Therefore, the processing of anonymous data that forms their marketing portraits associated with hashed identifiers, which, in fact, the proposed method is impossible for identification by third-party domains, makes it impossible for them to turnover. On the other hand, a sufficient number of cellular operators, including virtual ones, presupposes a sufficient level of competition within the proposed identification method and a corresponding economic effect.

The closest technical solution adopted for the prototype is the application US2020126106 dated 12/17/2019 to the authors. describing a way to anonymously identify a user in two different user spaces. The essence of the method (US2020126106 fig.1) is to create hash tables (8A, 8B) with subscriber data in each user space, and create in one of such spaces a module for mapping the hash value of one space to the hash value of another (mapping module 12) ... The disadvantage of this solution is that the user hash (HASH) is identical across different user spaces. Thus, the proposed method performs anonymous user authentication of different user spaces, since identifiers (UIDs) are different for different spaces, and the display module is included in only one user space. However, the method does not interfere with the identification of the user between spaces, and therefore the transmission of a hash value (HASH), behind which the user is hidden to a third-party web resource for accumulating data on his behavior and subsequent circulation of this data. As the skilled person will understand, the method extends to an unlimited number of such spaces with the same disadvantage. It is noted that the method of American authors does not aim to oppose the exchange of the hash value of the user identifier between spaces, but, on the contrary, supports the exchange of user information.

The stated goal and technical result of the proposed by the authors of the invention is to prevent the accumulation and circulation of data from the marketing portrait of a subscriber of a cellular network by third-party domains and guaranteed provision of relevant advertising content to the subscriber based on his marketing portrait. Such a goal, according to the authors, is achievable provided that a universal identifier UID (Universal Identifier) is created on a network node (URL) independent of user spaces (web resources) (QIT), which is a hash value of a hash function to a subscriber identifier used in cellular networks (MSISDN , IMSI, IMEI) for connection switching and service tariffication. Moreover, the hash function for each web resource is different in terms of the condition that it is impossible to display this hash value between any two different web resources.

The technical result is achieved by means of a method for identifying a subscriber using a universal identifier for mobile advertising, which includes the creation by a cellular operator of a plurality of data structures, each data structure of which consists of a plurality of pairs of subscriber identifier values and a hash value; server, and when the network node SGSN / GGSN or any other network node of the cellular operator receives a network request from the network address of the web server, the cellular operator determines in a set of data structures a hash value that corresponds to the network address of the web server and any standardized MSISDN identifier , IMSI, subscriber's IMEI used in cellular networks for switching connections and charging services, and transmits this hash value in the network response to the network address of the web server. In this case, the data structure is any associative array storing and processing a set of pairs of subscriber identifier values and a hash value obtained by transforming this subscriber identifier with a hash function. The network address of the web server is the URL address of any server on the Internet, and the network request from the network address of the web server is the HTTP request of the web server initiated by the execution of the script programming language program instructions preinstalled on the web server by the cellular operator.

FIG. 1 shows a general diagram of the interaction of network nodes in the framework of the proposed method of universal subscriber identification UID.

FIG. 2 shows a generalized diagram of the exchange of network nodes when performing the method of universal subscriber identification UID.

The figures do not limit the network architecture, call sequence, or interaction scheme of entities within the scope of the present invention, but illustrate one of the preferred options providing the claimed technical result.

In general, in the context of the application, the following definitions are adopted: MSISDN-identifier of the subscriber's mobile device and the subscriber's mobile device MS (Mobile Station) are interchangeable. Third-party web resource or third domain - a web site or domain on the Internet, with which the subscriber's mobile device does not establish a web session via the HTTP protocol within a certain, limited period of time. Marketing portrait of a subscriber - any anonymized data of a subscriber, ensuring the recognition of its marketing characteristics and thematic interest, correlated with any digital identifier. The turnover of a subscriber's marketing portrait is the accumulation, sale, transfer of anonymous subscriber data to third-party web resources or third domains.

The proposed universal identifier for mobile advertising UID can be implemented on any architecture of a cellular network GSM, UMTS, IMS. The UID control software logic can be executed on any nodes included in the PS packet network (Packet Switched Domain p. 3.3.2 GPP TS 23.002) of the NP cellular operator. Including at the main PS node - SGSN / GGSN, which performs packet session control functions. In the preferred embodiment of FIG. 1.2 the UID program logic is executed in the memory of the QIT server, which receives all GPRS traffic from the SGSN / GGSN, for example through the soft bypass.

The hardware part of the QIT server is implemented on X86 servers running a Unix-like operating system. The QIT software architecture is the applicant's know-how. The QIT software algorithm involves the creation of a set of M data structures URL m .. (URI m), each of which implements an associative key-value array interface. In general, this is any data structure that performs programmatic operations for writing, searching, reading, deleting a key by value. In the private implementation of FIG. 1, the data structure of the URL m .. is a standard hash table. Hash table keys - a set of N unique identifiers of MSISDN N subscribers that are used to process connections on standard network nodes (SSP, SCP, SGSN, GGSN, HLR, etc.) of the CN switching system (Core Network clause 3.2.3 GPP TS 23.002 standard ) operator NP cellular communication. In general, the keys can define MSISDN, IMSI, IMEI or any other stable identifiers, preferably standardized by ITU-T and 3GPP and associated with connection switching and service charging (clause 1.5 of the ETSI TS 100 616 specification). Hash table values - hash values obtained by applying a hash function to the associated keys. The software algorithm uses standard hash functions known from the prior art, including the use of hash function modifiers, the so-called. cryptographic salt.

Determination of the MSISDN n of the subscriber by his IP address of the web session can be performed according to the PDP Context, which is a standard procedure performed in cellular networks for serving the subscriber in the GPRS packet mode. The PDP Context procedure includes the allocation of an IP address to the subscriber's mobile device MSISDN n and activation of the APN (Access Point Name) access point. By the IP address of the web session and the time of assignment of this IP address MSISDN n of the mobile device, the QIT software algorithm can determine the MSISDN n which, unlike the IP address, is a stable identifier due to the provisions of the telecommunication standards ITU-T, 3GGP and ETSI. Correspondence to the current IP of the subscriber and MSISDN can be established by the QIT software logic according to the messages of the AAA (Authentication, Authorization, Accounting) protocols. AAA protocols (RADIUS, DIAMETER) contain data on the correspondence of the subscriber's MSISDN and the IP assigned to it for processing packet network data. Access to PDP Context data and AAA protocol interfaces is provided by software interaction between QIT and SGSN / GGSN.

A set of N pairs of MSISDN values n, m; HASH n, m of each data structure URL m is a subset of all operator subscribers (Fig. 1). Economically, the set N in each data structure of the URL m can be equal to the set of all subscribers of the operator, for example, if the advertising policy of the operator NP provides for the application of the same advertising rules for all subscribers. Or not equal, for example, if the operator NP implements the management of advertising web-content by subscription. Without limiting the proposed UID method, it is noted that in private implementations, the subsets N in different data structures URL m may not be equal, based on the marketing preferences of the operator NP.

For each data structure URL m, the QIT software algorithm maps the network address of the web server URL m. The new data structure URL m is created when the QIT software logic detects a web session with the web server's network URL, which is not included in the set M. In this case, the QIT software algorithm assigns the new data structure the detected new network URL m of the web server and writes to it the MSISDN n value associated with the detected web session. At the same time, the QIT software algorithm does not create a hash value HASH n for the newly recorded MSISDN n of the newly created data structure URL m, since it does not consider the web server at the URL as a partner. The newly created data structure URL m is replenished with new MSISDN n as web sessions MSISDN n are found in the URL (Fig. 1 is the data structure of the URL M-1). The QIT program logic can implement different rules for creating a new URL m data structure, depending on the marketing preferences of the operator.

Technically, a web server at a network address URL m is any standard network node that provides access to a set of web pages via the HTTP protocol, for example a news resource (Fig. 1 URL m1, URL m2, URL M-1). Economically, the web server at the network address URL m can be a partner of the NP operator (Fig. 1 URL m1, URL m2), or not be a partner of the NP operator (Fig. 1 URL M-1). In the case of a partnership agreement with a web resource at the network address URL m, QIT via the HTTP protocol or any other method known from the prior art integrates into the software architecture of the web server URL m a set of program instructions executed in a scripting programming language known from the prior art, for example JavaScript (Figure 1 QIT Script). This set of instructions initiates an HTTP call from the web server URL m to the QIT network address to obtain the HASH of the subscriber of interest and may include additional logic, for example, a request for identifiers of the subscriber's marketing portrait (in terms of Internet advertising of segment identifiers). QIT Script can include any other logic provided by the partner agreement. At the same time, the QIT software algorithm identifies the URL m web server as a partner and applies a unique hash function to all MSISDN n, m keys stored in the data structure of the new URL m partner to generate hash values HASH n, m.

If an HTTP POST request is detected by the partner web server URL m1 initiated by QIT Script, the software algorithm responds with an HTTP GET with the HASH m1 parameter and segment identifiers, if the QIT Script software instructions provide for a request for subscriber segment identifiers (marketing portrait). The affiliate web server uses the marketing profile of the subscriber in the RTB (Real-Time Binding) advertising auction or direct sales to its DB (Direct Binding) partners, stimulating an increase in the price of its web inventory. A network request from a non-partner web server will fail because the QIT logic will not define the data structure associated with the web server network address URL m and HASH n by the corresponding MSISDN n. If a third-party web server copies QIT Script from the partner's web server URL m1 or m2, then the network request initiated by the copied QIT Script to the QIT server address from this third-party web server will also fail. Since the program logic of QIT will not define the data structure of the subscriber's URL and HASH corresponding to the address of the third-party web server and the subscriber's MSISDN. Such QIT software logic reliably prevents the accumulation and circulation of subscriber marketing portrait data by third-party web resources.

The generalized network exchange of network nodes within the framework of the method proposed by the authors is shown in Fig. 2. For simplicity, FIG. 2 illustrates a generalized network dialog using the example of QIT interacting with a partner web server at the network URL m1. Without loss of generality, interaction with other partner web servers (m2, etc.) is performed in a similar way. In Fig. 2, it is assumed that the software architecture of the web server URL m1 includes QIT Script, at the appointed time N-1 the PDP Context MSISDN N-1 is activated, the mobile device of the subscriber MSISDN N-1 is assigned an IP address and the mobile device operates in the receive mode GPRS packet data.

The web browser of the subscriber's mobile device MSISDN N-1 establishes a web session with the web server URL m1 and requests the web page index.html messages 1-3 URL m1 GET index.html. The web server URL m1 performs standard processing of request 3, QIT Script is triggered, which initiates a 4,5 POST (IP) request to the QIT address, in the parameters of which the web server transmits the current IP of the subscriber of the established web session. QIT processes request 5, determines the subscriber's MSISDN (determ MSISDN N-1) by the subscriber's IP and the time of its destination (detect IP, time N-1), at the URL m1 and MSISDN, it determines HASH N-1, m1 (determ HASH N- 1, m1) and responds with messages 6,7 GET? HASH N-1, m1. The URL m1 web server accepts HASH N-1, m1 and generates an appeal to the SSP platform to execute the RTB auction algorithm for selling its API web inventory 8 (inventory, HASH N-1, m1.). The SSP platform generates a request to the QIT address to obtain segment identifiers for the HASH N-1, m1 value of the API REQ message 9,10 (HASH N-1, m1). QIT processes the request and sends the marketing profile of the subscriber (segment IDs) to the SSP message 11,12 RESP API (segment ID). Then SSP launches the standard RTB logic of the RTB start up auction with the exact marketing portrait of the MSISDN N-1 subscriber (segment ID). At the same time, the web server sends to the web browser MSISDN N-1 the web page index.html messages 13-15 200Ok index.html which the web browser renders to the subscriber index.html downloading. When processing the web page index.html, the web browser makes a request to the web server URL m1 to download the advertising content of the message 16-18 js-code cellbanners REQ. After polling advertisers (DSP platforms are not shown in FIG. 2), the SSP determines the advertiser, which transmits its advertising material to the web server for loading API 19 (cellbanners) and completes the RTB complete advertising auction. On request 18, the web server sends the received advertising material for downloading (cellbanners downloading) to the user's web browser MSISDN N-1 messages 20-22 js-code cellbanners RESP.

As a specialist understands, instead of holding an RTB auction, the URL m1 web server can perform direct sales of DB (Direct Binding) web inventory to partners. In this case, the DSP of the advertiser of the partner of the UML m1 web server will also form a network request not to a third-party DMP, but to the QIT address using HASH N-1, m1. Also, obviously, the method does not lose its generality in the case of a web server contacting an advertising network to sell web inventory. The method allows sending the marketing portrait of the subscriber (segment ID) to the address of the partner's web server URL m1 in messages 6,7 instead of HASH N-1, m1. Then the web server URL m1 sends to the SSP platform not the HASH value N-1, m1, but the segment IDs. In this case, the SSP has a complete marketing portrait of the subscriber for the RTB auction, and the 9-12 SSP-QIT network exchange for its request becomes redundant.

In any case, as disclosed above, the method proposed by the authors undoubtedly ensures the secrecy of the subscriber's marketing portrait due to the turnover of the HASH N-1, m1 value unique for the UML m1 web server, which is impossible for the accumulation and circulation of third-party web resources. Unique HASH value excludes:

- accumulation and circulation of a marketing portrait of a subscriber by third-party DMPs;

- addressing the SSP platform to third-party DMPs to obtain a marketing portrait of the subscriber;

- obtaining a marketing portrait of a subscriber by third-party web resources by accidentally copying QIT Script from the web server of the NP operator's partner.

At the same time, the method provides binding of a marketing portrait to a stable MSISDN identifier, the stability of which is due to the technical specification. For additional secrecy of the marketing portrait of a subscriber based on HASH and to prevent the accumulation of his statistics by third-party web resources, the QIT algorithm can provide for a periodic change of the hash function for any subset of the sets M and N.

Claims (5)

1. A method for identifying a subscriber using a universal identifier for mobile advertising, which includes the creation by a cellular operator of a plurality of data structures, each data structure of which consists of a plurality of pairs of subscriber identifier values and a hash value, setting each data structure to correspond to the network address of a web server, which is different the fact that when the network node of the cellular operator receives a network request from the network address of the web server, the cellular operator determines in a set of data structures a hash value that corresponds to the network address of the web server and the subscriber identifier used in cellular networks for switching connections and billing services, and transfers this hash value in the network response to the network address of the web server. 2. A method for identifying a subscriber using a universal mobile advertising identifier according to claim 1, characterized in that the data structure is any associative array storing and processing a plurality of pairs of subscriber identifier values and a hash value obtained by transforming this subscriber identifier with a hash function. 3. A method for identifying a subscriber using a universal identifier for mobile advertising according to claim 1, characterized in that the identifier used in cellular networks for switching connections and charging services is any standardized identifier MSISDN, IMSI, IMEI of the subscriber. 4. A method for identifying a subscriber using a universal mobile advertisement identifier according to claim 1, characterized in that the network node of the cellular operator is an SGSN / GGSN or any other network node that performs the functions of network packet switching and traffic analysis. 5. A method for identifying a subscriber using a universal mobile advertising identifier according to claim 1, characterized in that the network address of the web server is the URL of any server on the Internet, and the network request from the network address of the web server is the HTTP request of the web server, initiated by the execution of program instructions of the script programming language pre-installed on the web server by the cellular operator.

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