Patent ID: 8165299

Claim:
A method of operating a mobile communications device that includes a cryptographic module, the method comprising: detecting whether communication with a service node via a wireless network should be performed and if so then performing: detecting whether the service node accessed by the mobile communications device via the wireless network requires performance of an authentication, and in response to detecting that the service node accessed by the mobile communications device via the wireless network requires performance of the authentication, using the cryptographic module to carry out the authentication; and if the authentication is successfully carried out then communicating with the service node via the wireless network and interacting with the service node to exchange data content of relevance to the service node; and detecting whether a local external device having a connection to a network by means other than the mobile communications device requires performance of an authentication, and in response to detecting that the local external device requires performance of the authentication, using the cryptographic module to carry out the authentication.