Patent ID: 8131266

Claim:
A secure SMS (short message service) communication system, comprising: a RAN (radio access network) for sending and receiving SMS messages to and from UE (user equipment) devices; a network node in communication with the RAN, the network node comprising: a network interface for receiving and forwarding SMS messages; an SMS message recipient determiner for determining the intended recipient of the SMS message and whether the intended recipient supports SMS message encryption; an SMS message encryption detector for detecting whether the received SMS message is encrypted; and an SMS message encrypter/decrypter for selectively encrypting and decrypting SMS messages prior to forwarding to the intended recipient, wherein SMS messages received unencrypted are encrypted by the SMS message encrypter/decrypter if the intended recipient supports encryption, and wherein SMS messages received encrypted are decrypted by the SMS message encrypter/decrypter if the intended recipient does not support SMS message encryption.