Anonymous roaming in universal mobile telecommunication system mobile networks

A secure roaming protocol for mobile networks is proposed. Roaming has been analysed in some schemes from the security point of view; however, there are vulnerabilities in most of them and so the claimed security level is not achieved. The scheme offered by Wan et al. recently is based on hierarchical identity-based encryption, in which the roaming user and the foreign network mutually authenticate each other without the help of the home network. Although the idea behind this proposal is interesting, it contradicts technical considerations such as routing and billing. The proposed protocol makes use of similar functions used in Wan et al.'s scheme but contributes a distinguished structure that overcomes the previous shortcomings and achieves a higher possible level of security in mobile roaming as well as enhancing the security of the key issuing procedure

On the security of an anonymous roaming protocol in UMTS mobile networks

In this communication, we first show that the privacy-preserving roaming protocol recently proposed for mobile networks cannot achieve the claimed security level. Then we suggest an improved protocol to remedy its security problems

Management system requirements for wireless systems beyond 3G

This paper presents a comprehensive description of various management system requirements for systems beyond 3G, which have been identified as a result of the Software Based Systems activities within the Mobile VCE Core 2 program. Specific requirements for systems beyond 3G are discussed and potential technologies to address them proposed. The analysis has been carried out from network, service and security viewpoints

The European framework for regulating telecommunications - a 25-year appraisal

The European telecommunications sector has been radically transformed in the past 25 years: from a group of state monopolies to a set of increasingly competitive markets. In this paper we summarize how this process has unfolded -- for both fixed and mobile telecommunications -- by focusing on the evolution of the regulatory framework and by drawing some parallels with the evolution of the sector in the US. Given the major strategic importance of the sector, we highlight some of the challenges that lie ahead

Shadow Phone and Ghost SIM: A Step Toward Geolocation Anonymous Calling

abstract: Mobile telephony is a critical aspect of our modern society: through telephone calls, it is possible to reach almost anyone around the globe. However, every mobile telephone call placed implicitly leaks the user's location to the telephony service provider (TSP). This privacy leakage is due to the fundamental nature of mobile telephony calls that must connect to a local base station to receive service and place calls. Thus, the TSP can track the physical location of the user for every call that they place. While the The Internet is similar in this regard, privacy-preserving technologies such as Tor allow users to connect to websites anonymously (without revealing to their ISP the site that they are visiting). In this thesis, the scheme presented, called shadow calling, to allow geolocation anonymous calling from legacy mobile devices. In this way, the call is placed from the same number, however, the TSP will not know the user's physical location. The scheme does not require any change on the network side and can be used on current mobile networks. The scheme implemented is for the GSM (commonly referred to as 2G) network, as it is the most widely used mode of mobile telephony communication. The feasibility of our scheme is demonstrated through the prototype. Shadow calling, which renders the users geolocation anonymous, will be beneficial for users such as journalists, human rights activists in hostile nations, or other privacy-demanding users.Dissertation/ThesisMasters Thesis Computer Science 201

Tariff-Mediated Network Effects versus Strategic Discounting: Evidence from German Mobile Telecommunications

Mobile telecommunication operators routinely charge subscribers lower prices for calls on their own network than for calls to other networks (on-net discounts). Studies on tariff-mediated network effects suggest this is due to large operators using on-net discounts to damage smaller rivals. Alternatively, research on strategic discounting suggests small operators use on-net discounts to advertise with low on-net prices. We test the relative strength of these effects using data on tariff setting in German mobile telecommunications between 2001 and 2009. We find that large operators are more likely to offer tariffs with on-net discounts but there is no consistently significant difference in the magnitude of discounts. Our results suggest that tariff-mediated network effects are the main cause of on-net discounts

SECURITY AND PRIVACY ISSUES IN MOBILE NETWORKS, DIFFICULTIES AND SOLUTIONS

Mobile communication is playing a vital role in the daily life for the last two decades; in turn its fields gained the research attention, which led to the introduction of new technologies, services and applications. These new added facilities aimed to ease the connectivity and reachability; on the other hand, many security and privacy concerns were not taken into consideration. This opened the door for the malicious activities to threaten the deployed systems and caused vulnerabilities for users, translated in the loss of valuable data and major privacy invasions. Recently, many attempts have been carried out to handle these concerns, such as improving systems’ security and implementing different privacy enhancing mechanisms. This research addresses these problems and provides a mean to preserve privacy in particular. In this research, a detailed description and analysis of the current security and privacy situation in the deployed systems is given. As a result, the existing shortages within these systems are pointed out, to be mitigated in development. Finally a privacy preserving prototype model is proposed. This research has been conducted as an extensive literature review about the most relevant references and researches in the field, using the descriptive and evaluative research methodologies. The main security models, parameters, modules and protocols are presented, also a detailed description of privacy and its related arguments, dimensions and factors is given. The findings include that mobile networks’ security along with users are vulnerable due to the weaknesses of the key exchange procedures, the difficulties that face possession, repudiation, standardization, compatibility drawbacks and lack of configurability. It also includes the need to implement new mechanisms to protect security and preserve privacy, which include public key cryptography, HIP servers, IPSec, TLS, NAT and DTLS-SRTP. Last but not least, it shows that privacy is not absolute and it has many conflicts, also privacy requires sophisticated systems, which increase the load and cost of the system.fi=Opinnäytetyö kokotekstinä PDF-muodossa.|en=Thesis fulltext in PDF format.|sv=Lärdomsprov tillgängligt som fulltext i PDF-format

Diffusion of mobile phones in Portugal: unexpected success?

This paper begins with a somewhat paradoxical situation: Portugal is one of the less innovative countries within the European Union by most innovation indicators but, simultaneously, it is a leading country in the diffusion of mobile phones. The remarkable evolution of the mobile telecommunications sector over the last 15 years turns the issue a little more intriguing. This paper addresses the diffusion of mobile phones in Portugal and focuses particularly on the take-off stage, which signalled a sudden change in the pattern of diffusion. The introduction of an innovation – prepaid cards – explains most of the change in the diffusion curve occurred around 1996 and the subsequent increase in the penetration rate. Prior known research has not considered pre-paid cards an important determinant of mobile phone diffusion, but pre-paid services had an enormous impact on the rate of adoption of mobile phones in many countries and it is the major take-off determinant of mobile phone diffusion in Portugal. The time lag between the launching of this innovation in Portugal and its adoption by other EU countries explains why Portugal not just caught up with the EU average mobile phone penetration rate around 1996, but moved ahead of it from then on