Towards transnational interoperable PPDR communications: the European ISI cloud network

The European Council has been stressing the need for interoperability among technologies used for Public Protection and Disaster Relief (PPDR) communications across Europe for a long time. Nevertheless, while the introduction of TETRA and TETRAPOL technologies in the last two decades has increased the possibility to talk cross agency internally in a country, cross border communication for the public safety forces is not well solved as of today. This paper describes the communications interoperability solution that is being developed in the framework of the ISITEP project. This solution, referred to as the European Inter-System Interface (ISI) Cloud Network, aims to integrate the PPDR national/regional infrastructures to allow migration (i.e., roaming) and communication services between networks within a secure framework. The ISI Cloud Network involves, among other components, the specification of a new ISI interface to be deployed over IP transport networks and the development of a number of different gateways to cover the use of TETRA and TETRAPOL technologies as well as the use of legacy TETRA ISI by some networks.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Security in transnational interoperable PPDR communications: threats and requirements

The relevance of cross border security operations has been identified as a priority at European level for a long time. A European network where Public Protection and Disaster Relief (PPDR) forces share communications processes and a legal framework would greatly enforce response to disaster recovery and security against crime. Nevertheless, uncertainty on costs, timescale and functionalities have slowed down the interconnection of PPDR networks across countries and limited the transnational cooperation of their PPDR forces so far. In this context, the European research project ISITEP is aimed at developing the legal, operational and technical framework to achieve a cost effective solution for PPDR interoperability across European countries. Inter alia, ISITEP project is specifying a new Inter-System-Interface (ISI) interface for the interconnection of current TETRA and TETRAPOL networks that can be deployed over Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity. This approach turns communications security as a central aspect to consider when deploying the new IP ISI protocol between PPDR national networks. Ensuring that threats to the interconnected communications systems and terminals are sufficiently and appropriately reduced by technical, procedural and environmental countermeasures is vital to realise the trusted and secure communication system needed for the pursued PPDR transnational cooperation activities. In this context, this paper describes the framework and methodology defined to carry out the development of the security requirements and provides a discussion on the undertaken security risk and vulnerability analysis.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Towards transnational interoperable PPDR communications: the European ISI cloud network

The European Council has been stressing the need for interoperability among technologies used for Public Protection and Disaster Relief (PPDR) communications across Europe for a long time. Nevertheless, while the introduction of TETRA and TETRAPOL technologies in the last two decades has increased the possibility to talk cross agency internally in a country, cross border communication for the public safety forces is not well solved as of today. This paper describes the communications interoperability solution that is being developed in the framework of the ISITEP project. This solution, referred to as the European Inter-System Interface (ISI) Cloud Network, aims to integrate the PPDR national/regional infrastructures to allow migration (i.e., roaming) and communication services between networks within a secure framework. The ISI Cloud Network involves, among other components, the specification of a new ISI interface to be deployed over IP transport networks and the development of a number of different gateways to cover the use of TETRA and TETRAPOL technologies as well as the use of legacy TETRA ISI by some networks.Peer Reviewe

Security in transnational interoperable PPDR communications: threats and requirements

The relevance of cross border security operations has been identified as a priority at European level for a long time. A European network where Public Protection and Disaster Relief (PPDR) forces share communications processes and a legal framework would greatly enforce response to disaster recovery and security against crime. Nevertheless, uncertainty on costs, timescale and functionalities have slowed down the interconnection of PPDR networks across countries and limited the transnational cooperation of their PPDR forces so far. In this context, the European research project ISITEP is aimed at developing the legal, operational and technical framework to achieve a cost effective solution for PPDR interoperability across European countries. Inter alia, ISITEP project is specifying a new Inter-System-Interface (ISI) interface for the interconnection of current TETRA and TETRAPOL networks that can be deployed over Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity. This approach turns communications security as a central aspect to consider when deploying the new IP ISI protocol between PPDR national networks. Ensuring that threats to the interconnected communications systems and terminals are sufficiently and appropriately reduced by technical, procedural and environmental countermeasures is vital to realise the trusted and secure communication system needed for the pursued PPDR transnational cooperation activities. In this context, this paper describes the framework and methodology defined to carry out the development of the security requirements and provides a discussion on the undertaken security risk and vulnerability analysis.Peer Reviewe

Security in transnational interoperable PPDR communications: threats, requirements and architecture solution

The relevance of cross border security operations has been identified as a priority at European level for a long time. A European network where Public Protection and Disaster Relief (PPDR) forces share communications processes and a legal framework would greatly enforce response to disaster recovery and security against crime. Nevertheless, uncertainty on costs, timescale and functionalities have slowed down the interconnection of national PPDR networks and limited the transnational cooperation of their PPDR forces so far. Currently, the European research project ISITEP is aimed at developing the legal, operational and technical framework to achieve a cost effective solution for PPDR interoperability across European countries. Inter alia, ISITEP project is specifying a new Inter-System-Interface (ISI) for the interconnection of current TETRA and TETRAPOL networks through Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity. This approach turns communications security as a central aspect. In this context, this paper describes the framework and methodology defined to carry out the development of the security requirements for the interconnection of PPDR networks via the new IP ISI and provides a discussion on the undertaken security risk and vulnerability analysis. Furthermore, an overview of the designed security architecture solution for network interconnection is provided.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Security in transnational interoperable PPDR communications: threats, requirements and architecture solution

The relevance of cross border security operations has been identified as a priority at European level for a long time. A European network where Public Protection and Disaster Relief (PPDR) forces share communications processes and a legal framework would greatly enforce response to disaster recovery and security against crime. Nevertheless, uncertainty on costs, timescale and functionalities have slowed down the interconnection of national PPDR networks and limited the transnational cooperation of their PPDR forces so far. Currently, the European research project ISITEP is aimed at developing the legal, operational and technical framework to achieve a cost effective solution for PPDR interoperability across European countries. Inter alia, ISITEP project is specifying a new Inter-System-Interface (ISI) for the interconnection of current TETRA and TETRAPOL networks through Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity. This approach turns communications security as a central aspect. In this context, this paper describes the framework and methodology defined to carry out the development of the security requirements for the interconnection of PPDR networks via the new IP ISI and provides a discussion on the undertaken security risk and vulnerability analysis. Furthermore, an overview of the designed security architecture solution for network interconnection is provided.The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) THEME [SEC-2012.5.3-4]-[Global solution for interoperability between first responder communication systems - Integration Project] - “Inter System Interoperability for Tetra-TetraPol Networks” under grant agreement n° [312484]-[ISITEP].Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Security in transnational interoperable PPDR communications: threats, requirements and architecture solution

The relevance of cross border security operations has been identified as a priority at European level for a long time. A European network where Public Protection and Disaster Relief (PPDR) forces share communications processes and a legal framework would greatly enforce response to disaster recovery and security against crime. Nevertheless, uncertainty on costs, timescale and functionalities have slowed down the interconnection of national PPDR networks and limited the transnational cooperation of their PPDR forces so far. Currently, the European research project ISITEP is aimed at developing the legal, operational and technical framework to achieve a cost effective solution for PPDR interoperability across European countries. Inter alia, ISITEP project is specifying a new Inter-System-Interface (ISI) for the interconnection of current TETRA and TETRAPOL networks through Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity. This approach turns communications security as a central aspect. In this context, this paper describes the framework and methodology defined to carry out the development of the security requirements for the interconnection of PPDR networks via the new IP ISI and provides a discussion on the undertaken security risk and vulnerability analysis. Furthermore, an overview of the designed security architecture solution for network interconnection is provided.Peer Reviewe