Mobile Phones Security

As 3G networks are successfully deployed worldwide, opportunities are arising to deliver to end-users a multitude of services that satisfy their business, organizational and entertainment needs. Wireless operators have started to increase value-added services such as multimedia services, “e-Wallet” functionality enabling financial transactions, gaming and messaging. Operators will also benefit from the increased pipe bandwidth of 3G by performing over-the-air services, applications provisioning and bug fixes, thus significantly reducing operational and support costs. The increased value and availability of the content and benefits of higher bandwidth dictate increased levels of handset security. As people start using mobile phones to tap into computer networks and to serve as payment devices, the potential damage could become severe as viruses spread from the mobile handset to the enterprise network It is important to understand the specific requirements of providing secure, reliable access to an enterprise network in a way that is easily managed. The number of phones with connectivity to the Internet is expected to grow rapidly over the next few years. As these devices become more “business enabled,” they will be used by an increasing number of employees as well as partners and customers to access the enterprise. A management challenge arises when an enterprise has a large number of mobile users whose security must be kept up to date. A well-designed deployment system can significantly alleviate administration burden and contribute to providing mobile users (employees and customers of an enterprise alike) with uninterrupted secure, reliable service. Current security solutions are software-based and have proven to be vulnerable through hacking, viruses and other malicious attacks. This lack of adequate security affects the trust of content, service and financial providers’ trust as well as consumers. Financial service providers, banks and consumers alike will not feel comfortable with the over – the – air processing and handset storage of payment credentials unless they are offered a high degree of security. Likewise, content providers will deploy music, videos or games unless they can trust the terms and conditions of the content purchase and download are not violated. Another factor driving the need for wireless security technologies is operator’s desire to decrease operational and support costs with the ability to deploy over-the-air bug fixes and software patches, as well as flashing and application provisioning at purchase instead of production. Solving the security problem is essential for growth of 3G systems. The increased value and availability of the content and benefits of higher bandwidth are dictating increased security of the handset without violating the constraints of performance and power.