A lightweight reconfigurable security mechanism for 3G mobile devices

Wireless communications are advancing rapidly. We are currently at the verge of a new revolutionary advancement in wireless data communications: the 3 ^rd Generation of mobile telecommunications. 3G promises to converge mobile technology with Internet connectivity. Wireless data, multimedia applications and integrated services will be among the major driving forces behind 3G. While wireless communications provide great flexibility and mobility, they often come at the expense of security. This is because wireless communications rely on open and public transmission media that raise further security vulnerabilities in addition to the security threats found in regular wired networks. Existing security schemes in 2G and 3G systems are inadequate, as there is a greater demand to provide a more flexible, reconfigurable and scalable security mechanism that can evolve as fast as mobile hosts are evolving into full-fledged IP-enabled devices. We propose a lightweight, component-based, reconfigurable security mechanism to enhance the security abilities of mobile devices.