Wireless Packet Nets Security Solution

The lifestyles of modern people have changed with the popularity of the Internet, so are the business type of telecom service and the concept as well as the importance of network security. Those who take hold on the latest trend of Internet and transform the operation mindset to build up mutual trust with customers will be ahead of their competitors in the fierce market competition of telecom operators. Neusoft has been making efforts on helping telecom operators transform the security related investments from cost center to benefit center, thus to ensure the telecom operators and the customers have “security connections to the world”.

Wireless Packet Network Security Current Status


Security issues with the development of mobile telecommunication network.

Wireless packet network is the combination of mobile telecommunication and the data communication, which is a new growth point of mobile telecommunication. By looking through the mobile wireless system market, it is obvious that various business demands are growing as the time goes by from voice and low-rate data transmission to high-rate data transmission as well as the advanced services like mobile multi-media. International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is working on the most challenging project in the history: building up the 3rd generation mobile telecommunication system league for wireless access of global telecommunication infrastructures anywhere at any time. The new standard system is called International Mobile Telecommunications-2000(IMT-2000). Universal Mobile Telephony System (UMTS）is one of the most important 3rd generation mobile telecommunication system of the IMT-2000 system. UMTS can transport the bandwidth information like voice, data and multi-media directly to the individual on mobile. Since it represents the only opportunity to create highly personalized and user-friendly mobile access in the future information world, www will become the key application of the 3rd mobile telecommunication system. Thus the future of mobile telecommunication is a close integration with data communication. The wireless data communication will open a new gate of multi-media mobile applications and the Internet for the traditional wireless telecommunication network via packet switching and acceleration of data transmission. The traditional circuit-switch based network has use TCP/IP protocol with the data ports open to communicate with the outside world. It means the “pests” may come along with the fresh air. It is the duty of network security to prevent the “pests” from coming or to kill them after they sneak in to ensure the mobile users will have quality time surfing the Internet.

Security issues on the features of Wireless Packet Network.

The wireless packet network consists of wireless network side, packet network side and the Internet network side as show below. SS7 and TCP/IP are commonly used as main protocols for communication. Both the ports between the wireless side and packet side and between the packet side and the Internet side apply the TCP/IP protocol, which increase the operation complexity for the traditional mobile telecommunication network that applies SS7 signaling protocol. Besides, most of the main servers including authentication server, billing server, network management server and DNS server are using UNIX or Windows NT operating system. It is well known that TCP/IP and the UNIX are famous for the openness. The concept of easy-to-connect and information sharing between systems are embedded in the system design while the security issues like visit control, user authentication, and real time or afterwards audit are less considered, which only the basic security control functions are realized with various kinds of vulnerabilities.

The Cause of Security Issues in Wireless Packet Network.

The Chinese domestic telecom operators have large and stable network systems. But the attacks from domestic/foreign hackers in recent years also revealed some of the weaknesses in the network security construction both managerial and technological. The major weaknesses in management are: lack of staff security sense, lack of security strategy and policy, lack of the concept of information assets risk management and incomplete consistency plans of business, etc. The major technology weaknesses are: lack of integrated planning, deficiency of security technology methods, deficiency of system security evaluation and enhancement, lack of centralized management and enough audit, etc.

As a part of the telecom operation network, wireless packet network thus inherits the problems above with security threats like external attacks, internal misuse or abuse and virus. The resolution will advice on the enhancement both on management and technology for security threats of the wireless packet network, and will advocate the necessity of enhancement on security evaluation service and training service.