ABSTRACT
A technology that allows transmission of data via a computer, without having to be connected to a fixed physical link is called mobile computing. The advent of wirelessnetworks has greatly increased the possibilities for mobile computing offered to thegeneral public. Miniaturization has aided this trend towards increased user mobility withthe development of notebook computers and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) whichare truly portable. Currently, the most popular form of wireless communication is thecellular phone. The future for wireless networks promises greatly enhanced utility of mobile computers by expanding the areas covered by these networks and branching intodigital communications. For example, users will be able to access electronic mail anddata remotely.Wireless networks pose some unique security concerns incomparison to their wired counterparts. Foremost among these is that the transmissionmedium, in this case electro-magnetic radiation (EMR), cannot be secured againstunauthorized access. There is also a problem in verifying the identities of the partiesinvolved in a conversation. Also, cellular phones can be modified so that calls madeillegally from one telephone are credited to a different legitimate cellular phonesubscriber. Before wireless networks can achieve broad acceptance, these problems of fraud and security from eavesdroppers need to be resolved. The solution lies in theimplementation of security protocols over wireless networks.Many security protocols exist for both wired and wirelessnetworks. In deciding on a protocol, attention must be paid to the unique characteristicsof the wireless medium. In particular, the wireless link is likely to be limited by bandwidth, so any applications or protocols used over the link should be chosen tominimize both the size and number of messages transmitted. Some other items that must be considered when choosing a protocol include the high error rates on a wireless link (compared to a wired link) and the problems introduced by mobility.As wireless communications and mobilemultimediaservices are booming nowadays, systematic research of the overall aspects of mobilesecurity is crucial. This paper presents a framework model for guiding the systematicinvestigation of mobile security. Based on the introduction of some backgroundviewpoints of security targets from a novel perspective, the framework is described as ahierarchical model in which mobile security research is partitioned into three differentlayers, including Property Theory, Limited Targets, and Classified Applications. Keyresearch topics in each layer are discussed respectively in detail. In the Property Theorylayer, some basic topics related to security are provided. Then, security issues innetworks, computing, and multimedia processing are fused together in the LimitedTargets layer upon the limitation operator of mobile technology.A goal of mobile computing research is to make any changesthat might occur in location or type of network connection transparent to the user (or atleast to the mobile applications), thus allowing the mobile users to work in the samemanner and with the same productivity no matter where they are, how they areconnected, or which platform they are currently using. But present support for adaptationis limited. Part of the difficulty of adaptation in the mobile environment is the
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