3G and security....
totaltele.com
3G Services Set to Battle Internet Crime
By Keith Nuthall
26 January 2000
A senior consultant to the U.K.'s department of trade and
industry on telecoms security has warned an international
conference that the introduction of third generation mobile
technology will increasingly expose the industry crime
presently committed on the Internet.
Charles Brookson told delegates to Crime 2000 that operators
will have to deal with attacks from computer viruses and
backdoor programmes - allowing hackers easy access to
networks - when 3G handsets become widely available.
Because the system routes calls through the Internet there will
be additional problems for law enforcement authorities wishing
to monitor calls. A check for a destination telephone number
could, in future, only reveal an e-mail address, Brookson
warned the Association of Chief Police Officers and Federation
of Communication Services conference in the U.K.
Another problem for police will be the fact that 3G will allow
users to encrypt their messages until they reach their
destination, instead of just to the local base station, as at
present.
The new system will also allow encryption of calls between
mobile networks. "It's a much more difficult system than GSM
from a security point of view," said the DTI consultant.
On a more optimistic note for those worried about security, Nick
Dunlop, general manager of Alcatel Telecommunications Ltd, a
fraud management group, spoke on subscriber finger-printing, a
new way to detect subscription fraud. It involves the analysis
of calls made by known fraudsters, whose lines have been cut
off.
Because it is assumed that they will approach a company again,
using another assumed or stolen identity, finger-printing
software screens call data to see if a user's call pattern closely
matches those made by a fraudster. If they phone the same
numbers, then action can be taken. |
