A lightweight security extension for ULE

The unidirectional lightweight encapsulation (ULE) protocol is an efficient and extensible wrapper mechanism for IP over MPEG-2 networks. Such networks are typically operated on broadcast wireless channels and are thus specifically vulnerable to attacks. Passive attacks, such as eaves-dropping, are simple to perform and emphasize the importance for security and support within ULE. In this paper a mandatory security extension for the ULE protocol is discussed that is designed with the aim of being conservative in bandwidth consumption and lightweight in the sense that it allows for implementation in low-cost, resource- scarce (mobile) receiver devices. The focus of this work is on two aspects of a complete ULE security framework: the format of the security extension.