Security aspects of third generation mobile telecommunications systems

Standards for third generation mobile systems are currently being developed by both the ITU (TG8/1, FPLMTS) and ETSI (SMG5, UMTS). It is expected that these standards will include features to secure access to the networks, provide confidentiality of subscriber data and user traffic, ensure that user privacy is protected, and address the security requirements of services which have hitherto not been provided by mobile systems, for example simultaneous data and telephony. The authors consider the requirements for security in these systems, based on work currently being undertaken by the ITU and ETSI, and experience with earlier generation systems. The work presented is part of research being undertaken within the DTI/SERC LINK Personal Communications Programme project `Security Studies for Third Generation Mobile Telecommunications Systems´; as such it does not necessarily reflect the status of the work being carried out by the ITU and ETSI. The project participants are Vodafone, GPT and Royal Holloway, University of London