An introduction to access security in UMTS

The first generation of cellular mobile communications systems contained few if any security measures to protect the system operator and users. The second generation generally did a lot better, and contained entity authentication and confidentiality protection. Although this was a major improvement, security protection in the second generation left a lot to be desired. With the advent of 3G mobile systems a serious effort has been made to create a consistent security architecture based on the threats and risks a 3G system faces.