Chapter 7 – Security

Publisher Summary By network access security, one means the security features that provide a user with a secure access to the EPS. This includes mutual authentication as well as privacy features. In addition, protection of signaling traffic and user plane traffic in the particular access is also included. Providing security is one of the key aspects of mobile networks. One of the more obvious reasons is that the wireless communication can easily be intercepted by anyone within a certain range of the transmitter. There is thus a risk that the data that is transferred is eavesdropped, or even manipulated, by third parties. There are also regulatory requirements related to security and these may differ between countries and regions. The regulations can be related to exceptional situations where law enforcement agencies can request information about the activities of a terminal as well as intercept the telecommunications traffic. The framework in a telecommunications system for supporting this is called “lawful intercept” and is described in a separate chapter. There may also be regulations to ensure that end-users' privacy is protected when using mobile networks. Requirements like these are in general captured in the national and/or regional laws and regulations by the responsible authorities for that specific nation/region.