Secure Military Communications on 3G, 4G and WiMAX

Today wireless communications offer great convenience and efficiency, but concerns about security must be addressed. Wireless communications are considered less secure than wired or fiber-based systems because the data is transmitted over the radio channel making it more susceptible to eavesdropping and interception. Thus, security needs special attention. Confidentiality, integrity and availability are the objectives of security solutions. Attacks such as Man-in-the-Middle, replay, and Denial-of-Service are mitigated or eliminated by solutions such as those discussed in this thesis. Data disclosure to unauthorized people, user identity and location disclosure, impersonation of a valid user, user tracking and subscriber capabilities disclosure are a few of the potential risks that can lead to a mission failure and even cost people s lives. This thesis explores how to securely leverage three cellular technologies, 3G, 4GLTE and WiMAX, through an analysis of their security features. The security architectures of these wireless technologies are described. Their security vulnerabilities and the potential attack vectors are analyzed. A few protocols and techniques that address or mitigate the security deficiencies and the way they enforce security are provided. Furthermore, the importance of security in military communications is considered.