End-to-End Mobile Communication Security Testbed Using Open Source Applications in Virtual Environment

K. Jijo  George; A.  Sivabalan; T.  Prabhu; Anand  R. Prasad

doi:10.13052/jicts2245-800X.314

Authors

K. Jijo George NEC India Pvt. Ltd. Chennai, India
A. Sivabalan NEC India Pvt. Ltd. Chennai, India
T. Prabhu NEC India Pvt. Ltd. Chennai, India
Anand R. Prasad NEC Corporation. Tokyo, Japan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13052/jicts2245-800X.314

Keywords:

LTE, Amarisoft, Testbed, Security, OpenBTS, OpenBSC, OsmoSGSN, OpenGGSN, OpenIMS

Abstract

In this paper we present an end-to-end mobile communication testbed that utilizes various open source projects. The testbed consists of Global System for Mobiles (GSM), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and System Architecture Evolution/Long Term Evolution(SAE/LTE) elements implemented on a virtual platform. Our goal is to utilize the testbed to perform security analysis. We used virtualization to get flexibility and scalability in implementation. So as to prove the usability of the testbed, we reported some of the test results in this paper. These tests are mainly related to security. The test results prove that the testbed functions properly.

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Author Biographies

K. Jijo George, NEC India Pvt. Ltd. Chennai, India

K. J. George received B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering from Kurukshetra Institute of Technology and Management, India in 2011. He has 2 years of experience in research and development of mobile communication networks. At present he works as Member Technical Staff in NEC India Standardization (NIS) Team at NEC Mobile Network Excellence Center (NMEC), NEC India Pvt Ltd, Chennai. Prior to joining NECI he was as sociated with IIIT, Bangalore as Research Associate. In his current role, he is working on security aspects of telecom networks and testbed development of next generation mobile networks. His research interest includes Penetration Testing, Network Security and Telecom Security.

A. Sivabalan, NEC India Pvt. Ltd. Chennai, India

S. Arumugam received Ph.D in Electrical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India in 2008 and M.Tech degree from Pondicherry University, India, in 2000. He has 14 years of experience in Academic teaching and Research. Presently he works as Manager for Research at NEC Mobile Network Excellence Center (NMEC), NEC India Pvt Ltd, Chennai. Prior joining NECI he was associated with ABB Global Services and Industries Limited, Bangalore as Associate Scientist. He has published more than 25 papers in various International Journals and Conferences and also participated in many National and International Conferences. In his current role, he is representing NEC for Global ICT Standards forum of India (GISFI). His research interest includes Next Generation Wireless Networks.

T. Prabhu, NEC India Pvt. Ltd. Chennai, India

P. Thiruvasagam received Master of Design in Communication Systems from Indian Institute of Information Technology Design and Manufacturing-Kancheepuram, Chennai, India in 2014. He has 2 years of experience in academic teaching. At present he works as Research Engineer in NEC India Standardization (NIS) Team at NEC Mobile Network Excellence Center (NMEC), NEC India Pvt Ltd, Chennai. His research interest includes Information Security, Wireless Telecom Security and Next Generation Wireless Networks.

Anand R. Prasad, NEC Corporation. Tokyo, Japan

A. R. Prasad, Dr. & ir., Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands, is Chief Advanced Technologist, Executive Specialist, at NEC Corporation, Japan, where he leads the mobile communications security activity. Anand is the chairman of 3GPP SA3 (mobile communications security standardization group), a member of the governing body of Global ICT Standardisation Forum for India (GISFI), founder chairman of the Security & Privacy working group and a governing council member of Telecom Standards Development Society, India. He was chairman of the Green ICT working group of GISFI. Before joining NEC, Anand led the network security team in DoCoMo Euro-Labs, Munich, Germany, as a manager. He started his career at Uniden Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, as a researcher developing embedded solutions, such as medium access control (MAC) and automatic repeat request (ARQ) schemes for wireless local area network (WLAN) product, and as project leader of the software modem team. Subsequently, he was a systems architect (as distinguished member of technical staff) for IEEE 802.11 based WLANs (WaveLAN and ORiNOCO) in Lucent Technologies, Nieuwegein, The Netherlands, during which period he was also a voting member of IEEE 802.11. After Lucent, Anand joined Genista Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, as a technical director with focus on perceptual QoS. Anand has provided business and technical consultancy to start-ups, started an offshore development center based on his concept of cost effective outsourcing models and is involved in business development.

Anand has applied for over 50 patents, has published 6 books and authored over 50 peer reviewed papers in international journals and conferences. His latest book is on “Security in Next Generation Mobile Networks: SAE/LTE and WiMAX”, published by River Publishers, August 2011. He is a series editor for standardization book series and editor-in-chief of the Journal of ICT Standardisation published by River Publishers, an Associate Editor of IEEK (Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea) Transactions on Smart Processing & Computing (SPC), advisor to Journal of Cyber Security and Mobility, and chair/committee member of several international activities.

He is a recipient of the 2014 ITU-AJ “Encouragement Award: ICT Accomplishment Field” and the 2012 (ISC)² Asia Pacific Information Security Leadership Achievements (ISLA) Award as a Senior Information Security Professional. Anand is Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Fellow IETE and Senior Member IEEE and a NEC Certified Professional (NCP).

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