Design and Development of Secure Mobile Communication over GSM Network Using Open Source Operating System (OS)

Disasters can be described as natural or man made events such that occurs unexpectedly and disrupting human life. Information services can be shortly described using computers with data processing methods. There are a lot of activities carried by help and rescue teams after disaster. These activities must be on an order and related to each other. Help and rescue activities has vital importance during first 8 and 36 hours depending on the type and the intensity of the disaster. In order to perform these vital activities efficiently, work order and priority determination might be evaluated. Information services help rescue teams on performing these type activities fast, reliable, and efficiently. There are a lot of computer aided rescue planning tools developed for the rescue operations after disaster in all over the world. These planning tools can vary depending on the disaster type, scale and geographical area. Functions of these disaster tools used for logistics and work planning can be classified according to their tasks. They also determine magnitude of the disaster for the current situation and for the future, related to the impact area of the disaster. Scale of the disaster affects the performance of the information activities directly. Many of the planning tools used today can vary depending on the scale of the disaster. Additionally depending on the primary and secondary effects of the disaster, it can produce various solutions. Studies that shows the importance of Information flow on after disaster help activities, illustrate that the information flow does not just take place on disaster region; it is necessary and important to have information flow to the other regions too. Today there are several kinds of tools to provide information flow. One of these tools is telephone systems which are known as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). There are different width-tapes of the communication frequencies on these –GSM- systems. The frequencies have channels for carrying sound, image and data. Via being able to carry sound, image and data separately or jointly makes easy to use different applications on GSM networks. The applications could be developed that are used immediately after disaster on these GSM networks which need short time for working. On Circuit Switched Data (CSD) lines that are used as data lines, the GSM Networks that work after any disaster could be used to rescue operations after disaster. In our study, it is recommended to flow of the computer data as GSM and Computer Data to two sides. In addition the examples that show the data standards about ‘which types and how flow of the datas must be’ would given. In the recommended application model, to carry data such as its priorities, kinds information between rescue coordination center and disaster rescue area would be defined.

Short Message Service (SMS) has grown in popularity over the years and it has become a common way of communication. SMS is usually used to transport unclassified information, but with the rise of mobile commerce it has become a popular tool for transmitting sensitive information between the business and its clients. By default SMS does not guarantee confidentiality and integrity to the message content. Therefore SMS is not totally secure and reliable. The Short Messaging Service (SMS) is global wireless service that is used to send and receive the messages over Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM).There is no built –in procedure to authenticate and offer security for text transmitted over GSM network. The reason behind it is most of the applications for mobile devices are designed and developed without taking security into consideration. This paper describes all the existing security mechanisms in SMS and security shortfalls and various attacks on GSM networks which include Authentication, Encryption, Equipment Identification and Subscriber Identity Confidentiality, Denial of service Attacks, Brute force attack, Replay Attack as well as the manifestation of network vulnerabilities including SMS attacks, encryption attacks and security measures to prevent GSM network from these attacks. KeywordsShort message service security, mobile communication, Global System for Mobile Communication, Wireless Messaging API Short Message Service (SMS) can be defined as any text, voice, sound or image message sent over a public communications network, which can be stored in the network or in the recipient’s terminal equipment until it is collected by the recipient [1]. Although SMS was originally meant to notify users of their voicemail messages, it has now become a popular means of communication by individuals and businesses. Banks worldwide, including in South Africa, are using SMS to conduct some of their banking services [2]. For example, clients are able to query their bank balances via SMS. When sensitive information is exchanged using SMS, it is crucial to protect the content from eavesdroppers. By default, SMS content is sent over the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) network in clear text form, or in a predictable format [3]. This allows an attacker with the right equipment to eavesdrop on the information that is being sent. Another problem with SMS is that the originating address (OA) field in the SMS header can be forged, thus allowing masquerading and replay attacks. Therefore SMS is not totally secure and cannot always be trusted. For example, there has been at least one case in the UK where SMS information has been abused by the operator employees [3]. SMS has become a popular wireless service throughout the world as it facilitates a user to be in touch with any mobile phone subscriber anywhere in the world, instantaneously and without any hassle [4].hence, it is important to prevent the SMS content from being illegally intercepted/interrupted by illegal sources as well as to ensure the origin of the message from the legitimate sender. Additionally, unencrypted SMS content during the transmission allows the mobile operator’s employee to read and modify the SMS content. Unfortunately, the SMS does not have any built in vetting procedure to authenticate the text or provide security for the data/text transmitted. All SMS facilities should incorporate some form of basic security mechanism in terms of confidentiality, integrity, authentication and non-repudiation of the messages before it can deemed suitable for use by the government, commercial and military services [5]. The Short Messaging Service, or SMS, is a bi-directional service to send text over wireless communication systems. It consists of a message that can be up to 160 alphanumeric characters in length. Though originally a GSM service, SMS messages are now a globally accepted service. The messages can be stored in that network until they are collected by the recipient’s terminal equipment II. SMS PACKET FORMAT An SMS packet contains a header and a payload (see Fig. 1). The header contains information that enables the cellular network to route the SMS message to the correct recipient. The originating address (the mobile phone number of the sender) is also included in the header. The payload is the message content that is displayed on the mobile handset. The size of the payload is 140 bytes, consisting of 160 seven-bit characters, or 140 eight-bit characters, depending on the Proc. of the Intl. Conf. on Advances in Computer Science and Electronics Engineering Editor In Chief Sahil Seth. Copyright © 2012 Universal Association of Computer and Electronics Engineers. All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-981-07-1403-1 doi:10.3850/978-981-07-1403-1 838

Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) telephony has great impact in cellular communication technology because of its ability to accomodate more subscribers than the analog telephone. As a result, many calls are now on the network to seize the scarce radio resources available in GSM spectrum thereby leading to congestion most of the time. This work focuses on how the congestion experienced on the GSM network can be minimized. The voice call on the network is subclassifled into four classes namely special call (s v ), handoff call (h v ), retrial call (r v ) and new call (n v ). A level of priority was established among the classes so that the most urgent and important service will have access to the channel on the network by preempting the lower priority services when there is congestion and there is no free channel to communicate. The voice communications over the GSM network using the different classes of subscribers were analyzed with Markov chain's model. The steady state probabilities for voice services were derived using Multidimensional Erlang B. The blocking and dropping probabilities models for the different services were later developed. The impacts of priorities on different subscribers in the network were shown through the graphical display of the results. The work shows that the models used gave significant reduction in congestion when compared to the traditional Erlang-B model normally used to control congestion in GSM.

With the advance of wireless communications technology, mobile communications has become more convenient than ever. However, because of the openness of wireless communications, how to protect the privacy between communication parties is becoming a very important issue. In this paper, we focus on the security of the Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) networks. A secure communication architecture for the GSM network is proposed. In the proposed architecture, we use public-key cryptography for user authentication and a stream cipher for message encryption and decryption. This architecture significantly improves the security of today's GSM networks.

Mobile communication is one of the fastest growing sectors of the telecommunication industry. Mobile users can make and receive calls while they are moving independent of time, location and network access. The Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) is a pan-European digital cellular mobile system supporting widespread roaming and personal communication services (PCS) in a worldwide wireless communication network. However, wireless mobile systems are more vulnerable to fraudulent access and eavesdropping. Although the authentication process in GSM provides a reasonable security level it overloads the network with significant signaling traffic and increases the call set up time. The signaling load and the authentication delays are of particular importance and are becoming the subject of widespread research interest. We study and analyze the GSM privacy and authentication protocols, and propose a new authentication protocol with less signaling traffic and better call set up time, that can be used in GSM networks.

The throughput of a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) network is to be maximised for effectively and efficiently meeting the service requirements of the ever-increasing mobile subscriber base. The period of temporary storage of subscribers' profiles in the Visitor Location Register (VLR) at a Mobile Switching Centre (MSC) affects the throughput of a GSM network. This research study proposes a sliding window method for determining the storage period of profiles in the VLR, and the principle of optimisation for such a policy is to maximise the throughput and minimise the call set-up time in a GSM network.

The recent popularity of voice over IP (VoIP) services in the Internet world lies in the fact that in VoIP, voice packets are carried over the shared packet-switched network (the Internet) rather than on dedicated circuit-switched telephony network. This phenomenon reduces the cost of carrying the voice packets substantially. We propose that the concept of VoIP over wireless GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) also reduces the complexity of the GSM/GPRS architecture. Currently, the existing GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) network carries the voice packets in the air link and converts it to circuit-switched PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) signal by using the voice transcoder. A 64 Kbps circuit-switched connection is then established through the existing PSTN (Public Switch Telephone Network). Wireless data packets on the other hand, share the same physical air link, but are carried through the GPRS packet-switched network. If we carry the voice on the same packet-switched network rather than on a separate circuit-switched network, then integration of data and voice would alleviate the necessity of circuit-switched components. However, maintaining the voice quality offers significant challenges. In this paper we propose a method of implementing the VoIP in GPRS network using H.323 protocol, and also identify the additional architecture requirements that will address some of the performance impediments of current GPRS VoIP implementation. The performance results for control message signals demonstrate the possibility of maintaining call set-up delay within the current delay standards. Analytical modeling of the voice traffic shows that significant improvements in terms of voice traffic capacity is possible with the help of a silent-detection scheme.

In present situation vehicle checking is huge trouble to the people with regard to license, insurance and RC book. It brings on traffic bother and also in toll gate system traffic jam occurs, time and fuel absorption is elongated. The automated toll accumulation system is very successful right now. This paper has to do with Automated Toll collection and Check-Post system using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) module. The recognition is succeeded with the guidance of passive radio frequency. This project associate vehicle particulars like unique ID is saved in an RFID tag which is attached in the vehicle. After all the specifications are effectively observe through a computer, it can be saved on a data bank for cyclic gap as for time and date. Individual users clinch the unique ID for their vehicles. When the vehicle crosses the Toll-Plaza the reader reads the tag and the tax amount will be detected from their account balance by employing of RFID and GSM module. ATmega328 Arduino controller has to be associated with a GSM network which will capacitate a user to control the system by dispatching SMS or a forming a call and also avoid the stealing of vehicle.

Data logger is a key component in building a telemetry system. Using the telemetry system, the activity measurements of an object and retrieval of measurement data can be done remotely (remote). Universal Data Logger (UniDalog), the data logger is a device that has ability to store measurement data, download the data remotely, as well as setting of data logger and remote sensor calibration. By utilizing the Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) network and facilities provided by the operator for data communications. This paper will discuss the design software application that is used to access any Unidalog remotely (from a distance) as Remote Terminal Unit (RTU) by using the GSM network as a medium for data communication. Processing software application design models using evolutionary development models; specification, remote application development and validation methodology to get the system iteratively to create modules are part of the telemetry monitoring.

Background and objectiveContinuous monitoring of breathing activity plays a vital role in the detection of respiratory-based diseases (SA, COPD, etc.). Sleep Apnea (SA) is characterized by recurrent upper airway obstruction during sleep associated with arterial blood desaturation, sympathetic nervous system activation, and cardiovascular impairment. Untreated patients with SA have increased mortality rates compared to the general population. This study aims to design a remote monitoring system for sleep apnea to ensure patient safety and ease the workload of doctors in the Covid-19 era.MethodsThis study aims to design a remote monitoring system for sleep apnea to ensure patient safety and ease the workload of doctors. Our study focuses on a novel portable real-time low-cost sleep apnea monitoring system utilizing the GSM network (GSM Shield Sim900a). Proposed system is a remote monitoring and patient tracking system to detect the apnea event in real time, and to provide information of the sleep position, pulse, and respiratory and oxygen saturation to the medical specialists (SpO2) by establishing a direct contact. As soon as an abnormal condition is detected in the light of these parameters, the condition is reported (instant or in the form of short reports after sleep) to the patient relatives, the doctor’s mobile telephone or to the emergency medical centers (EMCs) through a GSM network to handle the case depending on the patient’s emergency condition.ResultsA study group was formed of six patients for monitoring apnea events (three males and three females) between the ages of 20 and 60. The patients in the study group have sleep apnea (SA) in different grades. All the apnea events were detected, and all the patients were successfully alerted. Also, the patient parameters were successfully sent to all patient relatives. Patients who could not get out of apnea were called through the CALL feature, and they were informed about their ongoing apnea event and told that intervention was necessary. The proposed system is tested on six patients. The beginning moment of apnea was successfully detected and the SMS/CALL feature was successfully activated without delay. During the testing, it has been observed that while some of the patients start breathing after the first SMS, some others needed the second or the third SMS. According to the measurement result, the maximum breathless time is 46 s among the patients, and a SMS is sent every 15 s. In addition, in cases where the patient was breathless for a long time, the CALL feature was actively sought from the relatives of the patient and enabled him to intervene. The proposed monitoring system could be used in both clinical and home settings.ConclusionsThe monitoring of a patient in real time allows to intervene in any unexpected circumstances about the patient. The proposed work uses an acceleration sensor as a reliable method of the sleep apnea for monitoring and prevention. The developed device is more economical, comfortable, and convenient than existing systems not only for the patients but also for the doctors. The patients can easily use this device in their home environment, so which could yield a more comfortable, easy to use, cost-effective, and long-term breathing monitoring system for healthcare applications.Graphical abstract

Recent developments in wireless communications and electronic devices has considerably contributed to the evolvement of low cost densely deployed sensor networks. Sensor network applications are diverse, ranging from civil to military. Many applications of wireless sensor network (WSN) are useful only when connected to an external network. In this paper we are proposing a low cost wireless sensor network, which will transfer monitored parameters to the outside world using an existing Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) network.

Stream ciphers for GSM networks

The cost effort of a global system for mobile communications (GSM) network is to be minimised for meeting effectively and efficiently the service requirements of ever increasing mobile subscriber's base. The period of temporary storage of subscribers' profiles in visitor location register (VLR) at a mobile switching centre (MSC) affects the cost of GSM network. This research study proposes a sliding window method for determining the storage period of profiles in VLR that minimises the network cost of GSM network. Further, this study examined and evaluated the computational efforts on proposed method. The proposed method proves to be better than the reported set intersection method.

This project aims to implement virtual shopping arcade via GSM network implementation. The new innovation on online shopping requires people to have internetworking connection. This project however is developed to target mobile phone users to do shopping virtually without the needs of having data subscription account in their mobile phone. The system is built using several tools such as visual basic (VB), XAMPP, Adobe Dreamweaver, with GSM module. A personal computer (PC) is used as the virtual arcade server with GSM module attached to it. Text is sent by users from their phone using a formatted virtual market Short-Message-Service (SMS). This system is developed to allow for offline-networking using mobile phones which do not require users to stay connected via the internet while purchasing the items.

In this paper we propose a hybrid method to determine the positions and velocities of mobile stations (MSs) in a GSM (Global System for Mobile communication) network. The proposed method can be implemented within the existing GSM standard without any additional hardware changes. The hybrid method operates at two levels. At a lower level, time delay method (TDM) is used to obtain coarse values for distances between a MS and three or more Base Transceivers (BTSs). At a higher level, field strength method (FSM) uses the coarse distances estimates obtained using TDM as initial values to obtain refined values for distances. The accurate position of a MS then can be determined by the refined distance values. Subsequently, the velocity of the MS be can obtained using the FSM estimates of the sequential positions of the MS. Least mean square (LMS) method is used to determine the refined distances in the FSM algorithm and to estimate the actual position of the MS from the refined distance estimates. The proposed method was tested for several cases, including complex MS trajectories and varying speeds along the trajectory. The heights of the BTSs were allowed to vary between 20 m and 60 m. The convergence characteristics were found to be satisfactory. For a SNR of 20 dB, position measurements accuracy in a roughly 4 km2 cell is 30 m in a Gaussian channel, 60 m in a Rayleigh channel and 80 m in a Rician channel. The velocity accuracy for a MS traveling at 200 km/h is 15 km/h in a Gaussian channel, 30 km/h in a Rayleigh channel and 50 km/h in a Rician Channel.