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a.
Current Concerns about SMS Usage
The key concerns in the military are the confidentiality and integrity
of SMS messages. It is often perceived that all military information must be
protected with the highest level of assurance. However, security must be viewed
in the context of the mission and the value of the information that needs to be
protected. Not all information needs to be protected to
the same level as national
secrets. Overprotecting the data results in a waste of resources and places
unnecessary constraints on the system. Besides the value of the content, the
volatility of information is also very important when considering the security
solution. A classic example is information on D-Day; the value of information is
extremely high before D-Day. After D-Day, the information no longer needs to be
protected. Tactical information on troop location is another example.
The exact
geographical position only needs to be protected from the enemy for the duration
of the operation, assuming the operation is not a clandestine one. Therefore the
issue of confidentiality and integrity protection must be viewed in the context of
the value and volatility of information.
Another area of concern is availability of service. GSM frequency is
well known and electronic jamming is trivial. However, the same concern applies
to GPS. GPS are known to be vulnerable and
commercial GPS jammers are
readily available. However, the military continues to rely on GPS for its
operations. The key is to ensure that GPS jammers can be located and
destroyed. The same can be applied to GSM. Just as GSM jammers can be
bought, GPS jamming locators are also commercially available. They are
typically used by GSM service providers to locate radio interference sources and
to maintain a certain level of Quality of Service. The effective and creative use of
such devices is the key in maintaining superiority in the frequency spectrum.
With vendors constantly marketing
high bandwidth devices, the
bandwidth provided by SMS is perceived as insufficient for dynamic, fast moving,
military applications. Again, the bandwidth usage must be viewed in context of
the operation. A SMS message can be delivered end-to-end in seconds. A SMS
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message is sufficient to encode the position, course, speed and status of a
soldier or unit. Not every soldier is required to stream video. Therefore,
SMS can
still fulfill the needs of some applications.
The physical loss of mobile devices is a concern for all mobile
communications equipment. What happens if the soldier is captured? What if
device falls into the hands of the enemy? Can the enemy masquerade as an
insider of the network and foil the operation? These are questions that constantly
arise during the development of any military mobile communication system or
device. The same questions apply of GSM handsets.
The following Sections highlight the advantages of SMS over
conventional military communications devices and specific
scenarios where the
SMS may be useful for military applications.
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