Security protocols for 2G and 3G wireless communications

Wireless communications are being driven by the need for providing network access to mobile or nomadic computing devices. The need for wireless access to a network is evident in current work environments. A number of new protocols have been recently published with the goal of providing both privacy of data and authentication of users for mobile systems. Such protocols can employ private-key and/or public key cryptographic algorithms. Publickey algorithms hold the promise of simplifying the network infrastructure required to provide security services such as: privacy, authentication and non-repudiation, while symmetric algorithms require less processing power on the mobile device. In this paper a selection of protocols are reviewed and they are broadly divided into two categories: second generation and third generation protocols. A summary of the capabilities and services provided by each protocol is then provided.