Host Identity Protocol proxy in a 3G system

Abstract

Concurrently with the Internet becoming increasingly popular, also the security of it has drawn much attention. This is partly a consequence of the Internet being used for business purposes. People are accessing the Internet using varying equipment, including mobile telephones. However, Internet connections from mobile telephones are not protected in the Internet, the security ends on the border of the telephone network.

The thesis examines how users of a 3G system can be provided with the services offered by a new protocol, the Host Identity Protocol (HIP). The main benefit provided by HIP to 3G users is security. The optimal method for providing HIP services to mobile telephones would be that all telephones were HIP enabled. However, this is not feasible since enabling HIP in a host requires that the IP-stack of the host is updated. The method presented in the thesis is to have a HIP proxy located in the 3G network. The proxy provides HIP for part of the connection, i.e. between the proxy and the connection endpoint somewhere in the Internet.

A prototype is constructed to prove the concept of a HIP proxy. However, the implementation is not done for a 3G system, but for a computer network environment.