Exploring the use of mobile communications in a sample of older people: Preliminary results of a case study in Los Angeles

This paper introduces a qualitative case study on mobile communication among the older population (60+ years old) conducted in Great Los Angeles (CA, USA) in autumn 2011. Methodology, fieldwork and preliminary results are discussed.Before, country-level data is presented to better understand the specific characteristics of the studied individuals. The section focus is on demographics and on acceptance and use of information and communication technologies (ICT).Preliminary results show that within the sample under study (20 individuals) there is a high number of mobile phone users (15) while among non-mobile users (5), three of them decide to stop using this technology. A majority of mobile phone adopters describe a very limited use of the device for everyday life communications. Finally,while Internet is really popular within the sample (14 users), just 3 individuals go online through their mobile telephone.

Promoting the development of secure mobile agent applications

Peer-reviewed

Towards secure mobile P2P applications using JXME

Mobile devices have become ubiquitous, allowing the integration of new information from a large range of devices. However, the development of new applications requires a powerful framework which simplifies their construction. JXME is the JXTA implementation for mobile devices using J2ME, its main value being its simplicity when creating peer-to-peer (P2P) applications on limited devices. On that regard, an issue that is becoming veryimportant in the recent times is being able to provide a security baseline to such applications. This paper analyzes the currentstate of security in JXME and proposes a simple security mechanism in order to protect JXME applications against a broad range of vulnerabilities.

Protecting mobile agents from external replay attacks

Peer-reviewed

Securing dynamic itineraries for mobile agent applications

In this paper we present a novel mechanism for the protection of dynamic itineraries for mobile agent applications. Itineraries that are decided as the agent goes are essential in complex applications based on mobile agents, but no approach has been presented until now to protect them. We have conceived a cryptographic scheme for shielding dynamic itineraries from tampering, impersonation and disclosure. By using trust strategically, our scheme provides a balanced trade-off between flexibility and security. Our protection scheme has been thought always bearing in mind a feasible implementation, and thus facilitates the development of applications that make use of it. An example application based on a real healthcare scenario is also presented to show its operation.

JXTA security in mobile constrained devices

JXME is the JXTA protocols implementation formobile devices using J2ME. Two different flavors of JXME have been implemented, each one specific for a particular set of devices, according to their capabilities. The main value of JXME is its simplicity to create peer-to-peer (P2P) applications in limited devices. In addition to assessing JXME functionalities, it is also important to realize the default security level provided. This paper presents a brief analysis of the current state of security in JXME, focusing on the JXME-Proxied version, identifies existing vulnerabilities and proposes further improvements in this field.

Técnicas de Anonimato para Securizar Redes Móviles Ad Hoc

Las redes móviles ad hoc son redes formadas por lainterconexión de terminales inalámbricos que de manera autónoma,sin ninguna administración central, establecen enlaces decomunicación entre ellos. La infraestructura de red la componenlos propios terminales de usuarios que actúan de gestores yencaminadores de paquetes. Así, un usuario cualquiera puedeconectarse con un terminal remoto a través de una conexiónmultisalto entre diferentes usuarios. En este tipo de redes tanabiertas, uno de los retos prioritarios es proteger el anonimatode los sujetos y sus localizaciones. En este artículo hacemos unrepaso de las técnicas existentes a través de los protocolos que sehan propuesto en la literatura, y exponemos los problemas queaun quedan abiertos.

A Secure Mobile-based Authentication System

Financial information is extremely sensitive. Hence, electronic banking must provide a robust system to authenticate its customers and let them access their data remotely. On the other hand, such system must be usable, affordable, and portable.We propose a challengeresponse based one-time password (OTP) scheme that uses symmetriccryptography in combination with a hardware security module. The proposed protocol safeguards passwords from keyloggers and phishing attacks.Besides, this solution provides convenient mobility for users who want to bank online anytime and anywhere, not just from their owntrusted computers.

On an IDS Model for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

Manet security has a lot of open issues. Due to its character-istics, this kind of network needs preventive and corrective protection. Inthis paper, we focus on corrective protection proposing an anomaly IDSmodel for Manet. The design and development of the IDS are consideredin our 3 main stages: normal behavior construction, anomaly detectionand model update. A parametrical mixture model is used for behav-ior modeling from reference data. The associated Bayesian classi¯cationleads to the detection algorithm. MIB variables are used to provide IDSneeded information. Experiments of DoS and scanner attacks validatingthe model are presented as well.