Testing Security and Privacy

One of the key topics of this year's cancelled Mobile World Congress was security and privacy. Security & Privacy analyses the growing responsibilities required to create the right balance with consumers, governments, regulators and industries.

Security and privacy are critical as mobile technologies evolve and integrate. Valid8's Security testing solution offers a cost-effective, flexible and configurable alternative to a public network.

As the MWC website noted, "Recent scandals have eroded trust in the digital ecosystem. Coupled with the growing introduction and interest in legislation around privacy and the ethics of data usage as we enter the AI era, we are at a pivotal juncture in the evolution of the Internet." As 5G and IoT become more available capabilities in common household and industrial devices, so does the risk of these now interconnected devices being hacked or used inappropriately. These types of incidents make testing equipment for security flaws more critical.

To combat this, many municipalities have started to create their own set of requirements for which a device manufacturer must prove compliance. These comprehensive scenarios require costly use of public networks with limited flexibility.

For device manufacturers, testing, particularly on a public network, can be costly and as a result may limit the breadth and scope of testing the manufacturer performs. In addition, testing on a public network is not deterministic and does not allow changes to the network itself to perform different testing scenarios or more specific types of tests like a penetration test.

For example, a UE device manufacturer may want to test specific areas of performance and security on an LTE network. The test may require verifying connections to specific PLMNs in a deterministic network environment, determining what happens when an invalid message goes to the device, and in certain cases measure performance under load.

Valid8 is able to help UE manufacturers by realistically simulating network traffic, or simulating the core network itself, exposing all internal interfaces. This gives the device manufacturer complete autonomy and flexibility to create a comprehensive set of tests to thoroughly assess the device for any potential flaws that could impact its security and privacy features.

As the world becomes more and more interconnected, the privacy and security of our data become more valuable. Device manufacturers need to ensure that their equipment is capable of protecting security and privacy in the evolving IoT ecosystem. Municipalities need the confidence that devices on their network are secure. Valid8's Security testing capabilities can be a critical component of any testing program.

Contact Us to learn more.