Lightweight Security System for 4G Networks

Description of the Invention

The fourth generation (4G) of cellular wireless telecommunication systems is about to be introduced. Its new radio technology is best

known under the acronym “LTE” (Long Term Evolution) and IEEE

802.16m (i.e., Wi-MAX). Security is needed to ensure that the system is properly functioning and to prevent misuse. The confidentiality and integrity algorithms specified in the 3GPP are less efficient in terms of bandwidth efficiency, throughput and processing efficiency, storage, and power consumption, due to the complicated architecture. More importantly, the security of those cryptographic algorithms is difficult to be analyzed.

University of Waterloo researchers have developed a new and lightweight stream cipher, referred to as “WG-16” that is targeted for the resource-constrained cell phones and is designed with both efficient software and efficient hardware implementations in mind. The WG-16 stream cipher is based on the well-known Welch-Gong (WG) transformation, which has mathematically proved randomness properties such as ideal two-level autocorrelation, balance, long period, ideal tuple distribution, and high and exact linear complexity. Those good randomness properties overcome the disadvantages of previous designs and significantly enhance people’s confidence in the security of the cryptographic algorithm.

The initial development of the WG-16 stream cipher has been focused on achieving good randomness properties. More recent development efforts concentrate on selecting good parameters and optimizing the software and hardware implementations on various low-power and low-cost embedded platforms. Moreover, a suite of security protocols based on the WG-16 stream cipher is being developed and analyzed, which will be seamlessly integrated into the communication architecture of the 4G networks.

Advantages

Ø  The only existing security system whose security can be

Ø  mathematically proved and is hard to break

Ø  Suitable for both hardware and software platforms

Ø  Low power consumption on resource-constrained devices

Potential applications

Ø  Cell phones

Ø  Smart cards

Ø  Smart meters

Ø  Wireless sensor networks

Development status

Ø  Implementations on smart phones are in progress

Ø  Seeking industrial partner for 4G networks

Ø  Studies for additional markets are on-going