The Vulnerabilities Assessment Of IMS Core Networks

IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) is driven by 3GPP (The 3rd Generation Partnership Project) as the 3G core network infrastructure. IMS is designed to fill the gap between the existing traditional telecommunication technology and Internet technology over an all IP based network. This will allow operators to offer new, innovative services that shareholders and end users are expecting. But the trend of network convergence make the original close telecom network opened and the security problems of it exposed. In order to know the security status of the networks and find out the vulnerabilities comprehensively, it's necessary to research on the vulnerabilities assessment of IMS core networks. Nowadays there is already some research on vulnerabilities assessment of computer networks. But it could not be used on the IMS core networks because the characteristics of IMS core networks have not been considered. And there is nearly nothing on the research of vulnerabilities assessment of IMS core networks. So the object of this thesis is to define and describe the vulnerabilities of IMS core networks and to find out method to analyze the vulnerabilities.This thesis, after introducing the technology background and research status of IMS and vulnerabilities assessment, divides the research into three parts and does deep research optionally, then proposes a kind of definition and description of IMS vulnerabilities. At last it proposes the design of IMS vulnerabilities analyzing system.This thesis is separated into eight chapters. The chapter one introduces the research background and main work accomplished during the paper writing process. In the chapter two, the complicated research is divided into three parts which would be uses as the compendium of this thesis. In the chapter three, after profoundly discussion of the result of vulnerabilities and the characteristics of the networks, a definition and description of vulnerabilities and network status is proposed. In the chapter four, reference to the research on identification of computer network vulnerabilities, a work flow of identification of IMS core network vulnerabilities is established. The chapter five and six proposes a new kind of single analysis and related analysis function of IMS core networks. They are the kernel of this thesis. In the chapter seven, based on the theory proposed in the forward six chapters, the IMS vulnerabilities analyzing system is designed. Finally, the gains and prospects I have been awarded of in the process of writing this paper are summarized.