Short Message ServiceVulnerability Analysis : An attempt to attack the Serial Line on Symbian Smartphone In Orderto Inject Arbitrary SMS

Abstract: Short Message Service (SMS) is a permanently available service on mobile phone networks. In addition to text messages, it supports binary messages to provide various services to mobile phones. SMS security has a strong relationship to the security of mobile phones. Due to the open functionality of mobile phone networks, SMS can be exposed to dierent kind of attacks. To cope with the increasing demand for secure SMS, it is crucial to perform a vulnerability analysis of SMS-implementations to nd out potential security vulnerabilities that smartphones may be exposed to. Conducting vulnerability analyses of SMS is dicult, as one would need to send a large amount of SMS through the mobile phone network in order to conduct such analyses. However, if the need for a mobile phone network is removed from the vulnerability analysis, the diculties of performing it can be considerably reduced. Collin Mulliner and Challie Miller (2009) presented a testing platform (without the engagement of a mobile phone network) for this purpose in three popular mobile phone operating systems: the iPhone, Android and Windows Mobile. They claimed that their testing platform could be ported to other smartphone operating systems (OS). Since the Symbian operating system is one of the most popular smartphone platforms, this thesis focuses on how to port this testing platform to the Symbian OS for vulnerability analysis of SMS-implementations. The research methodology behind this study was an experimental research method, conducted by presenting a hypothesis and developing an artifact to test it. This research produced a key finding: that it is not feasible to implement this vulnerability analysis for SMS-implementations on the Symbian OS, when considering the prerequisites that Collin Mulliner and Charlie Miller dened in their work. They claimed that, if there is an application level access to the serial line for the modem or the ability to add or remove the arbitrary driver, then it is feasible to port their testing framework to other operating systems. This research discovers that neither of these conditions exists in the Symbian OS.