Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Abdelwahed, Sherif.

Committee Member

Dampier, Dave.

Committee Member

Young, Maxwell.

Date of Degree

5-6-2017

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Degree Name

Master of Science

College

James Worth Bagley College of Engineering

Department

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Abstract

Mobile device security presents a unique challenge in the realm of cyber security, one which is difficult to assess and ultimately defend. Mobile devices, like other computing devices, should possess a secure environment by which a mobile user may operate safely and securely. However, insecure coding when developing applications, incomplete assessment tools to determine platform/application security, and security shortcomings in the Android platform and mobile communications standards result in an insecure environment. This thesis presents an analysis of aspects of a Mobile Station to identify components that contribute to the attack surface. An investigation is conducted to highlight vulnerabilities at the Application, Communications, and Resource Layers. The thesis also identifies current efforts to assess and identify mobile vulnerabilities and weaknesses in application and system settings. Finally, an automated vulnerability assessment solution is developed and introduced in this thesis that can aid in combating potential threats to mobile security.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/16917

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