Security and privacy issues of handheld and wearable wireless devices

Reviewer: John S. Edwards

Di Pietro and Mancini correctly call into question the methods used to maintain security and privacy, as handheld wearable wireless (HWW) devices come into use to connect our personal devices, and even our personal health and financial data, to services (housed presumably on the World Wide Web). There is a danger that the service industry may introduce these features into common use before the industry addresses and solves basic security issues. After a short mention of two methods of Web presence, the authors discuss the implications of directly connecting HWW devices to their services with an emphasis on the security challenge. Three security elements are covered in some detail: confidentiality, integrity, and availability. One additional element might be certifiabilily: a guarantee that entities at the other end of the link are the ones desired. When combined with adequate end-to-end cryptography, the message in the communication channel should be secure and would be sent to the intended party. The use of public key cryptography (PKC) is deprecated because "computation needed to encrypt and decrypt messages using PKC is overwhelming with respect to the computation required" when compared to symmetric cryptography. However, hybrid PKC approaches are not precluded, if a one-time session key is generated to encrypt the message. Public key cryptography, in combination with certificates, would support certifiability. The issues raised by the article are important, and associations and user groups should join the fray; the details of security are too important not to be considered in depth. Before we know it, wireless devices will be endemic. Online Computing Reviews Service