Using Virtualization for Security in Mobile Device Design

By Rob McCammon, Vice President of Product Management at Open Kernel Labs

Many embedded designs are now becoming more security conscious. One of the fastest growth areas for embedded systems, both in terms of volume shipped and the growing need for increased security, is for devices such as mobile handsets.

As mobile handsets become smarter, more connected and more feature-rich, they are also becoming more vulnerable to attack through their operating system and drivers.  Complex OSes such as Symbian, Windows Mobile and Linux are used on smartphones, and require more sophisticated protection for both the handset and the network they are connected to. Traditional protection such as anti-virus software and other non-embedded software approaches do not fully protect the system. Secure, segregated areas for critical code have to be combined with secure communications in order to provide protection for mobile devices. Even many hypervisors are designed to protect the handset, but not both the handset and the network.

This problem is taken very seriously by the carrier networks; however, device security often falls upon the handset manufacturers, not the carrier or OS vendor. Handset manufacturers should not have to constantly worry about providing security updates as new vulnerabilities are identified in these large and complex OSes and networks. They should find flexible approaches that save time and reduce costs...

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