MDSM - Mobile device Dynamic Security Management (TIN2017-83494-R):

Mobile devices are becoming the most adopted platforms among users to access the Internet, both with personal and professional aims. Such a big penetration implies, however, relevant security related problems which need to be properly addressed. Despite some solutions exist to improve security in this kind of environments, there exist two main limited types: antivirus like tools and those intended for remote device management (MDM).

Based on previous scientific and technical results achieved in the field of intrusion and anomaly detection for networks and systems by the research team, the present project proposes the design and development of a dynamic security management system for mobile devices, aimed at improving security both for end devices (and users) and the environment where they are working on. With acronym MDSM ('Mobile device Dynamic Security Management') and intended to operate in a real network environment, two are its functional component modules. First, an access control sub-system dependent on the security level estimated for the target device taking into account the specific configuration, installation of updates, available apps, used permissions, etc. Second, a continuous time monitoring and supervision module aimed at detecting the potential occurrence of malicious behaviors capable to put into risk the system and/or the user; for that, we shall take as observations of analysis events like Internet navigation instances, voice and SMS communications, access to GPS information, etc.

Both functionalities, access control and time supervision, are supported on the mutivariant analysis of the device state (in comparison with that of the global multi-user environment) to conclude suspicious deviations in respect with the expected behavior. In addition to the desired benefits regarding the detection methodology developed by the research team, it is important to mention that the access to the information will be completely respectful with user privacy principles thanks to the adoption of schemes specifically designed by the team for that.

Beyond the scientific and technical contributions expected for the different developments, we should remark the novelty of the overall system proposed as a security methodology for mobile environments. This topic constitutes a primordial challenge at present, and thus it should be properly addressed if we want to advance in deploying and adopting these technologies and the related services in a generalized way.

Start: Enero de 2018
End: Diciembre de 2020
Financed: MINECO (Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad)
Founding: 69.817,00 euros