Masters Thesis Defense for Stephen Shambra
03/08/17 at 2:00 PM
February 23, 2017
Faculty, graduate and undergraduate students,
You are cordially invited to my Masters thesis defense.
Title: Automated Vulnerability Assessment of Mobile Device Vulnerabilities
When: Wednesday, March 8, 2017 at 2:00 PM
Where: Butler Hall, Room 300
Candidate: Stephen Shambra
Degree: Masters, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Committee:
Dr. Sherif Abdelwahed
(Major Professor)
Dr. Dave Dampier
(Committee Member)
Dr. Maxwell Young
(Committee Member)
Abstract:
Mobile device communications 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, free of malicious tampering. However, insecure coding when developing Android 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 Mobile Station to identify vulnerabilities and weaknesses in application and system design and configuration. Finally, an automated vulnerability assessment solution is developed as part of this research and introduced in this thesis that can aid in combating potential threats to mobile security.
Best Regards,
Stephen Shambra