DNS, authentication, and cellular networks

TMC Net has an  article discussing the growing importance of DNS and authentication for cellular networks. Awareness of the importance of DNS and DNSSEC to mobile computing is limited so I'm glad someone is writing about this topic.

See: DNS Has Become One of Cellular Operators' Biggest Challenges.

The article is focused on a vendor but nevertheless highlights the growing challenge of DNS in handling and authenticating smartphones and mobile devices that have their own IP addresses. These devices are used for on-line transactions and contain quite a bit of private information. So security and authentication are not trivial requirements - they are critical.

As operators move to IP-based, next-generation environments, they face the challenges of dealing with diverse and premium services and applications. And they need to understand how the network is operating and how to optimize it to offer the requisite user experience.

That’s the word from Steve Shalita, vice president of marketing at NetScout (News - Alert), who says one of the biggest challenges mobile service providers now face has to do with DNS and RADIUS authentication.

As noted above, Shalita says one of the biggest challenges mobile service providers now face has to do with DNS and RADIUS authentication. In a mobile environment, he explains, handsets tap into the mobile towers constantly, and with every transaction there’s a need to re-authenticate. So if a DNS server is flooded, he says, that impacts the ability to complete an application transaction. That means it’s important to monitor what’s happening with DNS, says Shalita, noting that AT&T (News - Alert)was recently facing issues with its DNS servers being flooded by attacks.

There are strong financial incentives for carriers to offer the fasted, most reliable and most secure network. So improvements are going to happen, and sooner rather than later.