Evaluation of VoIP media security for smartphones in the context of IMS

Market research reports by In-Stat, Gartner, and the Swedish Post and Telecom Agency (PTS) reveal a growing worldwide demand for Voice over IP (VoIP) and smartphones. This trend is expected to continue over the coming years and there is wide scope for mobile VoIP solutions. With this growth in VoIP adoption come challenges related with quality of service and security. Most consumer VoIP solutions, even in PCs, analog telephony adapters, and home gateways, do not yet support media encryption or other forms of security. VoIP applications based on mobile platforms are even further behind in adopting media security. In this paper, we explore the alternatives and feasibility of achieving VoIP media security for smartphones in the realm of IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS).