Managing Home Networks security challenges security issues and countermeasures

A Home Network, or Customer Premises Network (CPN), is a special case of a local area network. It is used for communication between a small number of devices deployed within a home or a small office: computers and printers, Set-Top Boxes, IP-phones and other connectivity gears (e.g. wireless access points). The key element of the CPN is its interconnection, through a (ultra) broadband provider, to an external Next Generation Network (NGN) or public networks such as the Internet. Many Standard Development Organizations (SDO) have addressed the security of the NGN and IMS, whereas the security of the CPN and its interconnection with the NGN is still in its infancy. This paper is aimed to describe the security issues that Service Providers and Operators have to face interconnecting “secure” core NGN to the customer's home networks or CPN and to present the main countermeasures defined by ETSI Tispan.