Vviewpoints

DOI: 10.1145/2018396.2018405
Privacy and Security
Security risks in
next-Generation
emergency Services

Sounding the alert on emergency calling system deficiencies.

PhotograPhh by matt mCClaIn / the washIngton Post VIa getty Images

In miD-JUne 2011, the National Emergency Number Associa- tion (NENA) approved the end- state architectural vision for Next Generation 9-1-1.6 The “i3” architecture, as technical experts call it, presents a detailed architecture for key elements of the next-generation 9-1-1 systems, describing how networks and devices will eventually work together to enable voice, text, image, and data exchange between citizens and first responders.

It took NENA members years to complete the work on the i3 architecture and related specifications. Although NENA is the leading emergency services organization in North America, it did not develop the specifications alone. The i3 architecture borrows heavily from the standards developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) on SIP, location, and emergency calling. It is not only the reuse of specifications that is significant but the mind-set acquired by NENA from the IETF: IETF’s emergency ser-

an emergency communications technician responds to calls at the emergency communications center in arlington, Va.

vices architecture follows the Internet
application deployment model where
applications may be provided by com-
panies that are different than those
providing Internet access. This as-
sumption may not necessarily be sur-
prising for Internet and smartphone
application designers, but it is a signif-