Central Equipment Identity Register

The Central Equipment Identity Register is a database of the IMEI numbers of blacklisted handsets. If a device's IMEI number is listed on CEIR, it is not supposed to work on any service provider.

A common usage of the CEIR is with stolen cellphones. Once a user reports to the operator about the theft, the cell phone's IMEI number goes to CEIR, supposedly making the device unusable in any network (although this does not always work).

Currently, the Central Equipment Identity Register is more frequently called an IMEI DB(database) system which means that it is the central system for network operators (those that have an EIR) to share their individual black lists with one another so that service is denied for the particular devices that appear on that blacklist. Thus, network operators have compiled one global black list through the IMEI DB.

EIR

An Equipment Identity Register reduces the threats of theft of handsets by enabling individual operators to prevent the use of stolen handsets in their own networks. This improves users' security by switching off stolen phones, making them useless for mobile phone thieves and thus less likely to be stolen in the first place. As the number of mobile devices and messaging users continue to grow, they become a target for fraudulent and criminal activities. Mobile Messaging application and infrastructure companies such as Airwide Solutions and [http://www.tekelec.com Tekelec] are examples of providers for Equipment Identity for worldwide mobile operators like Vodafone (Airwide) and Cegetel (Tekelec) that deploy the lists for the CEIRs.

Demand for more mobile security

Another growing worry around mobile security is messaging "spamming" and "spoofing". As the use of mobile data communications broadens, mobile devices become a tempting target for hackers and spammers. At first, unsolicited text messages were classified as a nuisance that could be dealt with simply by deleting them. Now, however, what began as a nuisance is turning into a real problem. When combined with spoofing, which alters the identity of the user's account, determining who actually sent the message is far more difficult - resulting in revenue leakage and customer dissatisfaction. Therefore, the demand for increased security and serious Anti-Fraud action has had mobile operators looking for improving infrastructures to protect their wireless subscribers. [ [http://www.wirelessweek.com/article.aspx?id=149580 “Anti-Fraud Action Needed Today” by Vince Kadar; Wireless Week, June 21, 2007] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.gsmworld.com/using/security/index.shtml IMEI DB] — official site (previously know as the Central Equipment Identity Register)